I was a bit tired of the wussy sounding standard horns so started looking for some replacements. I didn't want to go with airhorns as a direct replacement because they can be fairly expensive and I really just wanted some standard horns with a little more oomph. I will be adding some small airhorns later but will put them on a separate switch.

So, after much researching I found the Stebel TM80 Magnums (http://www.stebel.it). Apparently a lot of motorcyclists use these on thier bikes as replacements for thier anemic stock horns. I found them for just $7.50 a piece (high and low) plus shipping so it came to a grand total of $24 (http://www.hornsplusauto.com/). I figured for $24 if I didn't like them I could just take 'em off and eBay them.

These horns claim to be 136 Db but I think they are fudging by measuring at 4 inches instead of 1 meter (1 meter seems to be the standard). I'm not sure what the stock horns are but the average car horn is between 110 and 119Db so if sound energy doubles every 3Db these horns ought to be at least 5 times as loud; they aren't.

Still they are definitely louder than the stock horns and sound just slightly deeper. I can't put my finger on it but they sound more "American" now and less whiney; there's just more authority in the honk now. Less, "Oh please sir, would you be ever so kind and get out of my way." and more "Listen buddy, I think you're going to want to get the hell out of my way before we have a problem." but no where near "I'm a huge truck and will smash you into little bits if you don't move NOW!" For that I'm going to need some of these: HornBlasters (you MUST go watch this video and the others in the series, funny as hell)

Back to the replacement:
It's a somewhat easy swap but you'll have to have good hands to swap the high horn without taking the bumper off. I managed by just taking off the plastic clips in the top of the bumper and this gave my left hand enough room to get in there and guide the socket wrench. I also reused the stock horn brackets as they were slightly longer than the ones provided with the horns.

Also, we don't need a horn relay as the 350Z already has one:


Here's a diagram of where the horns are:


Here's the new horn:


And here are some side by side comparisons (wish they were black not this goofy chrome):

 

how much louder are they?

 

They are maybe twice as loud, if that.

 

I replaced mine within the first month I owned my Z with some more American (louder/deeper) sounding ones. Simple plug and play devices that just took a bit of work to get onto the stock mounting location. I had read a story here about some guy who was backed into by some one in a parking lot - despite the fact that he was laying on his horn.

Between the large number of people who can't drive without a cell phone in their ear or their music up too loud you need to increase you ability to get the attention of their tiny minds back on the road.

 

Kaitain, now that you've had the Stebel TM80 Magnums for a while, have you had any problems with them? How is the stock relay holding up to the 12 amps required by the two horns (according to the stebel website)? Thanks!

 

GET A HORN THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN 18 WHeeler blowin at you..

 

The first time I tried the Z's horn I laughed out loud. I think my old 87 Civic had a louder horn.

 

Id like to have a loud horn that sounds like a pirate yelling at you.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

 

i've never used my horn befoe. sounds like a good idea though.

 

you guys should get the JDM Nismo Horn .. now that's a horn

 

I ordered the black version of the Stebel TM80 Magnums from the same site Kaitain mentioned. The order form was a little odd so I emailed them to make sure they sent the black ones. The horns got to Hawaii in less than a week.

I also used the stock brackets. The bracket for the horn nearest the hood latch was bent inwards (the other one was straight), but when I installed the Stebel horn, I reversed it so that the horn was moved towards the bumper. When I tried mounting the Stebel with the bracket oriented as it was originally, the wiring would touched the radiator (or is it the A/C condenser). The spade connectors on the Stebel point towards the back of the car, as opposed to the spades on the OEM horn, which caused the wiring to protrude to the back. I'm wondering if the bracket is supposed to be straight or bent?

I didn't remove the bumper so it took me a while to do the install. Couldn't see where the outer horn bracket bolted on to the car, so had to do everything by feel.

If you decide to do this, take note of how little torque is required to remove the bracket from the car. The bolt screws into what appears to be a plastic insert, so you don't want to strip it when you tighten it.

 

You want to hear a weak horn? My show car was a Pontiac Vibe that was later turned into a turbocharged vibrator on wheels from Kicker, the horn was just a faint meep. One day at work I pulled up to the loading dock and meeped it, the embarrasing thing was that the forklift horn was louder. Needless to say after that I went to Pepboys and got some new horns lol. If you ever see a Pontiac Vibe on the road, make'm honk at you.