Horn Location

[Spartan Steve]

Does anybody know the location of the horn. I want to replace it because I never liked the sound of the Mazda 3 horn.

[jville]

Behind front bumper attatched to the support. Just pull back the mudflap i believe.

[Rotus8]

Behind front bumper attatched to the support. Just pull back the mudflap i believe.
^ On the left side.

[fasteract]

Much like my old EVO VIII, the stock horn on the MS3 is so anemic..bought a Stebel Nautilus off eBay and replaced the single beep-beep unit in about 1 hour.

Jack up and remove driver's tire, remove seperate small splash panel towards inner front wheel well, (2) 10mm bolts, 1 plastic button.

Remove under splash panel's (driver) lateral edge bolts and front plastic pin and 2 front bolts nearest driver's side so panel can drop a bit.

Remove the (3) 8mm bolts and wheel arch buttons so the front inner wheel well liner can be pulled down to access the horn mount area.

The original horn has a single hot lead and uses it's mount as the ground.The Stebel has a + and - connector...make up a 6" long connector wire to reach the OEM 12V female connector and a 6" ground lead to attach to the OEM bracket where the 12mm nut connects to the horn stud...the Stebel can be mounted there without modification, nice and snug. Loud as crap too...I wouldn't light this unit up next to a Patrol car!!

[jville]

I like the MS6 horn, i was actually quite surprised how lound and un-dinky it is.

[Spartan Steve]

Thanks for all of your advise and help.

[enganear]

Thanks for the Stebel How-to! Much better information than the Factory Service Manual. I have a Stebel that I ordered from California Sport Touring for $40.36 shipped to my door that I plan to install this week.
-enganear

Imagine how loud the Stebel must be on a motorcycle where it is exposed!

[SuperStretch18]

I have to think about doing this on my wife's car. She's got a regular 3s and the horn doesn't really say "get the #@%&* out of my way!" very well. ;)

[Katonk]

Although bumper removal isn't that much of a hassle, I still didn't feel like messing with it, so I followed what others have done and mounted Hella Supertones behind the grille (or in front of the radiator if you want to look at it that way), spliced the power wires together and ran it down to the factory connector. I will admit I might've looked pretty weird laying on my belly with my arms shoved under the car trying to feel around and get the connectors joined. Lol!

It works fine without the included Hella relay, though there still seems to be discussion about the horns being louder if you use the relay than without it. Since the horns are directional and are now forward-facing and pretty much unobstructed, they're plenty loud enough. Sure as heck kept an Escalade from changing lanes right on top of me a couple nights ago in the pouring rain.

[clos561]

is it possible to have 2 horns setup? i think it would be cool to keep the stocker and install a super loud airhorn with a button or something on the side i can hit to scare people walking or be a dick to someone driving(second)

[fasteract]

You can use a 2 horn setup but you have the added hassle of running a wire thru the firewall, mounting an in cockpit switch, and accessing the horn pad hot wire..basically you have a 2 pole switch interposed in the OEM horn pad 12V wire with the switch letting the juice go to the original horn or your aftermarket when you hit the horn pad.

[IrishMidak]

For those looking at the Stebel, I have just had the second relay die on me so you want to put that somehwhere that it cant get wet becaues they are not water proof or even close. Both died soon after a wash.

[enganear]

I was not planning to use the Stebel relay for the 18Amp horn. The circuit is fused for 15 amps and the values are usually conservative. I have read that many have wired in directly to the stock circuit using the stock Mazda relay without any problem.

If the fuse blows, I'll either add a series resistor (the horn has dB to burn) or bump up to 20Amp fuse (after verifying the wire gauge capacity).
-enganear

[enganear]

I installed the Stebel Nautilus last night, took about two hours at my pace. I had to drill out the stock bracket hole and bend it, but the bracket is really soft and it was easy. I love the sound now, no more anemic goose!

[fasteract]

The sound is worth it, isn't it ! I used a smaller 10mm bolt and nut on the horn to avoid the bracket hole enlargement problem. I guarantee if you hit the horn button at a pedestrian crosswalk, some people will be ready to string you up for making them jump from fright.

[ihadacivicsi]

I like the MS6 horn, i was actually quite surprised how lound and un-dinky it is.

Hi! I'm new to this forum. My 06 Civic Si was totalled when someone hit me while I was going through a green light so I just took delivery of a red Mazdaspeed3 GT. Awesome car! The bang for the buck is incredible.

I thought the 06 Civic Si horn was anemic until I heard the MS3! It sounds like a toy. For the Si, people discovered that the Fit horn was a plug and play replacement for the Si horn and the Fit horn was more substantial sounding so they were doing a straight replacement. Is the same thing possible for the MS3 horn? For example, is the MS6 horn or other Mazda horn a direct replacement for the MS3 horn?


It sounds like there are some DIY threads on adding the Hellas. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

[ihadacivicsi]

The CX-9 has a low tone and a high tone. It looks like the low tone might fit.

[enganear]

Search the forum for other horn threads. The Stebel Nautilus compact dual air horn is a very popular replacement at 139dB.
-enganear

[2ManyCars]

Search the forum for other horn threads. The Stebel Nautilus compact dual air horn is a very popular replacement at 139dB.
-enganear

Seems like a lot of controversy out there about wiring though. What's your take?

[enganear]

Seems like a lot of controversy out there about wiring though. What's your take?

I did not use the relay, if that is what you mean. I just added six inches to the stock harness, made a jumper for the ground, and twisted and re-bent the bracket. I can stand on the horn and the specified 18Amp draw will not blow the 15Amp fuse.

See pic for bracket mod. This points the outlet toward the grill.
-enganear

[2ManyCars]

I did not use the relay, if that is what you mean. I just added six inches to the stock harness, made a jumper for the ground, and twisted and re-bent the bracket. I can stand on the horn and the specified 18Amp draw will not blow the 15Amp fuse.

See pic for bracket mod. This points the outlet toward the grill.
-enganear


Cool! Thanks for the picture.

[uncletime]

can anyone get a sound clip of what theStebel Nautilus sounds like?

[mrlilguy157]

i want a manly horn.

what is the best suggestion? I wouldnt mind a stupid ice cream truck sound or something.

[ihadacivicsi]

Search the forum for other horn threads. The Stebel Nautilus compact dual air horn is a very popular replacement at 139dB.
-enganear

Thanks for the pic. I did do a search before I posted and after your post for "horn" in the MS3 forums but did not turn up much. Searching for Nautilus turned up the right threads.

The Stebel website lists the current draw as <=18A (9A). Not sure what the "9A" means, perhaps average current draw?

I think I might get the Wolo Bad Boy. It is 118db. I am little concerned about 139db. Overkill IMHO and if it goes off near you, it can wreck your hearing.

[ihadacivicsi]

Is the horn different between the 07 and 08 Speed3? I test drove a used 07 at the dealer and the sound of the horn was like a toy but my 08 has a good sounding sound.

[SMITTNME]

Great thread! I definitely want to do something about my horn too. I have an 08 MS3 and it sounds so dinky!!! It definitely doesn't back up the power the car has! lol

[Ferdball]

I bought a low note horn for $16 at Autozone and added it to the current horn.

Here's a clip.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/th_Sequence01.jpg (http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/?action=view&current=Sequence01.flv)

[enganear]

can anyone get a sound clip of what theStebel Nautilus sounds like?

The Stebel website has clips. Look for the compact.
-enganear

[enganear]

The Stebel website lists the current draw as <=18A (9A). Not sure what the "9A" means, perhaps average current draw?

I think I might get the Wolo Bad Boy. It is 118db. I am little concerned about 139db. Overkill IMHO and if it goes off near you, it can wreck your hearing.

9A is for the 24V version, 18A is for the 12V version.

139dB does not sound loud inside the car, that is the rating 4" from the horn. It is not painful 10 feet in front of the car.
-enganear

[ragindark]

can anyone get a sound clip of what theStebel Nautilus sounds like?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=chU5LhgdEm4

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4l3tfqjmoI4

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OMVfgNwl4xU

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BR_x-3jjxKI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Do7mczZYHE8

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8V9cafaGGOY

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EULa7m4Kr5Q

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oVKM8jSwBU0

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pQmV_9psOrs


I also found this information about the Stebel Nautilus air horn.

"Keep this in mind: sound energy doubles for every 3 points you go up in the decibel scale. It means that the Stebel Nautilus horn, which produces 139 dB of sound, puts out a LOT more sound than these popular horns:
- 800% of the sound energy of the more expensive 130dB FIAMM Freeway Blaster;
- 600% louder than the $140, 130 dB Pro Pad Mini Beast horn;
- 650% louder than the $179, 128dB Rivco dual trumpet horn."

[icspots]

"Keep this in mind: sound energy doubles for every 3 points you go up in the decibel scale. It means that the Stebel Nautilus horn, which produces 139 dB of sound, puts out a LOT more sound than these popular horns:
- 800% of the sound energy of the more expensive 130dB FIAMM Freeway Blaster;
- 600% louder than the $140, 130 dB Pro Pad Mini Beast horn;
- 650% louder than the $179, 128dB Rivco dual trumpet horn."

Well here's some confusing information for you...... was that from Stebel's site? My Freeway Blaster packaging stated 138 dB, Fiamm's site now states 130 dB, and I found them online listed at 132 dB. Perhaps they changed their testing, or they changed the manufacture of the horns after I bought them. In any case the Fiamms are far from "more expensive" than the stebel nautilus. The Stebel costs around $50 whereas each Fiamm costs $15. Also you can usually find the Fiamm's in an auto parts store and I've yet to see the stebel anywhere but online in my area, so add in shipping.

[enganear]

Well here's some confusing information for you...... was that from Stebel's site? My Freeway Blaster packaging stated 138 dB, Fiamm's site now states 130 dB, and I found them online listed at 132 dB. Perhaps they changed their testing, or they changed the manufacture of the horns after I bought them. In any case the Fiamms are far from "more expensive" than the stebel nautilus. The Stebel costs around $50 whereas each Fiamm costs $15. Also you can usually find the Fiamm's in an auto parts store and I've yet to see the stebel anywhere but online in my area, so add in shipping.

Stebels are stocked at O'Reilly's in my area.

[icspots]

Stebels are stocked at O'Reilly's in my area.

Yeah the o'reilly's here doesn't carry them. :(

[mcspeed]

Just installed a pair of Wolo 325-2T Maxi Sound Horn Chrome. Sounds like an new Denali. The dual horn with hi and low notes combined has a nice tone to it. Install was easy, just remove the left front fender well liner and the access to the existing horn is right there. There is already a second bracket in place with plenty of room to install the second horn (2007 MS3). I simply ran a jumper off the original lead to the second horn.

It's about a 400% improvement over the sorry ass horn that came on the car. I no longer sound like my dog's squeeky toy.

[EngulfinFlames]

well, my horn stopped working. disconnected the battery to get rid of the CEL my fmic gave me, and now all i hear is a click, coming from the fuse. need to get it replaced.

[IrishMidak]

well, my horn stopped working. disconnected the battery to get rid of the CEL my fmic gave me, and now all i hear is a click, coming from the fuse. need to get it replaced.

Try the horn without the relay. My relay blew twice so far. It would seem mouting it in the wheel well is not a good idea unless you seal it.