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I never liked the factory horn sound on my MINI, which to me sounded like a generic, large Oldsmobuick. I feel like the MINI should have more of a "meep meep" type sound, so I bought a reproduction Road Runner horn and installed it today.
I got the horn on e-bay from seller bn2bwld, who sells this item regularly. It is brand new, made by Wolo Manufacturing, and is an exact replica of the original Road Runner horn. It does sound pretty much like the cartoon character. It emits a steady tone if the button is not released, so to get two short beeps, you press it twice.
Here is another thread about Road Runner horn options that helped me:
I was nervous about replacing the factory horns because I wasn't sure if the new horn was loud enough, so originally I was going to put in a toggle switch so that I could activate either horn set from my steering wheel buttons. After looking at the factory horn connections and thinking about how much wiring that would have requireed, I changed my mind and ended up installing a completely separate circuit for the new horn, with a new button next to my mirror control.
Here is a thread that talks about horn wiring ideas that was helpful to me:
Here is a picture of the new horn installed in the area underneath the passenger side cowl vent. This is one of the few (if only) areas large enough for the Road Runner horn, and it is very easy to run the wires here. Unfortunately, it is not a dry space, so I pointed the horn vents down as much as possible and sealed the positive terminal area of the horn with caulk.
Here is a picture of where I ran the wiring. I had an extra power tap from the battery running to an extra fuse box here, which the dealer installed for my driving lamps. The fuse box had 3 empty slots, so I was able to use it for my horn circuit.
Here is my new horn button:
And here is the instruction sheet that came with the horn, showing the wiring diagram that I followed for my new circuit:
Word of warning: this mod was not easy for me, and it took an entire Saturday plus a little.
- Mark
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'03 MC CVT, H-sport springs and competition rear swaybar, Rspeed exhaust and intake, ICE-Link for iPod, Roadrunner horn
cool. i thought about changing my horns. i really do not mind the one i have, but i was thinking about adding porsche or a ferrari to make it sould more european. i still might.
That's a tough call. It is not as loud as the factory horns, so if you think that's a minimum, the Road Runner horn would not qualify. On the other hand, it is the same horn that was used on the old Road Runner cars, so at one time in history it was considered loud enough...(although safety wasn't exactly the #1 concern back then).
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'03 MC CVT, H-sport springs and competition rear swaybar, Rspeed exhaust and intake, ICE-Link for iPod, Roadrunner horn
I'd like to upgrade to airhorns as well but the only one's I can find mount on the grounding position to the left of the engine (the same spot the Alta oil catch can does). The Alta holds priority. Is there anybody who mounted airhorns in a different place?
could you not just substitute the road runner horn for the factory horn and eliminate any wiring additions?
You could....but I wanted to retain the factory horns because I was concerned that the RR horn would not be loud enough in a real emergency. Also, it looks really difficult to get at the factory horns because of where they are mounted behind the bumper.
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'03 MC CVT, H-sport springs and competition rear swaybar, Rspeed exhaust and intake, ICE-Link for iPod, Roadrunner horn
I installed that exact horn, because we thought it was more fitting for the car. We did install it in the spot where the factory horn was. It is a very tight fit, and doesn't quite face straight down as the instuctions say, but it worked fine for me. I had to drill a hole in the plastic just inboard of the factory horn. We only had one, and it wasn't as loud, but it is easily heard. We definitely prefer it.
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'05 Cooper S PH/B delivered 10-14-04 (ex wife took)
R.I.P. '03 Cooper
New S coming soon I hope!!!
