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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1446883671 Message started by chzeckmate on 11/07/15 at 00:07:51 |
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Title: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by chzeckmate on 11/07/15 at 00:07:51 So, I got the $10 Harbor Freight snail horns recently and decided to install them tonight after work. Are they worth it? You decide... VIDEO [ch8594] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVdxPTU21OY Harbor Freight ad page [ch8594] http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-12-volt-electric-horn-set-99911.html |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by Dave on 11/07/15 at 03:14:50 How can they make anything like that for $ 10? |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by DesertRat on 11/07/15 at 06:09:34 reviews for these are 3 star at best, taking into consideration all the fake reviews. bad flimsy brackets bad wiring HUGE current draw dead outta the box bad relays cheap chrome plating *I would spend $10 more bucks and buy a set from Amazon |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by Kris01 on 11/07/15 at 07:58:03 This has been discussed before and I'm on the fence about it. With a louder "car type horn", people tend to look for another car. That puts you at risk. They don't think there could be a motorcycle blowing that horn. However, a louder horn does sound like a safer option. It makes people more aware of you, hopefully. That should add to the safety factor. What do you guys think? |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/07/15 at 08:04:52 From experience, someone put a big rig horn on a car. I was wrong, horn got honked, I STILL nearly messed up, because I was looking for a Big Rig. That said, a horn not heard is not a horn at all. Loud, but not too much bass? |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by chzeckmate on 11/07/15 at 10:29:47 250412041315330015610 wrote:
1. Flimsy brackets? Yes, they are. I wouldn't expect the $20 Amazon variety to be any better. I made my own.. took less than two minutes to do. 2. Bad wiring? No wiring. These don't include wiring. Bad wiring is user error. 3. HUGE current draw? I doubt the Amazon variety will be any better. 4. Dead outta the box? Most likely user error. 5. bad relays? Probably user error. 6. cheap chrome plating? The $20 Amazon version is going to be expensinve chrome plating? Probably not. I think the difference between the HF and the Amazon versions of this is most likely just packaging. Probably the same internals. Probably made in the same Chineese factory. Just saying 5B6279632021100 wrote:
I just want to get their attention. The reason I wanted a louder horn is because a guy who was looking at his phone drove his SUV fully into the opposing lane of traffic on a two way road. I happened to be in the opposing lane. He didn't hear my rinky dink horn because it cut out and died when I activated it. Thankfully he looked up from his phone just in time to swerve back into his own lane before making stew out of me. I had another time when I was on the freeway and a lady was veering out of her lane into mine because she was looking down at her phone. That was on a different bike and that bike also had snail horns on it. She heard the horn and corrected her lane position. Things like that are the only times I've ever had to use my horn. The only other time I use my horn are when people aren't paying attention and a light turns green but they aren't going. I think this horn will serve well. I can't imagine a time when an emergency is occuring and the driver will ignore the immediate emergency because he's confused about the origin of a horn. A guy like that isn't likely to respond correctly to a roadrunner "meep meep" horn either. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by Art Webb on 11/07/15 at 11:02:59 Louder horns are better horns I like the Fiamm ,freeway blaster' for the local auto parts put one on my Ninja 500, and every time I hit it, my riding buddy flinched Good if he flinched, he heard it The Savage has a particularly bad horn, a kitten mews louder sorta like the apparently candle-powered stock headlight |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/07/15 at 13:47:44 coupla in easy grasp ball bearings. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by DesertRat on 11/07/15 at 14:14:43 chzeckmate, I was just quoting all the reviews. And you asked if they were worth it? I read reviews before I purchase anything. I have found that the majority of HF nuts is just that, pure $#!T! My guess is that what they're selling is the cast offs and those that failed QC the first time around. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by chzeckmate on 11/07/15 at 18:10:35 Yeah, I understand...I find it more likely that where this type of electronic device is concerned that there would be a fair amount of user error. I'd assume that before I'd assume a reputable business like Harbor Freight would pass along cast offs to unsuspecting consumers. The question became is it worth paying more to get the $20 horns of the same variety from Amazon. I'd think it's fair to say it's not. At least I have no reason to believe so given my experience. That's my line of thinking anyway. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by WD on 11/07/15 at 23:12:50 Other than one model of motorcycle lift, Harbor Freight sells garbage. Our tire machine, rated for up to LT315/75R16E (10 ply 4x4 tires), can't even pop off a P225/75R14 4 ply Ranger tire. The motorcycle tire attachment does not have the ability to actually hold a motorcycle rim. Cut off discs fly apart on anything thicker than a beer can. Need a decent snail horn or two? Older domestic pickups, $5/ea at any pull-a-part. The one near me lets you test them before purchasing. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by Steve H on 11/08/15 at 11:30:29 WD beat me to it. I was going to suggest a horn off a car or truck from a junkyard. You'll get OEM quality so you know it will last. Just test before you buy or ge a swap out guarantee so you can get another if it doesn't work. Having said that, I have used a couple HF horns before. I found the build quality to be lacking, but serviceable. I don't believe that any of the ones they sell actually meet their output dB ratings. I have tried a couple different ones rated at 130 dB or better and they were barely louder than the little meep-meep horns they replaced. Not saying they are all like that or that they still are. It's been a few years since I used one. Want a nice, loud, good looking motorcycle horn? Get an old Honda CB horn. It's a snail horn under a nice round chrome cover. Makes nice noise that can be heard. Sounds like a car horn. Still not quite as loud as a car horn though but much louder than the savage stock horn. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by KennyG on 11/08/15 at 11:36:25 I have used a Harley Cow Bell from a Sportster on the last half dozen bikes that I owned. I haven't been able find a place on my S40 to mount the Cow Bell that looks right. The Cow Bell is loud and it sounds like a motorcycle. Kenny G |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by chzeckmate on 11/08/15 at 11:46:13 The 99911 HF horn says 110 decibels on the package. I don't know what the actual output is, but it's very loud...loud enough that it startles pedestrians on the sidewalk (mwah ha ha). Maybe I got lucky with mine. For $10 it's better than stock by a lot. HF is just down the street from me and I was picking up a new wrench anyway. I'm feeling pretty good about it. I don't make it to the salvage yard very often, but I think that's an excellent idea if you're already going anyway. Otherwise you can't beat the convenience of the HF deal. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by mjs3790225 on 11/08/15 at 18:13:35 I used these on my motorcycle for a while. They are definitely louder than the stock buzzer. I can say with 100% certainty that you should NOT use the included relay. It looks like a normal automotive relay, but inside they kludged in some tiny underrated relay that cannot handle the current draw of the horns. Trust me, I took the current readings and compared the datasheets to the actual relay inside the relay. So unless you want to press your horn button and find out that your relay isn't going to fire because it burnt out the last time you used it, use a different relay. And find a relay that is actually rated for being waterproof (learned that the scary way). Anyway, here is an image I took of the included relay: http://https://scontent.ftpa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/198800_119296991553595_1052836467_n.jpg?oh=0daa9d13f3eca99e474e2a99e5e07588&oe=56BBF498 That being said I enjoyed the horns while I had them even though I sounded like a car (maybe a good thing?) After I replaced the horns with something else I took them apart as well. Inside I found the electromagnetic coil that creates the movement to generate the sound rusting in one of them. It was still operating, but I imagine it would have failed whenever it wanted to. I imagine it filled with water and didn't drain out. I imagine that is because this particular one had the sound outlet part oriented so it was at the top and made the thing act like a bucket. So yeah, not the highest quality of horn in the long run. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by mjs3790225 on 11/08/15 at 18:20:39 Also, I used to work at Harbor Freight. Having alerted the company of this product's dangerous faults concerning the relay, I can also say they don't care. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by Dave on 11/09/15 at 03:03:01 If you want good quality at 6 times the price......Bosch! (And you will have to supply the relay yourself). http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bosch-H3F-Digital-Fanfare-The-Power-Of-Digital-Dual-Horn-/151784223245?hash=item23570b720d:g:ssoAAOSwyQtV0slc&vxp=mtr |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by Art Webb on 11/10/15 at 18:04:48 5F4046415C5B6A5A6A52404C07350 wrote:
I do that, for tailgaters that just won't get the message |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by chzeckmate on 11/11/15 at 01:20:06 First opportunity to use the new horns came today. A woman in one of those "margarine" SUV's (...you know, the type that's really a car frame but built out to look like an SUV) was driving out of a parking garage, preparing to cross my lane and enter the opposing lane of traffic. She of course decided not to look both ways. I honked my new horn and she immediately turned her head 180 degrees and saw me in time to stomp on the brakes. Disaster averted...$10 well spent. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by tpelle on 11/18/15 at 15:28:14 My only comment is about not using a fuse where you tapped on to the battery. The fuse is not to protect the horn, it's to protect the wire. If your wire should vibrate against the frame or gas tank - whatever - and wears through the insulation ( Does your S40 vibrate?), the wire will ground against the frame. At that point the entire cranking amps that the battery can deliver (And I guarantee it's a bunch more than the 16 gage wire can carry!) Will try to flow through that 16 gage wire, which will melt down. At best it won't be pretty, and at worst it will set your bike, and your house, if you park in a garage, on fire. Coming from an electrical engineer and retired firefighter.......get a fuse in that circuit, and as close to the battery as you can. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/18/15 at 20:22:00 Ayyupp, that'd be a correct installation. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by chzeckmate on 11/19/15 at 00:45:43 Agreed, the fuse should be included in the wiring. I didn't have one at the time so I just didn't. I used a high durability automotive wire which meets SAE J1128 standards for heat, gasoline, oil, solvent, and acid resistance. I zip tied the wire to the wiring harness and there weren't any jagged or sharp edges in the wiring route and It doesn't make contact with the frame anywhere so I felt confident just installing it without one. I considered using a nylon wire loom, which I have a whole spool of, but decided against it since I was already nearly done when I thought about it. The next time I go to EPO I'll grab a fuse and fuse holder and get it in there. FWIW, in the time since I started this thread this $10 deal from HF has saved my bacon a couple of times already, so I think I'm ahead. |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by Jer on 11/22/15 at 05:00:00 Awesome. The stock horn is a joke. I'm wondering if you just installed one of the two if it'd be loud enough. What do you think? |
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Title: Re: $10 HF Snail Horns - Worth it? Post by chzeckmate on 11/22/15 at 10:00:09 1A3522500 wrote:
When I installed them I listened to them individually before connecting them both. They are both louder than the stock horn by themselves, but together they are much louder. The discord of the pair is important. Individually they're fine, but together they are startling. One horn by itself would not inspire an involuntary muscle spasm from a pedestrian at the sound of it...mwahaha, I love getting that reaction. |
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