The Perfect Air Horn
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>>>how terrible is the stock horn?<<<
I read that it puts out about 97 dB which is not very loud compared to the aftermarket horns. A good horn is important on the Elise as there will be times where other cars don't see you. I suspect that the height of the car is so low that some SUV side mirrors may not even display it to the driver sucking down a big-gulp while chatting on the cell and punching in GPS destination info. It's nice that the Elise horn buttons are located so nicely - you don't have to move your hand to hit the horn.
I read that it puts out about 97 dB which is not very loud compared to the aftermarket horns. A good horn is important on the Elise as there will be times where other cars don't see you. I suspect that the height of the car is so low that some SUV side mirrors may not even display it to the driver sucking down a big-gulp while chatting on the cell and punching in GPS destination info. It's nice that the Elise horn buttons are located so nicely - you don't have to move your hand to hit the horn.
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1,198 Posts
Has anyone else installed air horns on their Elise yet? I bought the triple horns from Fiamm like the ones on Transio's post from the begining of this thread but I'm still wondering where to install. I'm leaning towards attaching it to the crash structure near the "mouth" air intake in the front of the car for the best possible sound.
Stobel Nautilus Horn
Ok, I hate to do this lurking thing on topic that could save your butt
if a big ass Suv can't see you. I have installed a Stobel Nautilus
horn on a Saffron Yellow Elise, In the NewPort Beach Ca area,
Ivor, the owner may want to comment on how it sounds.
It needs a 10 amp fuse (stock= 7.5) I like loud horns on small
cars. Sorry I cannot post any pictures.
Back under the rock............
Ok, I hate to do this lurking thing on topic that could save your butt
if a big ass Suv can't see you. I have installed a Stobel Nautilus
horn on a Saffron Yellow Elise, In the NewPort Beach Ca area,
Ivor, the owner may want to comment on how it sounds.
It needs a 10 amp fuse (stock= 7.5) I like loud horns on small
cars. Sorry I cannot post any pictures.
Back under the rock............
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4,634 Posts
Ivor, who is an Elise owner here in So Cal, has installed an air horn, he called the other day and told me a little bit about it. He had Don at Newport European do the work, and said that as stated above, access is from the front undertray. He said that it took them awhile to figure out how to do it. I'm sort of speaking for Ivor at the moment, more or less, because I think he's having some difficulty posting, and he may also be out of town. He had said he'd tried to post about the install but wasn't able to. Anyway he thought it was a worthwhile modification.
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1,198 Posts
Ivor, apogee,
This is definetelly a save your A$$ mod.
Please give us some details on the install as well as where you were able to purchase the nautilus. Thanks,
This is definetelly a save your A$$ mod.
Please give us some details on the install as well as where you were able to purchase the nautilus. Thanks,
Stobel Nautilus Horn
The Stobel Nautilus airhorn installation took some time as I did not want to drill any holes in the crash structure. R+R of the stock
horn is not a ten minute job,as it's mount stud is under the right
side oil cooler bracket. I was able to mount the horn by use of a
longer bolt thru a bracket inside the wheel well. After removal of
the stock horn I installed a rubber gromet and fabricated a water
proof harness. The stock horn fuse ( 7.5Amp) was replaced with
a 10 Amp. The model is shown in the begining of this thread.
The horn's report is aggressive, but sounds at home on the Elise.
All The Best, Don
The Stobel Nautilus airhorn installation took some time as I did not want to drill any holes in the crash structure. R+R of the stock
horn is not a ten minute job,as it's mount stud is under the right
side oil cooler bracket. I was able to mount the horn by use of a
longer bolt thru a bracket inside the wheel well. After removal of
the stock horn I installed a rubber gromet and fabricated a water
proof harness. The stock horn fuse ( 7.5Amp) was replaced with
a 10 Amp. The model is shown in the begining of this thread.
The horn's report is aggressive, but sounds at home on the Elise.
All The Best, Don
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2,925 Posts
Hella makes some nice horns (not the air horn type, though, I don't care for trumpets... tend to fail... plus you need a compressor).
This is what I have in my MR2 Spyder: http://www.autobarn.net/twinsuphorki.html
They are plenty loud (118dB). Hella makes a cheaper pair that looks like these, but they are not as loud. Look for the 300/50Hz pair if you shop elsewhere. You need to have thick guage wire to get the full power level. I don't know if the stock wiring is all that thick.
Be advised that Hella will replace horns under warranty, but only if you buy from an approved dealer, so saving a couple of bucks on eBay would not be a good idea, even though Hella quality is good.
This is what I have in my MR2 Spyder: http://www.autobarn.net/twinsuphorki.html
They are plenty loud (118dB). Hella makes a cheaper pair that looks like these, but they are not as loud. Look for the 300/50Hz pair if you shop elsewhere. You need to have thick guage wire to get the full power level. I don't know if the stock wiring is all that thick.
Be advised that Hella will replace horns under warranty, but only if you buy from an approved dealer, so saving a couple of bucks on eBay would not be a good idea, even though Hella quality is good.
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1,581 Posts
The Elise horn definitely does not match the car. It sounds as if it belongs to an old fart's car...like an old GM car... Ugh. I would be tempted to mount two Hellas or two Fiams similar to BMW's setup. A nice bright, alert beep.
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1,198 Posts
I bought a Stebel Nautilus on ebay and hope it'll come in tomorrow so I can install it on Saturday or maybe early next week. Its supposed to be good for 139db.
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1,198 Posts
As long as its louder than stock I'll be happy. It could have saved me 6 weeks of down time on the Elise!Stan said:
I wonder if the stock mounting location is somewhat at fault for muffling the sound of the horn...
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1,480 Posts
I did a direct comparison of the FIAMM Freeway Blaster high & low tone horns to the Hella two-trumpet air horns I purchased from Performance Buyers Club as a kit for my Miata.
The Hella air horns were about 6dB louder according to my Radio Shack meter, and subjectively much louder and more shrill.
I had purchased the FIAMMs to replace the air horns because I thought that they would be louder, but I've put the air horns back in. The FIAMMs have been installed to replace the stock horn in a Protege5. They're much louder than the feeble "meep meep" single disc horn that it came with (which was similar to the Miata's stock horn, and presumably the Elise's).
I haven't had any maintenance or longevity issues with the air horns after almost 4 years of use. They've seen some snow driving, but not a lot. Plenty of rain driving, though.
The Hella air horns were about 6dB louder according to my Radio Shack meter, and subjectively much louder and more shrill.
I had purchased the FIAMMs to replace the air horns because I thought that they would be louder, but I've put the air horns back in. The FIAMMs have been installed to replace the stock horn in a Protege5. They're much louder than the feeble "meep meep" single disc horn that it came with (which was similar to the Miata's stock horn, and presumably the Elise's).
I haven't had any maintenance or longevity issues with the air horns after almost 4 years of use. They've seen some snow driving, but not a lot. Plenty of rain driving, though.
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3,970 Posts
This weekend we were able to do a side by side comparison of the Stebel Nautilus and the stock Elise horn. The Nautilus was clearly louder, but not obnoxiously so. While the stock horn had a "soft" character, the Nautilus was more shrill. A little more attention getting. People will not mistake it for an 18-wheeler, though. The Nautilus could have been installed at the factory as the stock horn and no one would have thought it unusual or out of place.NtflBlueLiz said:
From an installation perspective, it seems an ideal replacement horn, fitting right in place of the stock one.
Fred did you get the air-horn and did you install it?NtflBlueLiz said:
also I'm going to post the link to the griot's store where the red one is available unless they have color choices, but the online store doesn't have such option, price $39.99
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_2500&L2=L2_2520&SKU=77839
Update:
Bought one but $10.99 shipping
, well it's still worth it at $50.98.
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2,195 Posts
I want a horn that DOES seem out of place on the Elise.
Something that commands respect and penetrates even the double-paned glass on a Navigator.
Something that can pierce Hummer body panels to reach power executives even while they're on the phone.
Preferably a horn strong enough to distort time and space, jam radio frequencies, and create gravity through sheer sonic energy.
A few dB isn't worth the wiring hassle.
Something that commands respect and penetrates even the double-paned glass on a Navigator.
Something that can pierce Hummer body panels to reach power executives even while they're on the phone.
Preferably a horn strong enough to distort time and space, jam radio frequencies, and create gravity through sheer sonic energy.
A few dB isn't worth the wiring hassle.
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