Has anyone bought a huge horn Yet??

I would like ideas here too. My motorcycle horn is much louder than my prius! Well come to think of it my motorcycle has a bigger engine also. lol

 

Check out some of these threads with "horn" in the title:

PriusChat Forums - Search Results

 

Maybe we could cut to the chase and combine this thread with:

http://priuschat.com/forums/freds-house-pancakes/44519-what-do-women-think-men-driving-priuses.html

Wasn't it Mae West who said something like, "Are you happy to see me Big Boy, or is that a banana in your pocket?"

 

I don't really think that's cutting to the chase. The Prius' horn is very quiet --- too quiet. For me, it's a safety issue: Others being able to hear your horn when you press it as an emergency warning.

 

Hardly ever use the horn.
I did fit a pair of chrome Stebel Magnums to my bike, they are very loud.

By patsparks, shot with C725UZ at 2007-02-16

 

Hi All,

Rather than stick these large horns under the hood, it seems like it might be a good idea to stick then in holes in the lower hatch window.

Then when you get a tail gater, use em. When the front of the guy's car starts making a wierd noise (his point of view), he might back off.

 

From the Car Care, Detail Supplies, Garage Organization, Car Accessories - Griot's Garage 800-345-5789 web site:
"Hella Horns
Hella Horns. Loud As Can Be!
Tired of those wimpy, factory installed horns? You'll get some respect with these. I only honk my horn when it's absolutely necessary. For those times I do honk my horn, I want to be noticed. And just in case you haven't noticed, stereo systems are getting louder and interiors are getting quieter, which means you need to be heard! Plastic? No way! Durable, metal casing for years of survival. Easy installation. If you have horns presently, just swap the horns and use the existing wiring. If you want to add them to your present horns, a relay and directions are included. Loud as can be! 118 dB. "

No relationship with the company. If anyone gives this a try, please report on experience with installation and sound. Thanks.

 

I owned a Miata for many years. Factory horns are wimpy. Lots of owners, including me, replaced the stock horn with a small pair of horns from Crazy Red Italian (no affiliation). They are incredibly loud and got me out of several tight situations. Crazy Red seems to focus on Miatas, and he includes stunningly detailed instructions on Miata installation. I've no idea if these fit the Prius; if they do, I'll buy them. Anyone interested in trying this or developing further information can aim your browser right here: Crazy Red Home Page

Caveat: my Prius is new enough that I've never even honked the horn. These may not fit, but someone here more familiar with the space under the Prius' hood probably could glance at the website and tell whether they'd fit.

Bruce

 

The horns in my cars always die from lack of use. There are very few situations where I can use a horn. About the only one I can think of is when someone is backing down on you in a parking lot and there isn't room to move out of the way. Any other situation I'm usually too busy driving to avoid the problem, and don't have the time or the free hands for a punitive horn blast. I prefer to avoid trouble rather than hope I can wake up the other driver and have him do the work.

On boats it's a different situation, where horns are used to signal information: pass port to port, pass starboard to starboard, backing down, emergency stop...

Tom

 

I had several situations where someone would cut me off. When I would beep me Prius horns to alert them, they didn't even notice the sound. I followed someone else's recommendation and picked up a couple of 2005 used Camry horns for $25 and installed them myself. While these may not be the loudest horns around, they are more noticeable than the feeble beeps that whisper an alert from the Prius.

 

Stebel Magnum twin horns, 139dB at 100mm and 115dB at 2 metres.
Get em on ebay. My horn is pretty loud now.

 

No.

 

When I lived in the US I'd usually install Mercedes Benz (MB) horns on my cars. I'm not sure if MB still uses the same horns nowadays but back in the late 70s to 90s they had this really rich, loud horn, and they are pretty cheap, look for a horn for a 1977 MB 300D, I'd buy a set (two horns) for maybe $25-30 back in 1998. They are made by Bosch and are sometimes called Bosch horns, but it's a combination of two different horns that dives the MB sound. If you find a MB junkyard you can get a set for maybe $10. When I return to the US next month and eventually buy my first Prius I'm putting some MB horns on it.

 

Did you run into any problems when installing them?

 

I have a pair of Highway Blasters (which is a product available from Autozone and Advanced Auto) that I saved from my previous car. Today I installed them right into the stock positions.

Removing the black shroud in front of the engine you can look down on the horns of which there are two. One is right on the center support for the hood latch and the other is on the passenger side next to the headlight.

They bolt right in place of the stock units and the stock plugs snap right on. I only had to bend the mounting bracket on the passenger side a bit to insure that the horn didn't contact anything.

Easy install if you are handy.

 

Seamus,
got any photo shots of your installation?
Gary

 

No, they have power through a fuse direct from the battery and a relay drivien by the horn button. They look good on the bike.

By patsparks, shot with C725UZ at 2007-02-16

 

The first picture shows the horn under the hood release the lever of which obscures your view just a bit. The yellow wire coming from the horn to the mounting bolt is the ground wire for the horn.

The second picture shows the right side horn with a green wire as the ground wire. The feed from the stock connector runs on top of the horn and a small jumper which runs from it to the terminal. It was siliconed and wrapped with tape. That was before I figured out I could just as easily have plugged the thing right in. Notice the slight bend of the mounting bracket to clear the front grill.

The third picture are is the two stock horns.