kaylins2k

are u sayign that using stock horn wire will not use hella horns maximun output? unless u change the gauge?

s2kennmark

[QUOTE=Orthonormal,Feb 6 2007, 05:55 PM] Ken, you do know that they pick the fuse value based on how much current is safe to flow through the wire that's connected to it right?

kaylins2k

did u change the gauge like Orthonormal was talking about, or did u juss use the stock wire, if so did it evan make a difference? cuss it seems like Orthonormal is saying it will be as loud as stock unless u alter the gauge...

jasonw

It is a preventative measure... The peace of mind will be more important than the added power.

Trustd_1

it's this loud............

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH!!!!!!!!



REAL loud...............about 115 db's worth





in all seriousness, Hella Supertones are okay....definitely much louder & authoritative than the wimpy stock horns, but I prefer the sound of air horns better. air horns are more tedious to install & take up more space tho. they also have a little delay compared to electric horns.

if you can get your hands on some for a decent price, find some Porsche or Ferrari horns.

Orthonormal

No, what Ken & I are talking about is when the fuse blows vswhen the wire catches on fire. When talking about wires, "gauge" means diameter. When current flows through a wire, it heats up. The higher the current and the smaller the wire, the more it heats up. The wire inside a light bulb is so small that it heats up until it glows. The only reason it doesn't burn up is there's no air in there.

When the electrical engineers design a circuit in the car (or in a building), they figure out how much current is needed to feed all the devices on that circuit. Then they choose a wire that's big enough to carry that much current without getting too hot. Then they put a fuse in line with the wire that will blow if something malfunctions and draws more current than the wire can safely carry.

Suppose the stock horn is 120dB at 1 foot and draws 5 Amps. If you install a horn that is 130dB at 1 foot and draws 10 Amps, it will draw 10 Amps and make a 130dB noise if the fuse doesn't blow. If the fuse does blow, it makes a quick "meep" and you have to replace the fuse.

If you replace the fuse with a higher-rated fuse, then you can draw more current and heat the wire up more than it was designed for. That can be unsafe, and the insulation on the wire could melt or catch fire. Fortunately engineers are usually conservative and design for the worst case and then some, but you never know how much safety margin they have left. When a device draws more current than the circuit can handle, I prefer to add a circuit with properly sized wire rather than installing an incorrect fuse. In the case of horns, the kits often include a relay so that the horn can be powered off of a new circuit, but is controlled by the original horn wire from the horn button.

kaylins2k

gotcha, hella horn = unsafe in certain conditions.

kaylins2k

air horn would this be a better alturnative to the hella horns, using this air horn

or juss ge the hellas


hella horn

Orthonormal

Those air horns are probably the same ones I had on my Miata, that I described above. I'd get them again.

The 2004+ S2000 horns are not bad.