Hella Supertone Horn Install w/Pics

[myFifth]

The fact that the OEM horn is wimpy...and that I have had the Hella horn kit sitting in my garage for a year prompted me to do the install. I've had my E for just over a month and for the first three weeks suffered through several drivers drifting over into my lane without a care in the world despite me laying on the OEM horn until my knuckles were white. The last two weeks have been a joy, watching drivers jump out of their seats when the Hella cannons fire. I almost look for opportunities to let 'em fly but must admit that because they are so freakin' loud must be judicious about their use.

Enough with the preamble.

The Hella horn kit comes with two disc horns, a relay, and diagrammatic instructions at best. My particular kit has the 300 and 375 Hz horns respectively. Hella does make another kit with 300 and 500 types.

Below are several pics and the Hella wiring diagram. The toughest challenge was to find a mounting spot for the horns. Where the front bumper "bumps" out between the fog light locations and the center "splash" trim is the only location I was able to find. The horns would of course be louder if mounted in the clear without anything in front but I challenge you to make this happen anywhere in front of the radiator or condenser. (If you do, I'll pull off the bumper and relocate mine.)

I opted to mount my own relay in lieu of driving the horns directly off of the OEM relay. The relay (green gasket in photo) is mounted just under the fuse box. I used a Hella split loom (not visible in the photos) to connect up to it which made life very smooth. Be sure the relay is away from wet areas to avoid potential voltage drop.

PIN 30 on the relay connects to the battery. Local auto parts store had an inline holder that holds a 30 amp mini blade fuse. Remember to ground the relay, PIN 85. Connect PIN 86 to the horn signal. I just tied in at the OEM horn connection. You can keep the OEM horn operational by tapping into the wire but I disconnected it completely feeling it would spoil the mood. PIN 87 feeds out to the horns.

I used 12 gauge wire throughout (except for the battery feed). The horns are grounded to their mounting brackets and I ran all the positive wiring in plastic shroud. Wiring between the horns is just below the condenser and above the splash guard. There is a frame lip to which I zip tied the shorud.

Don't mess around with these things. Don't lay on the horn with anyone close. You will make them deaf. But they will make you happy...and horny (Ha, ha!!)

[mrsilly]

Got an Mp3 of what it sounds like?

[Damien8086]

Looks good... this is one of the mods that I want to do in the near future except I'd like to somehow make mine visible. I plan on painting the brake calipers red, and my camber arms are red and so the red on the horns would go well with the whole touches of red theme. You're right about the stock horn; it is really weak.

Thanks for the installation pictures. :)

[tom108]

Originally Posted by Damien8086

Looks good... this is one of the mods that I want to do in the near future except I'd like to somehow make mine visible. I plan on painting the brake calipers red, and my camber arms are red and so the red on the horns would go well with the whole touches of red theme. You're right about the stock horn; it is really weak.

Thanks for the installation pictures. :)

i can understand maybe painting the brake calipers so they look like an after market brake upgrade. but why would you paint the control arms or any part of the suspansion? unless you are painting it black.

i am just curious because i cant see a purpose or meaning for it.


-tom :)

[lwclancers]

Originally Posted by tom108

i can understand maybe painting the brake calipers so they look like an after market brake upgrade. but why would you paint the control arms or any part of the suspansion? unless you are painting it black.

i am just curious because i cant see a purpose or meaning for it.


-tom :)

Not only that but Id also remove those stickers all over his car too (I know I know beating an old horse here)...they really clash with the black, red, off-road, with racing wheels look and feel hes got going on

But I do got to ask, WHERE would you mount these so they are visible??? Is there really any place to put them? Also, would the horn not go to crap from the elements (no pun intended) by being exposed?

Boog is going to have fun with this one....

[MTP]

I was thinking the same thing lwclancers.
Even in that location the speakers will hit by water from puddles and what not.
Looks great though and I bet they sound awsome. I really want to swap out the horn as well. I hate that wimpy horn.
On the down side with such loud horns did you disable the horn beep when you lock the car via remote......or just wait until you are several feet away :D

[Damien8086]

Originally Posted by tom108

i can understand maybe painting the brake calipers so they look like an after market brake upgrade. but why would you paint the control arms or any part of the suspansion? unless you are painting it black.

i am just curious because i cant see a purpose or meaning for it.


-tom :)

I didn't paint the rear camber arms... they came in that color and I think they look good. Matches the calipers.

[Damien8086]

Originally Posted by lwclancers

Not only that but Id also remove those stickers all over his car too (I know I know beating an old horse here)...they really clash with the black, red, off-road, with racing wheels look and feel hes got going on

But I do got to ask, WHERE would you mount these so they are visible??? Is there really any place to put them? Also, would the horn not go to crap from the elements (no pun intended) by being exposed?

Boog is going to have fun with this one....

I'm getting sick of you all hating on my decals - I get it - you don't like them - can we move on?

As for the horns, use your imagination, I was thinking of something like what these people did.

[lwclancers]

Interesting look...that one looks like a spiders eyes!

But still would the horns not die out due to being exposed to debree, weather, etc :confused:

As far as the stickers go, it was just a comment of sarcasm as I am still trying to determine for myself whether it is a street/racer look or an off road look. Sorry for thinking out loud.

[Damien8086]

Originally Posted by lwclancers

Interesting look...that one looks like a spiders eyes!

But still would the horns not die out due to being exposed to debree, weather, etc :confused:

As far as the stickers go, it was just a comment of sarcasm as I am still trying to determine for myself whether it is a street/racer look or an off road look. Sorry for thinking out loud.

Yeah it does kind of look like a spider's eyes. Those four horns must be deafening. I would think that myFifth's horn setup would be almost just as susceptible to weather and debris as the ones in the picture. The horns are only $45 for a pair of them so if they turn out to not be very durable and you have to replace them every year or two then that shouldn't be too costly. Equates to two trips to the gas station.

As for my E - How many people are really racing their Elements or taking their Elements off roading? Most racing and offroading modifications to the Element are for aesthetics only so why not blend the looks together. I dont plan on driving through the marsh or the dessert or having my E at the Maryland International Raceway anytime soon - I am just making it look how I want it to look.