I just had a situation that I needed to blow the car's horn to get someone's attention. It was almost embarassing. Does anyone know of a horn that could replace the one in the car, a horn which sounds a bit more substantial. Thanks. - Ron
Jump on Ebay and look for a pair of Stebel Magnum horns. Nearly as loud as truck air horns. I have them on my bike and they are great for scaring people awake on the road.
I just went to a local distributor and purchased a pair of "truck horns". Electric, not air. You should also install a separate relay, incase the stock one can't handle the extra current.
The Stebel Magnum horns sound just like a huge truck and will certainly move any pedestrians out of your way when you stealthily sneak up behind them. They also make great doorbells. Just place them in your porch alcove opposite the doorbell button. It's fun to see people flattened up against the wall when you open the door.
I upgraded mine because when driving on the freeway, you never know when someone will attempt a lane change without looking, and being quick on the horn has saved me from several potential fender-benders. But you really need something louder than the stock Prius horn. I wondered what the size and configuration of the Stebel Magnums were, and how easily they'd fit in the Prius. So searched and found several postings on other forums (mostly motorcycle). This one also had a link to a video that shows what they look & sound like. They don't seem to be much larger than the Blazer horns I installed. It hard to tell from the video how much louder the Stebels are.
The truck horns I purchased were first used on a Toyota 4Runner. I used a SPDT rocker switch to select them or the stock horn. Stock horn - excuse please, honorable SUV would like to pass. Truck horns - get the ^%$**&^% out of the way!!! Sometimes you have to shout at people. For best effectiveness you want two horns that clash in tone. The 4Runner stock horn only used one, about as good as the Prius horn. The two truck horns do clash and are obnoxious! They do weigh 20 lbs though.
I recently wrote an article for Motocycle Consumer News about replacing the meager stock horns on motorcycles with something more poweful. You can see (and hear) the basics here on my site http://www.mklsportster.com/r1150rthorn.htm For the $40 or so a Stebel compact Nautilus costs, and given its tiny size, I would imagine it would be an excellent choice for the Prius as well. I plan to put one in, as soon as my '08 arrives (should be 6 weeks!). -MKL
