FIAMM Horn Upgrade

[Deanjet]

This is the best $25 I have spent on the Rav so far. Picked up the horns at Amazon.com for just under $10 each, plus shipping. I used the stock brackets and wire harness, plug and play. I had to cut the wire harness tie down to gain a little extra wire length because I wanted to horn openings to point down. That required the connections to to be at the 2 o'clock position when facing the Rav. Also, the horns are a lot larger than stock, so I had to twist the inboard horn bracket to keep the horn from riding against the grill. Just take off the upper radiator support brackets and you will have plenty of room to get the job done.

Here is a little video to show the difference in the horns. Rav4 FIAMM Horn Upgrade - YouTube

[Rav408]

NO WAY! That video makes the stock horn sound like a toy. Yes they are your basic Jap horns, but not that bad. BTW, I would think you can run down to any "pick-a-part" and get any American car horn to fit in there. Maybe even cheaper.

[JuneBug]

Originally Posted by Rav408

NO WAY! That video makes the stock horn sound like a toy. Yes they are your basic Jap horns, but not that bad. BTW, I would think you can run down to any "pick-a-part" and get any American car horn to fit in there. Maybe even cheaper.

The stock horns DO sound like a toy! The FIAMM's are American made, at least mine are. Even the 2011 Highlander has these kiddy-car horns!

[Deanjet]

Originally Posted by Rav408

NO WAY! That video makes the stock horn sound like a toy.

My horn did sound like a kiddy toy! The other day I honked at a little girl on a tricycle in the street to get her attention. She stopped dead in her tracks, pointed, and laughed . Just joking, but I could picture it happening with the stock horns.

[keeton]

Originally Posted by Deanjet

...Just take off the upper radiator support brackets and you will have plenty of room to get the job done....

From your signature, it looks like you have a 2011. How hard was it to remove the upper radiator support brackets?

Replacing my horns has been one of my "round tuit" projects for over a year. Look at this thread -> Horn replacement for 2010 RAV4?

I still would want the Toyota Camry/Premium horns as they would be a plug and play fitment. Some here have reported that the larger horns start rubbing against the A/C condenser.

[Deanjet]

Originally Posted by keeton

How hard was it to remove the upper radiator support brackets? ....
Some here have reported that the larger horns start rubbing against the A/C condenser.

The 2 upper radiator support brackets come off very easy, one bolt holds each bracket/isolator in place. You just remove the black plastic shroud over the radiator by pushing the center button of the 8 or 10 plastic rivets in (thank you for the tip "Rav408") and then lift the rivets out. Then remove the 2 bolts holding the radiator brackets on and then the radiator will move back with ease.

I have plenty of clearance between the horn and A/C condenser.

[Blogson]

I honestly don't know how my RAV4 horn sounds - I've never had to use it! If the sound is the same as the annoying "beep" which sounds whenever I use the remote locking/unlocking, it is really anemic. If I were to replace it I probably would go with Wolo Bad Boy compact air horns if the stock wiring and horn activator switch could cope with them. I installed a Wolo Bad Boy on my motorcycle (relay and heavier wiring needed) and it's pretty loud - have only used to to test it.

[Deanjet]

Originally Posted by Blogson

... If I were to replace it I probably would go with Wolo Bad Boy compact air horns if the stock wiring and horn activator switch could cope with them. I installed a Wolo Bad Boy on my motorcycle (relay and heavier wiring needed) and it's pretty loud - have only used to to test it.

I almost went with a Wolo Bad Boy, but on various forums I see that it has reliability issues after a year or so. I went with a conventional type horn due to living in a very rainy, salty and high humidity environment. It' s a constant battle were I live to keep things from corroding. Prepping steel in South Florida for paint is a real pain in the butt, ever hear of flash rusting? In most places it can occur over night (or never if you live in the Mojave Desert), where I live it happens in seconds!

[Blogson]

Originally Posted by Deanjet

I almost went with a Wolo Bad Boy, but on various forums I see that it has reliability issues after a year or so. I went with a conventional type horn due to living in a very rainy, salty and high humidity environment. It' s a constant battle were I live to keep things from corroding. Prepping steel in South Florida for paint is a real pain in the butt, ever hear of flash rusting? In most places it can occur over night (or never if you live in the Mojave Desert), where I live it happens in seconds!

Interesting report. My experience has been the opposite - I can hardly think of a more harsh environment for a horn than on a motorcycle. My Wolo Bad Boy is on the crash bar, in the open and facing forward toward the direction rain and road splash come from. We live on the Oregon coast - 80-100 inches of rain each year, lots of salt with the fog and spray we get from the sea. I've had it for four years, and it still works as when new. On the motorcycle forums I'm on, quite a few bikers have installed it or the Stebel - the same horns under different names, and so far I haven't seen more than a few complaints.

[Fastontheturns]

did you use dual freeway blasters ? or the high and low tone fiamm horns ?