# The Best Cars for Horns



## DanMan

My Civic is getting up in years.Sooner or later I may have to face the prospect of a new(er) car and install. One reason I tried horns in the first place was the fact that most Honda's are horn friendly.

So, in our vast, collective experience, what models and makes of cars have proven to be well suited for horns? I know Matt B. would say he can put horns in any vehicle. Which require the least modification for the most acoustical return?


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## Mic10is

BMW E36 and E46, but especially E36


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## BowDown

Mic10is said:


> BMW E36 and E46, but especially E36










???


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## rexxxlo

i bought a smart and planned to install my horns but never got around to it traded it in on a truck a few months ago....


the dash is perfect for it


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## BowDown

That does have a pretty smooth curve to the underside.


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## Horsemanwill

my car is perfect for horn s


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## veritasz34

I personally don't think too many newer cars would be good choices for horns. The older cars in the 80's and 90's seem to be better in my opinion. Newer cars tend to have large center consoles the interfere with the crossfire pattern. The better sounding cars with haorns to me have always been ones with very small or no center console..My horn install was in a 1992 lumina z34.


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## Jeepman

My suggestion would be to look at a web site like Edunds.com. Look for cars that you like and that are in your price range. Then look at the interior pictures of the cars. This will help you narrow down your list. Finally, go look at your short list of cars in person.


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## Jeepman

Just looked a Ford Fusion and it has a dash made for horns. Go look at the pictures on Edmunds.com.


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## TXwrxWagon

well.. the '87-89 Mazda 323/Mercury Tracer were born for horns... all kinds of room, great rolling lower dash... AND the bonus a roughly 2.5 cuft enclosure right under the front foot well, full left to right for 8" midbasses... lol.. Yeah I have (2) a Hatchback and a sedan.. guilty.

Newer cars... look for the ability to get the Compression driver as far/wide left/right as possible, that is the trick Eric S. taught me. GEt them wide and as close to the firewall as possible. The rest is just rolling the output into the interior with our beaming.

Rob


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## DanMan

rexxxlo said:


> i bought a smart and planned to install my horns but never got around to it traded it in on a truck a few months ago....
> 
> 
> the dash is perfect for it


From a Smart Car to a truck...interesting.

I am a live and let live type but those Smart cars are funny looking. REALLY funny looking. That dash is pretty symmetrical though.

I do wish I could get into the parking spots they can. Parking in NYC aint easy.

Pragmatically they have a lot going for them!


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## 2wheelie

I was in Rome, IT for the summer and the Smart cars park head-in to the curb while other cars park along side. They can get in some pretty small places...

My VW CC looks like a good candidate for horns. So much so, I'm switching to horns.


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## Complacent_One

hmmm....thinking this dash may just work... In combination with some 2118H's sunk into the floor/wheel wells. Whatch'yall think??










The vehicle...DIYMA needs a Bronco Build on the books!!!


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## bigbubba

Complacent_One said:


> hmmm....thinking this dash may just work... In combination with some 2118H's sunk into the floor/wheel wells. Whatch'yall think??
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> The vehicle...DIYMA needs a Bronco Build on the books!!!


I agree. I think you should do it. I have a '90 Bronco and once I get it running the way I need it, it's stereo time. 

Hey, I just saw this Bronco on FSB.com


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## banshee28

Mic10is said:


> BMW E36 and E46, but especially E36


 My accord is getting old, so will sadly be getting rid of her eventually. I am planning on my next car being a BMW, such as a 2006 330i. Thinking of going horns with this car, so does the interior look like a good candidate?


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## FG79

Just spent a week in a rented 2011 Chevy Suburban.

Awesome truck, but no good in terms of HLCDs -- passenger side has this big obstruction under the glove box....HVAC maybe.

As you can imagine, I was very disappointed as I had my eyes set on the Tahoe/Suburban for the ultimate horn monster.


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## FG79

banshee28 said:


> My accord is getting old, so will sadly be getting rid of her eventually. I am planning on my next car being a BMW, such as a 2006 330i. Thinking of going horns with this car, so does the interior look like a good candidate?


I guess the interior looks good, but the doors and kicks are tight....

That dash and underdash in a Tahoe frame would be...


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## Patrick Bateman

Besides the shape of the dash, another consideration is road noise. The easiest way to quiet down a car is to simply BUY a quiet car!

One neat thing about the reticulated foam that I use in my horns, the same stuff thats in the Gedlee Summas, is that you can listen to your speakers a LOT louder than normal. Because it cuts down on HOM distortion, you have a tendency to crank it up louder than normal.

The net effect is that it tends to drown out road noise.

This is a neat effect, because I've found that road noise is a lot more irritating with a direct radiator. One of the main reasons I stopped buying compact cars and switched over to larger cars is that they're generally quieter, but I'd really like to go back to a smaller car, something like the Hyundai Veloster or the Mazda 3


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## BuffaloBrown

Mic10is said:


> BMW E36 and E46, but especially E36


May I ask why?

I have an e36 myself. 

I also just happen to have a set of Veritas 44vd/AW1 HLCDs in the closet. 
Was thinking of selling them, but I may consider these.


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## subwoofery

BuffaloBrown said:


> May I ask why?
> 
> I have an e36 myself.
> 
> I also just happen to have a set of Veritas 44vd/AW1 HLCDs in the closet.
> Was thinking of selling them, but I may consider these.


http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/hlcd/96245-install-pics-horns.html 

Kelvin


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## TEGBOY

bigbubba said:


> I agree. I think you should do it. I have a '90 Bronco and once I get it running the way I need it, it's stereo time.
> 
> Hey, I just saw this Bronco on FSB.com


There used to be a Bronco with USD horns and 8's in the kicks and a pair of USD15's in the cargo area.

Was in an old CAE magazine.


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## bigbubba

TEGBOY said:


> There used to be a Bronco with USD horns and 8's in the kicks and a pair of USD15's in the cargo area.
> 
> Was in an old CAE magazine.


I've got that magazine. That is a sweet build by the guys at Speakerworks. That magazine is in my favorites stack. I had the same setup in my Buick Regal except I used Image Dynamic speakers.


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## mmiller

Complacent_One said:


> hmmm....thinking this dash may just work... In combination with some 2118H's sunk into the floor/wheel wells. Whatch'yall think??
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The vehicle...DIYMA needs a Bronco Build on the books!!!


That's a cool Truck...


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## dh8009

I've been thinking about trying some horns in my 2009 F-150 after I get a processor. Do you this this dash setup would yield good results?


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## Sarthos

That looks like the dash might be too sharp, and the center console too big. But I've also never installed horns, just going by what I've learned from reading


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## Mic10is

BuffaloBrown said:


> May I ask why?
> 
> I have an e36 myself.
> 
> I also just happen to have a set of Veritas 44vd/AW1 HLCDs in the closet.
> Was thinking of selling them, but I may consider these.


sorry, just saw this post

Shape of the dash has a nice roll upward. underside of dash is very deep, so allows you to push horns farther back under the dash.
Center console can give you some reflections but once treated, the car is amazing for horns.


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## Sean Morrison

If you gave up use of the glove box then I think an 84-91 BMW E30 could be a good candidate for them. Anybody seen any of them with horns?


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## Eric Stevens

Sean Morrison said:


> If you gave up use of the glove box then I think an 84-91 BMW E30 could be a good candidate for them. Anybody seen any of them with horns?


Yes and they work quite well. Actually no need to stop using the glove box you just mount at the horn with hinges and it moves down when opening the glove box.

Eric


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## B. Campbell

94-96 Impala SS


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## Horsemanwill

B. Campbell said:


> 94-96 Impala SS


funny u say that i'm eyein one of those lol


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