Crazy Red Air Horns

Very easy to install. The only remotely tricky part is when you reattach the bolt that holds the PS tubes behind the bracket that holds the horns. Like the very detailed instructions say, "be patient" because it is worth the trouble. No other part of the install is challenging. You replace a fuse, unscrew the bolt that holds the OEM horn, attach the compressor there, attach the wire, and attach the horns as mentioned above. That's it!

The horns are super loud. I will not be missed by a nitwit driving while texting in an SUV s/he cannot operate to begin with ever again. And golfers...well, they'll hear me too. ;-)

Crazy Red Air Horns

[3/28/2002] Reviewed by: Glenn Forney - glennf56@hotmail.com

First thing I installed on my Miata. The instructions took longer to read than the actual job. I had to go out and find some poor sucker to try out the new horns. I think they liked them, they gave me the one fingered salute.

[10/11/2001] Reviewed by: joel naftelberg - jnaft@home.com

Crazy Red's Air Horn package - the Fiamm dual air horns - Compressor - brackets - hoses

Installation was a lot easier than reading the instructions - although following the instructions made installation easier! Being a total novice under the hood - I wanted to exercise caution fiddling with anything and this installation is in fact a no brainer.

Several mixed reactions to this package have been posted - I am pretty happy with the new sound - though I thought it would be fuller. I did go out after installation looking for people to toot at! I took another posters recommendation to do the nylon thing over the horns as a preemptive measure to stop bugs, dirt and grime from blocking the function of the horns. All in all i think its a tidy package & set up - worth the 50 bucks for completeness - although if your industrious you can buy the horn package alone for around 25 elsewhere and put it all together your self. The service at Crazy Red's is exemplary and I am now considering the purchase of the Daytime Running / Driving Lights package.

[8/30/2001] Reviewed by: Brian O'keefe - b_okeefe@msn.com

My positive review of this product appears on this list. Today I ordered a set of electric horns. These horns just don't hold up and I am tired of removing them and soaking them in oil to get them to work again. I installed them in Miami, owned then from there to Virgina then San Francisco and they've "gotten stuck" every place (climates wet to dry). I love the sound but I never knew airhorns to be a maintenance requiring item. Those on my ship (3500 tons ain't a boat) aren't.

[8/9/2001] Reviewed by: Nitz Rubin - yanitz@hotmail.com

I have had these horns on my car for almost 2 years now. First of all let me say that these are almost REQUIRED when driving a car as small as a Miata.

The main problem with these horns, as other reviewers have mentioned is that over time, they fill with dirt or bugs and the the diaphragm inside can't vibrate so they either sound really weak (like a horn with asthma!!) or you can't hear them at all. However, I think I have a solution to this problem. What you need to do is get an old pair of nylons ladies, or gentlemen, get an old pair from your wife/girlfriend, mom, whoever. Cut them about 3-4 inches from the bottom so what you are left with is the equivalent of a sock. You then slide it over the bottom of each horn and secure it with electrical tape and or several strong rubber bands. What this create a nice high flow mesh filter over the air horns, that allows all the sound through, but blocks all the bugs and dirt. So far it has worked flawlessly for me.

[7/21/2001] Reviewed by: Marc Teitelbaum - no3minus@aol.com

Took less than 1/2 hour to install this wake the dead airhorn in my new 2001! Highly recommended for ALL Miata owners (Red also makes a kit for the M1)

[5/10/2001] Reviewed by: Bill Slobody - BSlobo@aol.com

I earlier recommended these horns, but I now believe that there are safety issues that need to be considered. I drove with these horns for about two years. They had to be taken off the car and cleaned four times. They would get progressively weaker as dirt accumulated in the trumpets. Too often I found myself with very weak horns or with no horns at all, until I got around to cleaning them out. Put a fright into me more than once. During my Miata's first (and only) snow venture, the air horns gave out and no amount of cleaning could get them working again. I've replaced them with the loudest electric horn I could find. I miss the decibel level of the air horns, but at least I'm confident that the horn will sound when I push on it. If I had to do it over again, I would search for dual high-low electric horns of the loudest type. Vendors offering this setup which include MM and Serious Auto Accessories. I apologize if my earlier recommendation misled anyone.

[4/28/2001] Reviewed by: Ian Simmonds - simmondsi@hotmail.com

Air horns were dead easy to install with very detailed instructions. Follow the tip to remove the plastic cover in front of the radiator; it makes things 10x easier. They are certainly loud enough, with the added bonus of sounding just like a "real" sports car's horn should sound. Don't be disappointed - they are actually blue and not red.

It's amazing that Mazda get away with installing a stock horn that is so puny as to be almost dangerous.

[3/4/2001] Reviewed by: Bill Proctor - lil red no2@yahoo.com

[2/16/2001] Reviewed by: Steve - miatatime@hotmail.com

The horns arrived neatly bundled with all of the necessary parts for an easy installation. Upon first glance at the instructions, one would think that it's a complicated process, but it's not.

After about 20 minutes of wrenching around, I was grinning from ear to ear. I found every good reason, and some not so good reasons to toot my new horns. I'd HIGHLY recommend this upgrade for your Miata.

[1/31/2001] Reviewed by: Bob Higgins - rhiggins@ipa.net

The horns installed easily, probably took twice as long as advertised, but that's normal. They were definitely not as loud as I expected based upon product reviews in this section. The less than expected volume gradually diminished during the first 6-8 months of use as dirt accumulated, finally going completely silent, i.e, they stopped working. After removal and flushing, per the procedure included with the horns, they were usable again. They could likely be flushed without removing them from the car with a little care. All in all, I do not recommend the product. They require routine maintenance and are probably no louder than the stock horns in my Cherokee. Although some were perhaps louder than mine initially, the possibility of significant variation in volume from item to item is just another problem to add to the list for this product.

[1/29/2001] Reviewed by: Bob Bowlby - bob.bowlby@team.telstra.com

Shipment to Australia well handled by US Postal Service. Arrived in 10 days. Technical team from local club helped me install it in 20 minutes. They indicated instructions were best ever seen on an accessory. The tinny stock horn always detracted from my love of the car ( as did the footrest - but that is another story). Any how I now have a class product that am most pleased with. Supplier, went to no end of trouble to assist with delivery and transaction. Very prompt email response to number of question by Crazy Red's Mom, Crazy Jane.

[10/9/2000] Reviewed by Anonymous

I've had to remove the horn assembly 3 times in 6 mos. to clean it. I follow CRI's recommendations(WD-40) and then its fine -for a while. Wish I hadn't bought-will replace with a big electric horn once I go to a junkyard and get it.

[6/5/2000] Reviewed by dennis m. stein - nkycat@aol.com

recieved in four days from time of order via the internet. good installation instructions and very easy to understand. instructions said it would take 20 minutes but took approximately 1 hour and 20 min only because the working area is very tight. you will need long skinny arms to install horns any quicker. installation was much easier after I recruited my wife's assistance because she has smaller hands and is much more patient than I am.

[6/1/2000] Reviewed by Daniel V. Bumgardner - dvbum@hom.net

Installation took about 30 minutes, and they sounded LOUD, There have been numerous times that they have frozen cars/SUVs in their tracks. Great Kit and instructions.

I was so impressed with the Loudness, I installed a set of Air Horns in my Jeep CJ-5

[2/7/2000] Reviewed by Stephen Edmondson (Mr. Shoefly) - stephen@shoeflydesigns.com

At first they sounded great, easy install and so forth. However, after having them for about a year the fun diminished. I beleive I have had to re-locate them about 6 times, clean them out about twice that because they get clogged with dirt so easily, and so forth. Overall, I would much rather have a a set of the dual stock horns. They also have a bit of a tin to they sound. Would much rather the horn be a bit deeper and less winy.

[1/26/2000] Reviewed by Matthew Kane - mkane@cmadesign.com

The best instructions on the planet. Installation was very smooth due to the thorough instuctions.

The air horns work great. Texas is the home of the Suburban and every other huge SUV and pickup out there. Most of those drivers consider the Miata a speed bump. Honking the stock horn at one of these behemoths enroaching on your lane is merely an exercise in frustration. Since installing the air horns, I have yet to have anyone continue to move over after getting blasted by these babies. The air horns with the Crazy Red Italian driving lights installed take a lot of stress out of city driving. Now you can be seen (if they bother to look) and heard (when they don't).

[1/23/2000] Reviewed by LeGerald V. Normand - legerald@excite.com

The product arrived promptly with accompanying, laboriously detailed instructions...(uh, Crazy, could you guys PUHLEEZ hit the "lighten" button on your copier a couple of times before printing?), horns, air compression unit, well packaged nuts/bolts/fuses, etc. I am glad that I read the directions first, because I felt like the smartest man in the world when installing the horns. The instruction perusal took longer than the install, though I am thankful for the over-simplification. Be warned, for those of you large of hand, it was really, REALLY difficult reaching through "holes" and underneath the car at the same time when trying to install the horn unit using the same hole that doubled as an anchor for the power steering lines. I've never been so ANGRY! (Even the instructions say, "Be Patient!")

Once installed, I was afraid to honk in the neighborhood so I got on the freeway for a toot or two. HELLO! The operative word is LOUD!! I love it! I almost find myself looking for SUVs just to let them have a little red WRATH from my new horns! Also love that you can still send a modest, perfectly-pitched "toot" to cell phone users ahead of you unaware that the light has been green for months.

Install time was a bit long...it was raining, I'm bitter. However, I'll never be ignored again with out a fight! Thanks, Crazy!!

[12/27/99] Reviewed by Gordon Taylor - gordontaylor@sprintmail.com

Cons I don't find these horns to be significantly louder than the stock horn on my '99. Also, after four months the horns quit working due to kinking in the plastic tube connecting the compressor and horns at the compressor nipple, even though there was plenty of slack in the tube.

Outcome I put the original horn back in. Fortunately, that is easy with this kit.

I was generally disappointed with the horns and wouldn't recommend them. Nothing in my experience would keep me from buying another item from Crazy Red ,however.

Reviewed by: John Tucci - Cougar3GA@aol.com

As Advertised, worth the extra couple of bucks just to get the brackets. I would of never knew where to mount em!

I got the horns. Read (as others have stated) the long drawn out instructions. Sized up my 99 and jumped in. About 30 minutes later WA-LA...HORNS...LOUD horns. Very pleased with entire purchase and installation. I will say that I had to frabricate a short wire lead to reach the compressor though. I think this might be because the dealer had an alarm/ignitiion cut off installed prior to deliver and purchase by me, which I didn't get. I noticed black electrical tape on the wire at the attach point. Due to the tight surroundings i just got a short piece of wire and a male and female spade connector and made a short jumper. Really this is a good idea to include in the kit. Hey Crazy are ya listening? Great Product Great supplier. Buy Em you Need EM !

Reviewed by: Bill Slobody - BSlobo@AOL.com

Outstanding horns. Don't sound in garage but great in tunnels. Will STOP miscreants making dangerous moves. High pitched, not like a tractor trailer but more like a Ferrari. Can be used with gentler tone as a warning with quick push. Most importantly, there's virtually no lag time. Push for the horn and the response is immediate.

Crazy Red's directions and adaptations for 99 Miata installation are outstanding. BUT, it's much easier to remove the old horn as one unit by pulling it up past the metal cowl that surrounds the hood latch. Just remove the four 10mm bolts from the cowl & it moves enough to pull out the old horn as one unit. This is much easier than trying to blindly reach through the mouth of the nosepiece/bumper where it's almost too tight to get a ratchet wrench and too hard to get an open end wrench. And why bother to dismantle the horn from its two brackets when the entire horn assembly can be pulled out past the cowl?
Under 30 minutes to remove completely

Reviewed by: John Durand - jadurand@execpc.com

Great horns! They mounted nice and easy, and are good and loud. They have definitely saved me from a trip to the body shop a couple times. There is one drawback I hadn't expected - in very cold weather they don't always work at first. I think this may be due to the compressor getting all gummed up and frozen. A few test blasts seem to warm them up and get them going.

Reviewed by: Jon DeLise - delisejp@aol.com

I felt the stock horn that came with my 96-M was not very loud. I sent for the Crazy Red Italian Air Horns and received them within a few days. The instructions were clear and fairly easy to follow. All parts were included. Installation took about half an hour. The performance is excellent. They do what a horn is supposed to do; provide a loud, clear warning in potentially dangerous situations. Company service was good, directions clear, quality of product is excellent as its performance. I recommend them without reservation.

Reviewed by: Lewis Koplik - koplik@lobo.net

I now need a third set or second replacement. Not happy with the relatively short lifetime of two years or less. The company is most agreeable in replacing (the 1st time) for about $30

I have a 1990 Red Miata with the A package which I drive regularly and I like to use my horns, as needed. I have used and been happy with Crazy Red's Air Horns, WHEN THEY WORK. I am not happy with them when they don't and I don't like to have to replace them every few years. I have never replaced my electric horns on any car I have owned and I feel the air horns should be able to come close to that reliability. I would be very interested in having input into the reliability of air horn sets others have installed.

If my experience is average or expected then I may choose to NOT reinstall a third set. If my expereince is atypical, maybe someone has a suggestion to improve the horn's use lifetime and my happiness.

Reviewed by: Brian Walters - brian.walters@amd.com

I installed these things in about 30 minutes during my lunch break. The directions are way too complicated and could really be condensed into about 5 lines of text and one picture. In any, case, they are really easy to put in.

They are definately loud. People will hear you if you blast these things! A light touch of the horn can also produce a nice, more friendly beep which you can use in less critical situations. I think that the sound, in general, is a little too high pitched, although it is starting to grow in me. At $50, these are kind of expensive but they are hassle free. If you have spare time, I would recommend listening to a lot of horns and then pulling the one you like from a car in a junkyard. It will be more effort, but much cheaper and you are guaranteed to like the sound.

Reviewed by: John Filtranti - jfiltranti@smsla.com

Compressor-driven do-it-yourself installation kit. Made in Italy by Famm, Lego blue in color.

25 minutes of downtime for a lifetime of safety. Having little to no experience tweeking anything mechanical, I found the directions to be what everyone said they would be - "almost too detailed." Like others, my horn arrived before that Crazy Red Italian even received my check, and my lunch hour in the office garage was more than enough time. Being small in stature, installation was more than easy and access was no problem Very simple to do. I wish it was red, however.

Living in Los Angeles (the road-rage capital), driving a small car has become almost a health hazard. No one seemed to see or hear me. Now they do. As for the sound, it's good and loud all right! More than enough to annoy any jerk in a Volvo, Mercedes or stupid ATV who sneers or laughs as they cut me off. Revenge can be fun, especially if they're on the phone; they can't hear anything over me now.

I've since cut the horn bracket down, lowering the horn so you can see it from the front, and had it covered in crome. It works great, and now my little Miata has a silver fang in its hungry mouth. It looks cool, really!

Reviewed by: Christopher H. Robertson - crobert561@aol.com

Ordered the product on-line Thursday night, and the horns arrived via priority mail the following Monday. Instructions are easy to follow, if you read them 2 or 3 times and find all the parts, equipment locations, etc. on the Miata prior to starting. Installation was very simple, despite the poor quality of pictures. Luckily the instructions are clear enough not to need the pictures. Installation requires a 10mm socket wrench (you don't need the 3" extension stated in the instructions) and took approximately 30 minutes (I was doing this at night, with only a street lamp to work by!). Hardest part was removing the 15 amp fuse in the cockpit without a fuse puller. Distinctive sound for the Miata. Great product! Definitely recommend for all Miata owners.

Reviewed by: Mike Selvy - mselvy@surf-ici.com

The horn kit is as advertised. The instructions were too detailed possibly, but after reading all the instructions before starting the installation, it made for a very easy project.

The horn is much louder than the stock horn. I feel that this horn is an item that improves the safety factors for the passengers of the Miata. In addition, it does have a unique sound, which makes it enjoyable to use. You will find yourself driving around honking at things you would never dream of honking at before! And, now, if you honk, they will look!

Reviewed by: Carl Wolf - c.wolf@home.com

I bought these based on the review of several other people. My order got "lost", and was delayed by two weeks. Despite that, Crazy Red had the audacity to charge me $4.00 for "express shipping". The airhorns were unceremoniously dropped into a plastic bag, along with a few parts, and installation instructions that were nearly illegible (they were a copy, of a copy, of a copy...). The product was easy to install. Still, I don't understand why this product costs twice as much as the competition.

There are other products of this type on the market, and I would recommend considering them before buying these.

Reviewed by: M. Rosbrugh - viper501@mindspring.com

I placed an email order on Thanksgiving day after some recent close encounters of the very scary kind. I received a prompt response by email from CrazyRed on Friday indicating that the horns had been shipped by priority mail and they arrived on Thursday. Very impressive.

I immediately opened up the box and read through the very detailed instructions. I finally got a chance to install them today. I opened up the box and began following the instructions. I took the optional move of removing the plastic shield over radiator which took a few minutes but dramatically increased my access. I also had to remove my aftermarket grill screen. That is where things got a litte complicated. The projector fog lights I had installed also had to be "adjusted" so that I could get the screen out. Once prepped it was a fairly straightforward installation. I took this opportunity to apply some chrome polish to the stainless steel screen before reinstalling it. After getting everything reassembled I just had to test the horns. GOD THEY ARE LOUD. I love it. They are most assuredly a major improvement. I had to go for a drive to play with them so my neighbors wouldn't come for my skin. They really sound great and are very distinctive. A definite must buy.

I was a little reluctant to buy the Crazy Red unit because I knew that I could get a similar horn from AutoZone for about half the price but I believe that the investment I made in Crazy Red's design and research was worth the extra money. I didn't have to spend several hours poking around inside the mouth of my Miata trying to figure out where to mount everything. Very clean and discreet. Again a definite must buy.

Reviewed by: BJ O'Keefe - B_Okeefe@msn.com

I ordered these for the same reason I once put air horns on my motorcycle: sometimes it helps to be heard. They were delivered in about a week and a half after ordering over the phone via MC. They installed in 40 minutes with instructions that are almost too detailed....like most males I tried to ignore them anyway. They work 100% as advertised; sound great - nice & loud and a snap to install resulting in an installation that looks factory. Like others I was suprised to find they're blue but they don't show anyway. If I had a blue "M" I'd think they sent blue special for my car!!! My only concern now is whether I'll get shot tooting them in angst here in South Florida!

Reviewed by: Scott Brown - sebrown@amoco.com

My air horn kit arrived approximately one week from the day I submitted my order over the Web. The installation is straight forward, and utilizes the existing wiring and stock horn bracket. The step by step instructions are virtually fool-proof. The only difficult part was installing the horn/bracket combination on the back side of the horizontal frame member in front of the radiator and inside of the mouth of the car. Since I have power steering, the P/S tubing and bracket had to be manipulated to get them to align with the holes of the horn bracket. The existing bolt is used to affix the bracket.

This horn is highly recommended. It is very loud and is a vast (safety) improvement over stock. The horns are somewhat high pitched, but clearly audible. Now, I find myself tooting the horn for just for the fun of it. This is one of the least expensive ($49 incl. shipping) safety improvements you can make for the Miata.

Reviewed by: Eli Troychansky - taa@saturn.superlink.net

A compressor-driven preassembled airhorn kit with twin trumpets. Made in Italy by Fiamm. For some reason I was expecting the color of trumpets to be red. No dice, they were blue, but since they are only visible if you kneel in front of the car that was no problem.

As was the case with a previous reviewer, Dave DeNuzzo mailed the kit before receiving my check. Nice touch. In addition, after I found out that I accidentally indicated that my Miata had PS (doh!) on the web order form, he promptly mailed me the bolt necessary to install the kit on Miatas with MS.

The installation really couldn't be easier. The kit includes instructions that are almost too detailed, and the only required tool is a 10mm socket (didn't need the extension mentioned in the instructions). Took about half an hour to put in, including the 10 minutes spent fishing for a bolt that I accidentally dropped into the engine compartment.

Uhh, let's just say they work as advertised. You will be able to put the fear of God in any nitwit who dares to merge into your lane within half a mile in either direction. :) Can't do that with the stock meeper. I'd guess these horns make about 125dB, a great safety enhancement for a small car such as ours.

Reviewed by: Jaime Villacorte - jaimev@netcom.com

Sigh...I finally succumbed to the "big horn" influence of this list (loud horn = good horn), even though I'm quite a mellow, introverted driver. But like VooDoo knobs, there must be a good reason why miata list folks buy these air horns. And there is - it's because they're *friggin* loud, and make a good safety enhancement to the car.

I considered purchasing Hella air horns, but being a couch potato at heart, I didn't want to deal with fabricating mounting brackets and scrounging up wiring and electrical connectors for it. I basically wanted something plug-n-play, so I ended up buying the Crazy Red Italian Air Horn from David DeNuzzo (CrazyRed1@aol.com), who is affiliated with the SOMOA club up in Sacramento. These horns have been mentioned here on this list previously, and I also saw it advertised in the latest MCA "magazine". Total cost: $40.

I ordered them via e-mail and arrived within 2 days via Priority Express mail. One note: David actually put the air horns into the mail once he received my e-mail message, and before he had received my check. *Very* nice of him to do that. Thanks a bunch, David!

The horns are "Riviera" model dual air horns from SignalTone Inc. The horns are made of red plastic. The horns have a custom fitted metal bracket with pre-drilled holes for easy installation. The kit came with considerable written instructions, along with helpful illustrations. Total installation time was less 20 minutes.

The kit does not utilize a relay to power the horns. Instead, you use the existing circuit which powers the OEM horn, but you also take out the existing 15 amp fuse of the horn circuit and replace it with an included 20 amp fuse. The kit even includes a little sticker you're supposed to attach somewhere near the fuse box which basically says "Yeah, it's not a mistake - there's a 20 amp fuse in there because I have a Crazy Red air horn". I don't know whether, in the long run, it's a wise thing to power the horn this way, but the kit included a 30 amp electical relay (probably left over from the original SignalTone air horn package). If the 20 amp fuse ever blows out, I'm going to immediately rewire the system using the relay.

The compressor was mounted to the same location where the existing OEM horn is located. You end up removing bracket from the OEM horn and use the bracket to mount the compressor in the same mounting hole.

The plastic horns were mounted on an existing bolt about 6 inches to the right of center (as you're facing the car) and 6 inches below the hood line. There's some metal power steering tubes that are supported with a bracket to a cross member, and you utilize the existing mounting bolt of this supporting bracket to hold the air horns. If you don't have power steering in your car, then this support bracket will probably not be there, but the kit thoughtfully includes a 10mm replacement substitute bolt that you can use instead.

The only tool that was needed for installation was a 10mm socket wrench plus a 3" extension.

I have a 94B and I ended up taking out the plastic sheet that covers the area between the radiator and the front cowling. It just involves removing 4 nylon philips screws and takes less than 2 minutes to do. The instructions implied you can perform the entire installation with the plastic sheet in place, but I think it's *much* easier with the shield removed.

The horns are *very* loud. Head-turning, makes-people-jump, frighten-little-children loud.

So if you're in the southern California area and a Laguna Blue miata comes up behind you and starts honking loudly, he's just ... uhh ... testing his Crazy Red Italian air horns...yeah that's the ticket :-)

Reviewed by: Rob Mims - levendisone@juno.com

VERY easy installation, i didn't need the instructions at all after i read them once. The hornz went in easily, there was plenty of room. And there was no cutting, drilling or anything like that, i bet it will be just as easy to switch these hornz into my new miata after this one gets old.

I recommend that anyone with a small car get some of these. There is no way that big truck can miss that distinctive "TooT-TooT" when he's trying to change lanes into yours. A definite attention-getter at the local drive in burger joint, these air hornz give you a sense of "italian" the miata needed. Now all i need is a gated shifter.

Reviewed by: Todd Breakey - bjbreakey@aol.com

They were even easier to install than I had heard. The most time consuming part of the installation was trying to get the tiny fuse out. I suggest (very carefully) using a pair of needle nose pliers for those of us with normal size fingers. One note: on the '96 Miata the power steering line that is mentioned in the instructions does not exist. Make sure you tell the folks at The Crazy Red Italian that you have a '96 and they will include a bolt to mount the horns in the proper place. The thing that I like the best about these horns is that they are loud as HELL!

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22 November, 2008

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