Horn

[Utah Geezer]

Posted this on shop talk by accident. Thought I would get more experience and response on this forum. Got a couple good suggestions but looking for more options and ideas. Looking for the best / loudest horn that I can install in place of the factory horn on my RT. What something that will knock the doors off the car that pulls in front of me and will wake up the neighbors.

[granpa in Cincy]

stebel air horn

[ronrico]

Also looking for the same thing but would like to see if there is anything other then an air horn.

[H2O]

I have a 2014 RT-S and installed PIAA 85115 Superior Bass Horns in place of the stock squeaker. They are $54.25 on Amazon and advertised as 112 dB. I really like the sound.

John

[Chupaca]

the most often mentioned here are the Rolo Bad Boy and the stebil (no spell check here). But there are others and the auto supply stores have a selection. Have the Rolo myself and works nicely but am looking for better myself. If I find it I will let you know....

[granpa in Cincy]

Go to Amazon.com and search motorcycle air horn. They display quit a selection of different makes and models.

[Professor]

I had a Stebel Nautilus on my BMW RT and plan to put one on my 2014 Spyder RTL. I used it sparingly, but there were times when I was soooo glad I had it. A woman once pulled out of a side street right in front of me without looking. I had to come to a complete stop to avoid hitting her. As she passed a couple of feet in front of me - still totally unaware of my presence - I hit the air horn. Fortunately I had a camera handy. Here is her picture:

[SNOOPY]

Stebel here too.

[gary lester]

Posted this on shop talk by accident. Thought I would get more experience and response on this forum. Got a couple good suggestions but looking for more options and ideas. Looking for the best / loudest horn that I can install in place of the factory horn on my RT. What something that will knock the doors off the car that pulls in front of me and will wake up the neighbors.

I used late model gold wing horns and I'm very happy with those. These horns are pretty loud

[jcthorne]

Two more votes for the Stebel. One on each of our RTs. MUCH louder than stock and pretty easy install. Relay is included as the stock horn wiring does not provide sufficient power for full volume.

[Bob Denman]

Stebel... There is no better horn out there!
Besides; what is your life worth to you?

[SPYD3R]

HARBOR FREIGHT
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt...orn-40134.html

[Bob Denman]

Where can you mount that thing??


stebel nautilus.jpg Oh; and these are 139 decibel tooters...

[finless]

Does anyone look in the DIY forum?

Anyway, Seibel and Bad Boy are the same horn trust me! Harbor freight has them pretty cheap.

See my thread here:

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...all-tips-video

And in that thread my video which I will post here as well:



Bob

[Professor]

I can't find it now, but there is another thread somewhere that said the Stebel Nautilus compact will fit in the 2014 RT without any drilling or modification to the mount. He said you just take the old horn off, bolt the new one one, then it's just plug and play. This is strictly hearsay, so I certainly don't know it for sure.

Custom Dynamics says the maximum draw on the Stebel is 18 amps. Something else I read said that the horn is louder if you use the relay because it's getting more current.

Any comments on this are most welcome. I want to know as much as I can before installing one on my 2014 RT.

[bluestratos]

Hi Bob,

This is what I use and it is plenty loud. On the 14 there is lots of room on the left side behind the access cover, you can even use the orgional horn bolt to mount. One 990's most people mount it under the left hand access cover. Its is a bit of squeeze but it works if you make a small notch in the horn to clear the factory bracket that is down there. In any case you will need to use a relay since any of the high power horns draw too much power for the stock wiring.

Where can you mount that thing??


stebel nautilus.jpg Oh; and these are 139 decibel tooters...

[finless]

Hi Bob,
In any case you will need to use a relay since any of the high power horns draw too much power for the stock wiring.

I have tested this a LOT and I did not use the relay! Stock circuit is fused for 5 AMPS. Bad Boy takes 15 on start up and drops to 8. I have laid on the horn for a full minute and did not blow the fuse nor did the wires or anything get hot!

Save yourself the trouble, you do not need the relay. Do it if it makes you feel good

Bob

[robmorg]

I have tested this a LOT and I did not use the relay! Stock circuit is fused for 5 AMPS. Bad Boy takes 15 on start up and drops to 8. I have laid on the horn for a full minute and did not blow the fuse nor did the wires or anything get hot!

Save yourself the trouble, you do not need the relay. Do it if it makes you feel good

Bob

Bob,

The 2013 RT's and newer may be a different story. I don't doubt that with a dedicated fuse for the horn circuit, and wiring of reasonable thickness, you wouldn't need a relay. However, on my 2013 there is a 20a fuse that is marked "Load Shedding". I discovered by looking at the wiring schematic that that one fuse feeds the horn PLUS a "Load Shedding Relay" which goes on to feed the the driver's heated hand grips, the passenger heated grab bars, the fog lights, the entire ASC (suspension) system, and the cruise control. Between the four heated grips, the fog lights, and the ASC pump, that's a fair bit of amp requirement, should they be all on at the same time. (For the 2014 model, I noticed they raised that fuse to 25a, but I don't know if they added any additional load on the "Load Shedding Relay".)

If I were going to add an air horn, I maybe could get by with swapping out that 20a fuse for a 25a one and not using a horn relay - especially since I never use the heated passenger grips. BUT on the 2013's and newer, the battery is right there near where you would mount the horn, so adding a relay for the horn would be a very simple matter.

As for the argument that the air horn needs a relay to work at full volume, thats a bit hard to reconcile with what I know of electronics. Any accessory is going to draw the current that it needs to work. As you say, if the circuit can't handle the current, what would happen is that wires would get hot and/or the fuse would blow.

Bottom line though.... given the circuit design of the 2013's and newer, and the fact that the battery is right there, its probably best to go ahead and use a horn relay, IMO.

[Professor]

Thanks Rob. That makes sense to me.

[robmorg]

Remember that the horn button is on the ground side of the circuit. If you are going to use a relay, here is how you would wire it in...

• Relay Terminal 30: Battery positive post or nearby positive lug (no thinner than 14 gauge wire and use an inline 20a fuse, or whatever fuse is supplied with the new horn)
• Relay Terminal 85: Horn Button (original neg lead on the old horn)
• Relay Terminal 86: +12v source (can use positive lead to original horn)
• Relay Terminal 87: Positive lead on new horn
• Negative lead on new horn: to a ground lug near the battery (no thinner than 14 gauge wire)

Terminals 30 & 87 are the switched side of the relay which will feed +12v to the new horn; terminals 85 & 86 are the activation coil that you will control with the horn button.

Remember to locate the inline fuse for the new horn where you can get to it if you ever need to replace the fuse. Since it goes between the battery and the relay, either the battery compartment or under one of the removable service panels (in the frunk) would be good locations for this.

[Orange Spyder Man]

I am not fond of the "whimpy" horn on my 2014 RT limited... maybe this has been asked before, but, I will ask again... is there a louder horn that will mount where the oem horn is mounted and work on the present wiring without a relay and doing mods ?????

tia
osm

[cptjam]

I am not fond of the "whimpy" horn on my 2014 RT limited... maybe this has been asked before, but, I will ask again... is there a louder horn that will mount where the oem horn is mounted and work on the present wiring without a relay and doing mods ?????

tia
osm

Yes, the Bad Boy horn. plugs right in, bolts to where the stock horn is now on the 14 RT.

[Dragonrider]

Lots of comments regarding the low quality of air horns, especially the Stebel. The "Bad Boy" is made by Wolo - are these any better? How about the aftermarket Harley horns??

[Orange Spyder Man]

Yes, the Bad Boy horn. plugs right in, bolts to where the stock horn is now on the 14 RT.

I noticed that is more than one Bad Boy horn.... saw one that stated it was a "high note" may I ask which Bad Boy horn ?

tia
osm

[Professor]

I'm sure you would want the dual: http://www.harborfreight.com/bad-boy...orn-94117.html

It is 118 decibels instead of the 139 db of the Stebel. I don't know if the average person could tell the difference or not. I've used the Stebel and was very happy with it.