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Hella Super Tone install (2014 XT)

('14-'18) 
32K views 86 replies 24 participants last post by  Wu01ok 
#1 · (Edited)
There are numerous threads on how to wire these up for various Subarus, and the general technique is the same, but there are always differences between models, and choices to be made. Here are a few pics of my install that I finished today.

The stock horn wiring is only slightly thicker than a human hair, so I added a dedicated circuit using the supplied 4-pin relay. 14 gauge wire used throughout. The relay is mounted on a handy plastic tab behind the driver's-side headlight assembly.

It's still loose in this picture so I can rotate it up to get at the pins (not all the wires are connected yet):

(Edit: Based on the feedback here, I've since installed a relay socket.)

Two wires go from the horn area back to the engine bay through a void in the lower frame: the wire from the original horn is extended to become the relay trigger, and power (the yellow wire -- I was out of red). The wires come out by the edge of the AC condenser. A bit of loom is used to protect the wire from the sharp edges in the holes.



The Hellas are mounted using a convenient empty threaded boss on the centre hood latch support. The original horn mounting location (and its bolt) become a handy ground.


Using the brackets that come with the horn at this location result in a fairly low, tightly grouped, stealth-ish result. The design of the grille, and the integrated scoops for the intercooler ducting make things tight when it comes to positioning these bigs horns.


Bugger -- I just noticed that the yellow power wire is visible near the bottom temperature probe scoop. Easy enough to fix...
 
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#3 ·
That picture was during the install. Not everything was wired up yet. All four pins were used in the usual configuration. That blurry yellow/orange wire in the relay photo is the one that goes to the positive battery terminal -- unconnected when the picture was taken.

There are two stock horns and I only removed the one behind the grill. The other one is still attached and operational. It gets drowned out pretty well by the Hellas though.
 
#8 ·
is there anywhere to compare the sound of these horns directly against the stock horns? The stock horn sounds silly but I'm not sure if these are worth the expense and installation effort to me.
 
#10 ·
There are numerous recordings on YouTube.

Tone wise, they are a "meep meep" type horn like stock, not a "honk honk" style (those are technical terms).

The difference is they are much louder than stock. Pedestrians will leap out of their socks if you hit the horns as they walk by (ah…so I've heard). Each horn outputs a different frequency (300 Hz, 500 Hz), which together creates a very discordant, angry, penetrating sound. It's really quite terrible -- especially in closed spaces like a parking garage.

If you've seen "Dumb and Dumber", think of Jim Carrey's "Most annoying sound in the world" in the form of a horn.

They are roughly a million times better than the stock horns, and they look cool which is why they are such a popular Subaru mod.

Stock horns wisper, "ahem, pardon me, excuse me…". Supertones say, "F-U GET OUT OF MY WAY".
 
#11 ·
Very nice.. this will be my on the list of things to do. I had the relay mounted beside the headlights on the LGT and they rusted enough to break through one of the tabs after 5 years of Alberta weather. Going to redo it around the same time I do my new FXT's.
 
#12 ·
Yeah, that relay even tucked in behind the headlight has a lot more metal exposed vs. all the other electrical in the engine bay. I'll probably give it a nice heat-shrink blanket in a few weeks to keep it protected. Right now, everything is assembled with lots of dielectric grease to keep the elements out for awhile.
 
#15 ·
Looks good! Love the blue.

I ran no relay, just extended the wires and tucked them nicely to mine.

However I ran a relay for my LED strips. I find everyone varies for installations. But in the end its just gotta work and not melt the car to the ground.



I mounted mine to the sides because I didn't think they'd be visible with the intake duct and the center grill in the way. But you proved me wrong!
 
#19 ·


I mounted mine to the sides because I didn't think they'd be visible with the intake duct and the center grill in the way. But you proved me wrong!
What additional parts did you use to mount the horns to the side? "I" or "L" brackets? I'm assuming there was an existing mount point so you didn't have to drill anything. Obviously I haven't removed my grill yet but I'm making preparations while my horns arrive.

I was leaning towards the Subimods bracket, but the horns look really good to the side.
 
#20 ·
They are really hard to see, just as the picture shows. The supplied small brackets mounted right to existing holes on the radiator support. I ran a 10mm bolt and nut into the empty holes then the bracket and a second nut to secure the bracket of the hella horn.

I did it 50% for looks and 50% for sound so I left it. If you want the red of the horns to pop more, mount it inboard.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Not at all, I have a quad setup (2 supertones with 2 sharptones) and it makes a dramatic difference. I would say its almost as dramatic an increase as going from the stockers to the supertones.

Using the quadzilla bracket the center sharptones touch the plastic hood scoop ducting and pushes on the grill. Gonna ream the holes out some and drop them down a bit to fix that. And yes that bracket is overpriced too.

Another thing I dont care for is how much 4 horns block the radiator. I have not noted any increase in temps but its still winter time, if coolant temps are higher in the summer I will offset the horns beneath the headlights.
 
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