Recently updated on November 23, 2023 at 11:17 am
Every time a fire engine or police car with a siren and horn approaches or drives past, it makes an impression. The special tone, a mixture of volume and pitch, makes you sit up and take notice. The best-known manufacturers are the American manufacturer “Hadley”, the Italian FIAMM and the Swiss provider Kockum Sonics. As a car tuner who doesn't drive on public roads, it's almost a must to get such a device for your vehicle. Fun at tuning meetings is guaranteed. So in the following we will take a closer look at the topic of air horns, aka train horns, aka horn blasters, compressor horns, etc.
Advantages of compressor horns?
The benefits of air horns are obvious to tuners. Due to their appearance, air horns on vehicles are a visual eye-catcher. The almost always trumpet-shaped horns are immediately noticeable. Even more attention can be achieved if you install chrome-plated or even gold-plated air horns on or on your vehicle. In addition to the pure appearance, the unusual sound naturally makes an impression on people. This is where you immediately distinguish yourself from all other cars or motorcycles that are equipped with a standard horn.
Tip: An Strong tone horn should be enough!
The sound is specific and can even be controlled individually. Multi-tone air horns are also possible, so that even melodies can be created. Another advantage is the regulation of the volume. By changing the air pressure and volume of air pushed through the air horn, the volume can also be increased or decreased. Modern air horns have an electronic control so that they can be programmed and you can change the volume and melody accordingly. So not everyone necessarily has to cringe^^.
What are the disadvantages of air horns?
A disadvantage of air horns is that they require a lot of space. The assembly of air horns requires appropriate space and space. Therefore, it is not always possible to mount and use every air horn on your vehicle. Significant structural changes may be necessary if a compressor with a capacity of approx. 3 liters has to be installed in order to generate the required 8-10 bar air pressure. And due to the large space requirement, the air horns themselves cannot always be mounted under the hood. This means that assembly often has to be carried out on the body.
This leads to the aerodynamics of the vehicle being changed. Depending on how it is attached, an air horn can make persistent and unpleasant noises caused by the wind. Maybe okay for a truck, but nonsense for a car. The use of air horns in public traffic is particularly important. Depending on the installation and design, air horns must be approved and registered by the TÜV. If certain limit values are ignored, use on public roads is not possible. So forget about the systems from the many American “Train Horn (Horn Prank)” videos that scare people a lot.
What to look for when using air horns?
When using air horns (Compressor horns, bugles, fog horns etc.) it is important to ensure that these are first firmly installed on or on the vehicle in accordance with the operating instructions so that they do not fall off. Furthermore, it must be ensured that, in accordance with Section 55 of the StVO, only one signal generator may be operated at the same time, so multi-tone air horns are no longer required. The maximum volume limit of 105 decibels must not be exceeded. In principle, use is only permitted to warn other road users. Other road users must not be frightened or bothered. However, use in the private sector or exclusively for tuning purposes is also possible on a larger scale.
There are also DB limits at tuning meetings
Below are a few examples from our tuning lexicon:
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