Stebel NAUTILUS COMPACT BLACK 12V Air Horn

Product Information

UPDATE: See the Denali Soundbomb Horn Review. A nearly identical replacement for the Nautilus that works. I have two, one that has been on a ’96 Honda VFR750 for a little more than two years and one that I just recently installed on a ’07 Buell XB12S. I'm pretty sure that this is the way I wired my Stebel. To be on the safe side, test the circuits with a voltmeter. Owning a digital multimeter is really handy for installing components such as a horn. This device will help you find continuity within wires if you cannot seem to power up the horn.

The two wires that are connected to your horn are normally attached with metal connectors that simply slide onto the horn. If it’s hard to remove these, you might need to press down on them to break any corrosion that might be holding them in place. Once you have them off, clean and replace them and then try to sound your horn again. Although OEM car horns can be bought from the dealerships, they often come with an expensive price tag. OEM horn replacements are fine if you don’t want to increase the noise, but if you are reading this article, you are probably interested in the loudest on the market. If this is the case, you have the option of choosing a loud car horn with or without a compressor. The benefit of choosing a horn with a compressor is that it’ll be much louder. The photos showing the Stebel horn installed are too dark. I've included several angles, so hopefully you can tell what I've done. But the loudest motorcycle horn in the world is useless if it can’t be trusted, and based on our experience with the Stebel Nautilus horns, we’d rather take a few less dB but have something that’s going to work when needed.

Aftermarket Car Horn Comparison

We always follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer with regards to usage and installation. I have heard of this grounding problem with Stebel horns but it was not the case with our installation. But the loudest motorcycle horn in the world is useless if it can’t be trusted, and based on our experience with the Stebel Nautilus Compact horns, we’d rather take a few less dB but have something that’s going to work when needed. It’s a compressor based car horn that has a compact design to fit in all locations under the bonnet. The compressor itself is self-contained and the horn is a direct replacement.

The Tornado Car Horn by Marco is the loudest car horn you can buy at 151dB. This not only beats the competitors, it dominates them by a country mile. There is no additional power supply required and this car horn can fitted to all cars with a 12 volt electrical supply. The Stebel Nautilus is one of my personal favorite car horns and I have installed several over the years. It has a unique sound from the twin tone harmonized horn that outputs at 139 dB. Please Note - As with many of our electrical components, we recommend seeking fitting from a qualified auto-electrician to ensure a safe and correct fitting of your new Stebel Horn. We are un-able to offer free fitting with the sale of this product.

Owner Comments and Feedback

Apparently, the Nautilus can fail early, suddenly or unexpectedly after an indeterminate amount of time. As well as testing and using a number of cars horns within our own cars, we also based our recommendations upon hours of research and multiple factors. The factors that we considered included their decibel rating, ease of installation, type, build quality, supplied accessories, tone options, warranty and value for money. Car Horn Buying Guide From “A.C.” (December 2015): “I read your article on the Stebel nautilus review. I have this horn installed and yes it is bulky and difficult to deal with especially since you need a 30A circuit and you have to create a new one as opposed to using existing circuit. For use off the road, there are a number of “funny” car horns that are available. Personally, the all time favorite and the best funny car horn has to be the Dixie horn, which is a car horn everyone loves.

The Wolo (519) Bad Boy is a popular replacement car horn that the brand claims is twice as loud as factory horns. It’s a one piece construction that’s easy to install and a direct replacement for many factory horns. In terms of the loudness, the brand states that it outputs at 118 dB using a powerful dual tone.Installation can be a major issue, partially because the shape is very complex and doesn’t lend itself to mounting alternatives. Upon inspection, one of the two functioned perfectly. Otherwise, I’ve heard from a very few people who jumped to the conclusion that they had a defective horn, but actually hadn’t grounded the horn to metal as required of any electrical device. If you don’t have the room to be able to do that then, yep, I’d go for something else. Given that I have been able to do that, however, I’ve been very pleased with the Stebel.”

The easy installation and outstanding performance of this horn makes it a favourite of ours, being a perfect solution when replacing your T5 or T6 horns. The single unit means that the entire horn setup is relatively compact and suitable for many engine bars or grilles. To begin to install a car horn, you will firstly need to find your horn, which is normally located on the radiator support or immediately behind the radiator and the grille. A horn is normally circular in shape with two wires coming from it. Disconnect the wires Once everything is connected, test your connections with a multi-meter if you have one. If not, turn on the ignition and press the horn button. You will now have a 139 dB horn that sounds like a semi rig! Be careful how you use it now, since it will scare the bejesus out of innocent pedestrians!Please refer to LX-150: Installing a 12V power Outlet as well as LX150: Installing a Tiny Tach For instructions on removing the Horn Cover, Legshield liner, and all wiring. I commute on the VFR and the horn gets tested daily once I get outside of the neighborhood in an effort to keep the peace with my fellow homeowners.