Okay, so I'm apparently way behind the times (all the Hella posts seem to be 2-5 years old). But I'm probably going to order some Supertones and I was hoping some of you folks who've had em a while could tell me: How do they hold up in MN with snow & salt (or automatic car washes)? Seems like they'd get lots of abuse mounted right up front in the grill on a daily driver. Also, it seems like they'd be quite excessive for the chirps when I lock/unlock the doors (suppose I could probably turn those off if it comes to it). I'm wondering if anyone's figured out a way (or has any good ideas for how) to keep the stock horn for the lock/unlock chirps (I'm using a Viper remote start system currently) but the Hellas for the alarm and normal horn use. And yes I've searched. Just spent 1-2 hours of work time () reading Hella posts on here, nabisco, & scooby mods.
That's also where your stock horns are located. My chirp does not use my horn, but I don't know how to route an old system to do it. I honestly doubt that it'd be bad. I can get my horn to chirp at me using the find car feature of the stock system (press lock x3 in 2 seconds) and it's not bad. When I installed mine, I didn't do the best job with the wiring so I'm going to go back and redo it soon, but it's still held up.
Mine have held up fine over the past couple years. The paint quality is pretty solid. The chirp isn't bad at all, even with 4 hellas. I don't think they draw enough power on the chirp to really get them going. You could certainly wire the hellas to a switch as optional horns. Otherwise, at least on the 06+ models, there is a separate factory chirper that lightly beeps (beep twice and the third time chirps the horn... the feature pksublime is talking about). With my compustar, I was able to maintain this stock chirper as an auditory cue and didn't ever need to press the arm button twice to sound the horn.
Okay, good to hear they hold up. Even though they're a cheap mod I didn't feel like having some very visible but crappy looking beat up horns poking out after the first winter. Aux. switch for the hellas is probably out since it's those fast-react situations where I'll want them (can't wait for the SUV's to come 2 feet into my lane on 94 in the twisties like they do every single friggin day in the exact same spot - get a smaller vehicle if you can't stay in between the lines people and get out of the left lane if you're scared of the half-wall). Edit: just popped the hood and looked. The stock horn is off to the side right behind the driver's side headlamp where it's quite a bit more sheltered from water etc. than if it were mounted in the grill in front of the radiator - that's why I was concerned about the Hella's holding up.
Two years with mine. Daily driven and have seen many washes, rallyx events, winters, ice races, fun runs... They are very durable. But I wouldn't suggest using them on traffic unless you want the possible pile up.:laugh: I used them to scare three cows off of the road during a fun run last year, they were extremely effective! I've always thought about cutting holes in the rear bumper and adding two hellas for the tailgaters on a toggle switch or something. That would get their attention!
Nice!! :laugh: Somehow no one ever ends up following me too closely. Good to hear a 2nd positive. That settles it then. Thanks for the input. Will be ordering Hella Supertones within a week I think.
Ordered!!! :yumyum::yumyum::yumyum::yumyum::yumyum: Thought HARD about ordering a second set for the rear. Maybe later. :laugh: Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Hella-SuperTone-Horn-Kit-118/dp/B000CRZXPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1218302638&sr=1-1 They seem to be the right ones (the louder ones, not the lower-tone and less-loud "Indian" ones). I did read on another site (but can't find it anymore) that manufacturing of the German horns had moved to India.
That's an idea . . . That's tempting. Wouldn't doubt it. Manufacturing in Germany is probably even more expensive that the USA. Osram (Sylvania) makes their lower-end stuff in China now, but still makes some stuff in Germany. If you take an Osram-branded, german-made H3 bulb and hold it up next to an Osram-branded, China-made bulb, the difference is obvious and immediate (for one, the German-made will probably use stainless steel, the Chinese bulb zinc-plated steel). OTOH, CEC makes all their stuff in China, and the quality is as high as the German made Hella and Osram bulbs, in my experience.
Nice! You'll love them if you love obnoxious!:biggrin: LOL. ^Do it Mark! Could you imagine what the look on their faces would be when they heard the piercing sound of the Hellas screaming at them!:laugh: Maybe you could get high tech and wire a sensor in with it set at a predetermined distance. Whenever they get close enough to set the sensor off...*BLaaAAHHHANNNNNNT*...hahaha.
Obnoxious is good at times. I very rarely use my horn, and most of the times I do I would like it to be obnoxious. I want to gently remind people that they are driving like complete f*****g morons. My imagined install plans for front & rear hellas (if I can come up with a good place to mount rear ones) is to install 2 push-buttons to turn the front and rear hella's on and off (stock horn always on). Normal use would be to just have the front Hella's on. Seems most of the time I would want to use the rear ones I can see the problem coming in enough time to switch the front ones off and the rear ones on. All I need is to find a dual-push button that fits in the mounts next to the fog light/cruise switches. I'm thinking I can splice into the horn switch under the dash, run it through the push-button switches, then out to the Hella relays to avoid back and forth wiring from the stock horn. I would just need to find the right wire under the dash (shouldn't be too hard). Besides, a rear-horn blast is SO much safer as a deterrent to tailgaters than, say, brake-checking (had a guy in an old Olds lock em up in front of me once and I wasn't even tailgating, jerk). EDIT: UPS tracking says they'll be here Thursday (just one set for now).
Hella Install Photos Got em on Thursday, installed on Friday. Was able to use the stock bolts for the hood latch to hold them. Wiring was wasy, but I did it in a rush and in the dark (lit by a 4D cell LED Maglite!) so I'll probably have to redo it before long. They're not as loud as I was expecting by far, but I still like them and I think they look good - even half obscured by the tiny grill opening. Went through the car wash today and the driver kept "accidentally" hitting the horn as he was cleaning the inside of the car. Everyone there was having a good laugh! Beep beep!
http://www.mnsubaru.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12179&stc=1&d=1218927200 You've over-lamped your fogs, haven't you? Doesn't help much. A set of Hella 500s will fit right in those stock fog spots . . .
over-lamped? I'm not sure what that entails, exactly. Could you explain more? If it's been done it was the previous owner. My fogs are very bright (whereas I often can't even tell if my headlights are on).
They've probably got 100W bulbs in them. They've clearly overheated the center reflector (it should be a nice silver, not a dark blue-black). They are probably also in the process of oxidizing the finish of the main free-form reflector, which will eventaully reduce the light output. A lot of guys have tried brighter bulbs in the stock 99-03 foglights (me included) to make up for their poor output pattern. A 55W bulb in a Hella 500 foglight will do a much better job of putting light in the right place for vision than a 100W bulb in the stock light. A stock light (or a Hella 500) with a 100W bulb is also a lot more prone to cracking, especially in the winter, from thermal stresses.
Definitely good to know. Thanks for the heads up. I've been eyeballing Hella fogs, looks like I just got a good kick in the rear to order em (not that I need much of a reason to buy mods for my car - or anything else for that matter).
