Do you use your horn correctly?

Lum

Strider590 wrote: »

But it's probably just as loud because the long air hose let me mount the end of each horn facing downward out of the engine bay instead of being muffled by the bonnet lining.

Ahh yes mine ended up on the bottom too. I basically screwed the new horns into the remains of the old horn mounting bracket since the old horn had become a discus-shaped blob of rust, proper bodge like everything else on that car.

It didn't occur to me that this would make the horns louder. I just thought they were meant to be like that.

almillar

I use mine more and more often these days I find.
It is only to be used to say 'I am here' but that covers lots of things for me - I am here and you didn't indicate to me, I am here and you tried to change lane into me/right in front of me, I am here and you're meant to go at that green light. Yeah, you're not meant to use it whilst stationary, but I figure if the light's green, I shouldn't BE stationary!

londonTiger

I think because most horn users use it inapproporately as a way to shout down other users, when you use it properly people tend to take it the wrong way.

Lum

londonTiger wrote: »

I think because most horn users use it inapproporately as a way to shout down other users, when you use it properly people tend to take it the wrong way.

If you give a very very short beep, people are less likely to get wound up by it.

If you sit there mashing your hand into it like Homer Simpson in a traffic jam, you're going to P people off.

In Strider's case he could probably hit it for just short enough to trigger only the stock Vectra horn.

basill

Lum wrote: »

If you give a very very short beep, people are less likely to get wound up by it.

Ive often wished I could do that but you have to press the horn so hard to get it to sound in my astra its nothing or a long rude sounding parp.

B

londonTiger

yeah it takes skill to be about to short beep, a few times I've done it but like basill said, it takes force to beep and a lot of the times because you have to push hard it's not possible to take your hands off quickly enough.

So even when you want to short beep it ends up sounding longer.

If I had time on my hands I might mod the car and put a 2 second hazard light button to thank drivers for giving way on lane change, and also a short beep button as well.

Lum

Way back in the day I disconnected the horn from the steering wheel button and wired it up to the unused front foglight switch in my Mk4 Escort because the steering wheel button annoyed the hell out of me. Made the short beep a lot easier to do but also confused the hell out of every MOT tester ever.

With the horn button now typically also being an airbag I'm surprised more cars haven't put it somewhere else, given people's tendancies to lay on the horn as soon as someone pulls in front of them!

One way to get a short beep is to start with something like a karate chop, but only with two fingers so you don't look like an idiot doing it, then refine the technique from there.

londonTiger

i suppose a karate chop or a quick bash would work but I'm worried about activating the airbag.

Strider590

londonTiger wrote: »

i suppose a karate chop or a quick bash would work but I'm worried about activating the airbag.

Can't happen

But wouldn't it be damn amusing? :rotfl:

londonTiger

reminds me of this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ8Fme2LZrE