Car horn rules...

My car passed the Single Vehicle Approval with triple air-horns, so would pass MOT.

I have one that resembles a horn fitted to a train, complete with air compressor and air tank. This is for people with badges in their cars, daft women and OAPs. Very effective as it scares the hell out of them.

I want one!

I still prefer this...

The message from "PC Paul" contains these words:

Plenty of klaxons on eBay.

Hmm. Turbocharged engines have a source of 10-15PSI air at really quite large flowrates...

Put a really large switched tuned whistle on the wastegate.

Try a Stebel. They have one for "small sea vessels" as well as cars..

or perhaps...

Quote: "This is still the Worlds Loudest 12 Volt Air Horn"

139db

Good call, in my own searchings I had settled on the Stebel Nautilus Ultra Compact - the 139dB version you have there. Only seems to be about £25 too.

Having read various reviews of it's effects - "I tried it in the shop, my ears rang for a day", "it can be heard for three city blocks" (excuse the Yankisms) - I'm thinking of fitting one in addition to the 'normal' horn rather than instead of. That way I will only unleash the full effects when someone *really* needs to be made aware of my presence ;-)

I wonder how that fits in with the MOT and C+U regs. From what I've seen it is ECE Approved(?) which means it is legal as the only horn, but are you OK to fit another totally separate system anyway?

I got one for the 'boy racers' who think that they know it all, complete with pounding and blaring techno music that shakes the rust of their cheapo cars as they pass by by at great speed in built-up areas - a shotgun! Just point it at 'em and listen to the noise their posterior makes, and the smell is appalling - just like their driving.

Never mind, I just wish I could get away with one day :-)

Brian G

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "CWatters" saying something like:

At some short distance from it; third of a metre, iirc. Any other horn is measured at a metre distance.

115dB at 2m. That's still pretty damn loud.

TBH I wans't after a calibrated sound level...

PC Paul ( snipped-for-privacy@munge.org.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

France used to legislate "Town" and "Country" horns in the 60s, which meant that Citroens from that period (right up to early 80s CXs) had a pathetic electric squeeker - then, when you pressed the horn button all the way in, the twin airhorns kicked in.

Airhorns do tend to scare the MOT tester, I find. Godaloneknows what they'd make of that thing. 139db is rather loud. I think you might find yourself being sworn at, and your car looked at VERY VERY CLOSELY. Or - otoh - you might find they don't want to see it again...

The message from Adrian contains these words:

Polite, perhaps, to mention it at the start.

Guy King ( snipped-for-privacy@zetnet.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Quite.

"Ummm, when you come to test the horn, you might want to make sure nobody's got their head under the bonnet at that *particular* moment..."

under the bonnet?

The sort of horn I was after, it would be 'in the workshop..'

The message from Adrian contains these words:

Austin 1300 Van den Plas, anyone?

Thus spake Adrian ( snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

They can scare other road users too! I once had a moped to which I fitted twin gas-horns powered by a bottle. I'm going back to 1980 here. Christ were they powerful. They could almost clear the whole street. I gave one bloke a blast once who cut me up, and the mad bugger tried to chase me and run me off the road, but I gave him the slip. Happy days.