[fiathead]

One of the few disappointing things about the new Spiders is the horn. The standard horn on our Spiders is just not right for an Italian badged roadster. On all of the Fiat's I've owned in the past, each of them has had a set of Fiamm air horns that are loud and heck and sound right for the cars. The neat thing about air horns is that they are driven by a compressor and with a light touch, can be played a bit. The high note horn always comes in a fraction of a second before the low note horn and when giving a friendly honk at someone, two light hits on the high note sound better than the full 'What'sa Matta You' blast with both horns.

It's about time for our Spiders to speak Italian. Has anyone retrofitted a set of air horns on their Spider yet? If so, what did you go with and did you run into any issues with installation or wiring the relay?

 

[frankmar]

Ya I was thinking of putting one that sounds like "O SOLE MIO", LOL BUT then again, those days are behind me.

 

[RBH58]

Should have air horns

 

[CA_Kid]

Agreed, should have air horns. Have ordered a set of Fiamm trumpets to add to my increasing pile of bits and parts for my soon to arrive Red Abarth sometime toward the end of December or January.

 

[MotoPete]

Has anyone retrofitted a set of air horns on their Spider yet? If so, what did you go with and did you run into any issues with installation or wiring the relay?

I'm not sure whether the Australian market has the same horn as the U.S., but it's certainly a heck of a lot better than I've had in other cars. No problems here...

 

[fiathead]

I ordered a set of the Fiamm horns for my car and will document the install experience when I install them. I do have a spare set of the early Fiat horns and compressor, and if the new horns don't sound right, I may use those horns with the new compressor. I'm thinking that it will be fine though.

 

[56S]

Any progress on the Fiamm install? I have a spare set from a Zagato restore I'd like to add to my Spider. The days of simply adding electical equipment are long gone. If the Spider has a horn relay it may be a simple swap. Tomorrow I start installing 1/4" hardware cloth behind the grill and may snoop around to see what the existing horn draws current wise vs the old Fiamm compressor.

 

[SJWhiteley]

There are two, physical, horns on the car and do put out a substantial sound. One is under the left side, accessible by removing the fender liner at the front (as if accessing the bulbs). The other, if I recall, is under the main' panel' under the engine, mounted towards the left of the car.

I haven't got a circuit diagram of this car, yet. I don't know what people have obtained so far, and whether the workshop manual contains the diagrams or if it's a separate purchase.

I must admit, I mounted a set of Fiamm horns (new) to my old Fiat, and found them to be a bit too high pitched for my liking.

 

[ameridan]

I'm not sure whether the Australian market has the same horn as the U.S., but it's certainly a heck of a lot better than I've had in other cars. No problems here...

I agree Pete. I think Fiat made a good decision in not using Mazda's choice of horns, as the MX-5 has the weak "meep meep" horns in my opinion.

But since our cars seem to be in the blind spot zones of many larger vehicles, I also concur that air horns just might make a difference in alerting some of those half awake drivers of our presence.

 

[stevet]

I had a pair of the Fiamm Freeway Buster (high and low tones, El Grande kit) on my previous Moto Guzzi motorcycle. WOW! Sounded like a 1950s Buick!

http://www.fiammcomponents.com/en/northamerica/avvisatori-acustici/prodotti.aspx

Click on any model here, there is a sound file you can listen to when at individual horn models. The triple trumpet air horn is pretty nifty sounding! Much better than their double trumpet. And they have a 46-sound horn system, too. Dukes of Hazzard!

Specifically, I had the "El Grande" pair, which is a marketing thing for the high/low tone pair of Freeway Blasters (shown separately in the table at that web link), because El Grande also come with that pretty red cap and chrome plated critter grills, and the relay is included. Those might look nice under the hood of your car. Or the AM80S pair, El Grande sans the chrome grill and relay. Whichever you get, Fiamm horns are loud, 130db range. Dual tone is what I'd recommend, better chance of attracting attention from those who are hard of hearing, or distracted by other "things" happening in their environment.

Steve.

 

[zvezdah1]

the cyclist in me would like to put on the tour de france horns either in this car or more likely my 500x.

https://www.hornwarehouse.com/tourhorns/Tour-horn-12v#c1_content

 

[Stelvio]

I agree Pete. I think Fiat made a good decision in not using Mazda's choice of horns, as the MX-5 has the weak "meep meep" horns in my opinion.

But since our cars seem to be in the blind spot zones of many larger vehicles, I also concur that air horns just might make a difference in alerting some of those half awake drivers of our presence.

Agreed. I was surprised when I tried the FIAT horn because I was a afraid the horns would be really bad like the Miata's that sound almost like something mewing under water to me.

 

[CA_Kid]

Air Horns.

Agreed, should have air horns. Have ordered a set of Fiamm trumpets to add to my increasing pile of bits and parts for my soon to arrive Red Abarth sometime toward the end of December or January.

In my post of last November, was expecting my Abarth in December or January. Unfortunately, the Studio went out of business and I was back to square one. Do expect delivery next week from a California Studio. Here's hoping they don't also go out of business before delivery.

 

[56S]

I agree Pete. I think Fiat made a good decision in not using Mazda's choice of horns, as the MX-5 has the weak "meep meep" horns in my opinion.

But since our cars seem to be in the blind spot zones of many larger vehicles, I also concur that air horns just might make a difference in alerting some of those half awake drivers of our presence.

I play the game of "Trolling for Texters". It takes skill and quick reactions. As an added safety bonus, your hand hovers over the horn button as traffic approaches on a two lane road. Watch oncoming drivers and you'll see when they are about 50' in front of you they will divert their attention from the real task at hand back to updating their FB status. As soon as you see the eyes look down, lay on the horn and immediatly look in your side mirror for brake lights.>

 

[SJWhiteley]

... Or the AM80S pair, El Grande sans the chrome grill and relay. ...

Just ordered the AM80S on Amazon - I wonder if they will run in parallel with the existing horns or blow a fuse...

 

[stevet]

I'm certain these need to replace the stock horns. Running both will pop a fuse.

I'm not sure if they pull the same/more/less current (but they are hungry), and I'm only assuming the car is already outfitted with a relay.

Let us know how they work out.

Steve.

 

[Stelvio]

I'm certain these need to replace the stock horns. Running both will pop a fuse.

I'm not sure if they pull the same/more/less current (but they are hungry), and I'm only assuming the car is already outfitted with a relay.

Let us know how they work out.

Steve.

Amazon says 9 amps for the current rating. Our horn fuse is 7.5 Amp. I can't tell you to do it, but I'd put a 10 A fuse in it and forget about it. I imagine the FIAT relay and wires have the margin to handle an extra couple of amps.

 

[fiathead]

Sorry to say, but I have not looked into fitting the horns yet myself. Time and garage space is lacking right now, but the horns are on hand and just waiting for me to get into there and do it.

 

[Brabant]

I also plan to replace the standard horn of my Spider (2017). Can anybody explain where it's located and how I can access it, so I can replace it. Your help will be very much appreciated

Rob Brabant

 

[56S]

There are two of them. I know it's mentioned here somewhere. Seems to me one is in under the hood and the is in front of the left front inner fender. I've had the plastic belly pan off and seen the second one but since on my back looking up may be confused on which side it's on.