What ever happened to air horns?
What ever happened to air horns?
Author
Discussion

oldagepensioner

Original Poster:

561 posts

57 months

Sunday 24th December 2023
quotequote all
Back in the 70s when car horns were truly pathetic air horns were a very popular replacement.I fitted them to my first 3 or 4 cars.Not twin tone or colonel bogey all though they were 3 notes played simultaneously.My excuse was for the volume because i did want to be heard.

Ian Geary

5,610 posts

221 months

Sunday 24th December 2023
quotequote all
My dad used to fit airhorns to our cars in the 80s.

He also fitted stuff like rear seatbelts, high level brake lights, bot lights etc long before they became industry standard. These were big standard cars - not performance or classics in any way.

I've had nautiles ones on my motorbikes for a few years now, as you can separate the compressor from the plastic bit to make fitting easier. They had the standard single electric horn which makes a small "meep" noise.

However my BMW dual horns are pretty good, so don't need upgrading.

I just think there's less people willing to mod cars like this now, plus the standards of new cars are much higher. Most mods will be software related in the future i think.

Master Of Puppets

3,856 posts

91 months

Sunday 24th December 2023
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Don't know if anything else around the time came with them from the factory but the 309 GTi did.

Riley Blue

23,205 posts

255 months

Sunday 24th December 2023
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I fitted them to my first few cars too but popping and farting exhausts seem to be the sound du jour.

A set for my '63 Riley is on the to do list though the original Lucas two-tones are louder than most of the squeakers in today's cars.

LuS1fer

43,511 posts

274 months

Sunday 24th December 2023
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Scoured scrapyards so eventually had 3 normal horns plus twin air horns.

A lass once sat on my bonnet for a chat with her friends...

She wished she had not.

eldar

25,274 posts

225 months

Sunday 24th December 2023
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Yup, legal, provided single tone only.

Downward

5,643 posts

132 months

Sunday 24th December 2023
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Trucker Tim and his mates have them all now.

Kev T360

366 posts

180 months

Sunday 24th December 2023
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I have one.

Pica-Pica

16,588 posts

113 months

Sunday 24th December 2023
quotequote all
Riley Blue said:
I fitted them to my first few cars too but popping and farting exhausts seem to be the sound du jour.

A set for my '63 Riley is on the to do list though the original Lucas two-tones are louder than most of the squeakers in today's cars.
I sometimes wish my car had a short press for a single high tone (for pedestrians) and a longer press (half a second extra?) brought the low and louder tone in as well. It sounds too loud at the moment. Then again, I rarely use the horn anyway.

croyde

26,354 posts

259 months

Sunday 12th May 2024
quotequote all
My CX2400 Pallas had two horns. One a city horn and the other for motorways. Fitted as standard.

As a courier in the '80s I always swapped the pathetic OEM horn on my motorbikes for air horns.


Timothy Bucktu

16,952 posts

229 months

Sunday 12th May 2024
quotequote all
Ian Geary said:
However my BMW dual horns are pretty good, so don't need upgrading.
Do BMWs actually need horns? Considering it's usually BMW drivers being the ones horns are directed at, probably not.

Donbot

4,194 posts

156 months

Sunday 12th May 2024
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It's to beep at the Audis

Robertb

3,852 posts

267 months

Sunday 12th May 2024
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My F355 had a lovely twin tone air horn. Very classy sounding. Not sure if/when Ferrari stopped fitting them.

s m

24,472 posts

232 months

Sunday 12th May 2024
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Master Of Puppets said:
Don't know if anything else around the time came with them from the factory but the 309 GTi did.
They were a properly loud ‘blare’

finlo

4,453 posts

232 months

Sunday 12th May 2024
quotequote all
croyde said:
My CX2400 Pallas had two horns. One a city horn and the other for motorways. Fitted as standard.

As a courier in the '80s I always swapped the pathetic OEM horn on my motorbikes for air horns.
My Fiat 130 coupe also had town and country horns and my Lancia HPE also had air horns factory fitted.

dvs_dave

9,040 posts

254 months

Sunday 12th May 2024
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Ineos Grenadier has a dual loudness horn. Main loud one pressing the steering wheel boss, a higher tone quieter horn by a button on the wheel amusingly labeled ‘TOOT’

I thing it’s a good idea. A less aggressive quieter option for the majority of situations where a full blast of a loud horn is overkill.


the-norseman

15,789 posts

200 months

Sunday 12th May 2024
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Downward said:
Trucker Tim and his mates have them all now.
Hes moved onto a Turkish whistle now.

As a joke I was going to fit some to my little Smart diesel.

blueacid

518 posts

170 months

Monday 13th May 2024
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dvs_dave said:
Ineos Grenadier has a dual loudness horn. Main loud one pressing the steering wheel boss, a higher tone quieter horn by a button on the wheel amusingly labeled ‘TOOT’

I thing it’s a good idea. A less aggressive quieter option for the majority of situations where a full blast of a loud horn is overkill.

Finally, people are seeing the light of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv8wqnk_TsA

rodericb

8,877 posts

155 months

Tuesday 14th May 2024
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Robertb said:
My F355 had a lovely twin tone air horn. Very classy sounding. Not sure if/when Ferrari stopped fitting them.
Air horns or twin tone electromagnetic horns?

Louis Balfour

28,176 posts

251 months

Tuesday 14th May 2024
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dvs_dave said:
It has a cyclist on it. Surely there should be no toot whatsoever, instead a politely worded request to allow passage at a time to suit the cyclist, whilst acknowledging their vulnerability and offering suitable praise for their sustainable and climate-preserving choice of transportation?