Wow! That was cool! A bit more to get to the horns, but definitely easier to assemble (without all of the swearing)!

 

A much more involved way to install the horn upgrade, but probably easier overall. I know I spent a lot of time trying to get the 2nd horn on the bracket.

 

I didn't take the front bumper off either, so it was quite a bitch blindly reaching in that little hole under the car to mount the bracket and connect the wires. This looks a bit more pleasant.

I'll be treating this tutorial as directions for removing the bumper in case I ever need to.

 

You know, someone should STICKY this post. Its good instruction for removing the front bumper.

 

A much more involved way to install the horn upgrade, but probably easier overall.

I think so. Besides the fact that I am a big guy with big hands, I'd rather spend 5-10 minutes to get a clear work area. You can't always do it, but it's nice when you can.

 

awesome writeup and pics ntechnic!

ntechnic - was there two other bolts that needs to be removed near the bottom center using a 10mm socket?

cuz I had to for mine... might be a safety thing for us up north.

in your 10th pic (first pic with the horn and 10mm writing), directly on top of the second hole on the middle flap, there is a metal clip. there is a rather long bolt that needs to be removed with a 10mm socket.. one on each side.

 

in your 10th pic (first pic with the horn and 10mm writing), directly on top of the second hole on the middle flap, there is a metal clip. there is a rather long bolt that needs to be removed with a 10mm socket.. one on each side.

You are talking about that clip circled in green, right? I noticed that too when I did my horns. I actually kind of broke the little plastic tabs on the fascia a little bit because I was not expecting them to be there :/

Apart from that small detail, the install went great

Stock horn:

New horns:

It sounds like a real horn now!!! :clap:

 

ntechnic - was there two other bolts that needs to be removed near the bottom center using a 10mm socket?

No, there wasn't. Just the nine hex head screws. Interesting, I wonder why and what purpose those two bolts serve on your car.

 

Stebel Air Horns to big a draw on power?

I have had these airhorns (TwistedThrottle.com : Stebel Nautilus Compact Dual-Tone 12-Volt Motorcycle Air Horn, 139 dB, Black or Chrome - Stebel) on my motorcycles for a long time and they are by far louder than anything but an actual freight train. I'm trying to decide if I can get one on my Mazda without too much trouble. They draw a little under 18 Amps and need a relay circuit. Anybody know if I can just up the horn fuse in the Mazda from 15Amps to 20Amps and call it good or will I need to install a relay of some sort?

 

I just ordered mine, cant wait to install it on my Speed3!

 

Wow that aftermarket horn sounds SO much better!

 

Anything is better than the stock setup. The "bean counter" that is responsible for this should be tar and feathered!

 

what were they thinking!?:shuriken::shuriken:

 

I just installed these today! OMG now I will use these horns now instead of yelling out expletives with some hand gestures Thanks Ntechnic for the writeup! Check out my album to see where I mounted the two on my Speed 3 without the tranny cooler

 

So I'm an idiot and I'm going to give everyone a small tip so nobody makes the same dumb mistake I did.

When you install the second horn, make sure you don't point it up. I just mounted it without even thinking about its orientation, and payed for it. The first time it rained it filled with water and stopped working :stupid:

Luckily, since it is DC, all I had to do was dry it out and it worked fine. When I remounted it I made sure to make sure it was pointing down :tongue:

 

lol, that sucks man...glad it dried out though, but yeah, the sound will spread outwards more when the horn is pointed toward the ground too, so its good you fixed it.

 

Ok, stupid question...

Does it matter if you leave the existing horn and just add the new one? Or, are most of you replacing the existing horn with a high and low pair?

 

You can do either, but the first will be cheaper! I've been using my set-up for a while now and am VERY pleased.

 

Nopes, this thread is pretty much to just add the new low tone horn to the existing High tone one, so you still have the high tone, and are adding the new low tone. They harmonize perfectly, in a Major 3rd (music Jargon). You are free to use any configuration you like, but the usual people are doing is just buying the new low tone and adding it...hope this isnt redundant, lol...

 

Definitely not redundant...making a good point!

 

Great article.

 

Heres a bunch of horns to pick from and they have sound clips to preview WOLO ELECTRIC HORNS FOR CARS, TRUCKS, BOATS, RV's AND MOTORCYCLES

 

Just did this upgrade today using the guide posted in this thread. In fact I even used the same exact horns that they recommened in the guides. I actually bought 4 horns, two high tone and two low tone. I did my 3 today and will do my Mazda 5 really soon. For all 4 horns the total cost was $31 shipped from carparts.com.

With the guide, I cannot believe how easy this was. One issue I ran into was how to remove the wire harness on the passenger side near the fog light. I unplugged the fog light, but that harness is clipped onto the backside bumper in many different places. So I just left it connected and propped the nose up on a block covered in towels. The other small issue I ran into was getting the shroud around the tranny cooler on the driver side off. The two clips on the outside were easy but the one toward the engine was difficult. I finally just pushed it out from inside the shroud.

One tip i might add is if you install 2 of these horns, is on the second horn, use at least two of the metal brackets that come with the horn. One is a little flimsy and the horn would vibrate a lot. I actually used 3. Each horn came with two.

Total time was 65 minutes (I am was slow and deliberate).

 

Did you have to make any changes to the electrical system? I would think 4 horns would exceed the amperage of the fuse.

 

You misunderstood me. I bought 4 horns, 2 of which I used on my Mazda3 and two of which I am going to use on my Mazda5

 

Woops! Apologies...

 

I could only get my hands on 18 gauge wire. Does anyone think that this will be an issue?

 

I doubt it.

 

Thanks that's what I was thinking but I wanted a second opinion.

I finished my install and couldn't be happier to loose the stock joke of a horn. Now I can press the lock button twice when locking my car

Thanks so much for the write up, ntechnic!

 

wow. took my time and done. i just bought the horn local as it ended up costing 2.50 more than the other plus shipping. but i only bought one, not two. i can't believe how easy it is to disassemble that front bumper. however, a buddy would have been nice to have around to hold it while i disconnected the fog light. other than that...super easy!

thanks again! this was a very nice and easy mod. + safety right before winter.