Replacement mufflers/replacement horns for a Miata 2002 LS

OK, I'm sure replacement mufflers and horns have been the topics of
much discussion and debate by the legions of Miata enthusiasts out
there so I am attempting to tap some of those great opinions and
discussions about which mufflers and horns are considered the
"best".

Since I am currently deployed to Afghanistan, I am trying to order the
parts and have them sent to my mechanic to install so when I come back
on my R&R in June, I can enjoy the changes for when my wife and I can
drive the Miata from Nebraska to Pennsylvania. Should be a fun drive,
I am really looking forward to it but it would be even better if I can
get some things done before I get back.

Let me help qualify what the muffler needs to be: 1) a nice, deep
growl, but not something that sounds like some 19 year old wanna-be-
street racer. The sound is something that sounds befitting to a small
roadster that has a pair! Also, I understand that some performance
mufflers tones tend to change a bit when heated up for extended
driving hours- I would prefer to steer clear of that- if that is truly
an issue.
2) This deep growling muffler also needs to be able to have what most
would consider a "near perfect" OEM installation. By this is mean to
say, no modifications needed to be made to install. 3) If there are
additional parts that are needed but not readily evident by the
manufacturer, any insight on those pieces would be great too (seals,
extension pipes, hangers etc).

I realize that mufflers are a difficult thing since somebody's "deep
growl" is someone else's "obnoxious Fast and Furious look-a-like".
But I am willing to take that chance! Plus, I doubt that I will ever
change cams, flywheels, or headers. So high-performance and cost
aren't essential, the muffler that I am interested in is to really
give her some guts, but if performance can be gained as well, then so
much the better.

The horn, well, this might seem like a dorky thing to change, but I
really dislike the weak little thing that's on there now. I admit that
I like the idea of those Italian air horns, more so because I tend to
like classy retro things. But, I seem to have read several reviews
that suggest those Italian horns are prone to fail in the cold
weather. Moreover, the flipside to the classy sound/feel those
Italian air horns give a Miata, those same horns may make it appear
that the Miata is trying to be something that it's not. Maybe it's
me, maybe that's not the impression at all; I've never heard what a
MG, Mini, Triumph, old T-Bird or Corvette horn sounds like. Maybe
those are big gutsy air horns, but I have heard a Ferrari and that
seems like it deserves its Italian job. But if there is an air horn
or another horn form a different manufacturer that works very well
with little or no modifications I am VERY interested to hear thoughts
on it.

I am considering an air filter upgrade and the VDO oil pressure
upgrade too, but I am leery of asking my mechanic to do this type of
work - especially the VDO oil pressure upgrade- I doubt mechanics are
quick to do that type of modification but I maybe wrong since I have
never really inquired.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on these issues!

Drew K.

On 2 Apr 2007 12:15:10 -0700, "ajk170" > wrote:

>Let me help qualify what the muffler needs to be: 1) a nice, deep
>growl, but not something that sounds like some 19 year old wanna-be-
>street racer. The sound is something that sounds befitting to a small
>roadster that has a pair!...

Not sure how "deep" you mean. IMO, you only get "deep" from a V8, so it would
sound pretentious coming from a Miata. And to me, there's no sound from a Miata
like a Borla exhaust note. Perfect, top up, down, or off. And Borlas are
available engineered for direct fit on Miatae.

>The horn, well, this might seem like a dorky thing to change, but I
>really dislike the weak little thing that's on there now. I admit that
>I like the idea of those Italian air horns, more so because I tend to
>like classy retro things....

Here I still like the sound of the "Crazy Red Italian" horns (I believe that's
right).

But then I once had an AAH-OOO-GAH horn on a Fiat Dino, so what do I know... 8

-- Larry

On 2007-04-02, pltrgyst > wrote:
> On 2 Apr 2007 12:15:10 -0700, "ajk170" > wrote:
>
>>Let me help qualify what the muffler needs to be: 1) a nice, deep
>>growl, but not something that sounds like some 19 year old wanna-be-
>>street racer. The sound is something that sounds befitting to a small
>>roadster that has a pair!...
>
> Not sure how "deep" you mean. IMO, you only get "deep" from a V8, so it would
> sound pretentious coming from a Miata. And to me, there's no sound from a Miata
> like a Borla exhaust note. Perfect, top up, down, or off. And Borlas are
> available engineered for direct fit on Miatae.
>
>>The horn, well, this might seem like a dorky thing to change, but I
>>really dislike the weak little thing that's on there now. I admit that
>>I like the idea of those Italian air horns, more so because I tend to
>>like classy retro things....
>
> Here I still like the sound of the "Crazy Red Italian" horns
> (I believe that's right).

I had a pair of those. They lasted about a year before they
failed. I replaced them with another pair of similar (but
different brand) air-horns. They lasted about the same amount
of time before they failed. I replaced those with Serious
Auto's wicked-loud horns. They've been working fine for 6+
years now. The serious auto ones are just standard
good-quality dual horns like detroit used for decades (along
with some custom brackets and wiring).

> But then I once had an AAH-OOO-GAH horn on a Fiat Dino, so
> what do I know... 8

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Being a BALD HERO
at is almost as FESTIVE as a
visi.com TATTOOED KNOCKWURST.

On Apr 2, 3:46 pm, pltrgyst > wrote:
> On 2 Apr 2007 12:15:10 -0700, "ajk170" > wrote:
>
> >Let me help qualify what the muffler needs to be: 1) a nice, deep
> >growl, but not something that sounds like some 19 year old wanna-be-
> >street racer. The sound is something that sounds befitting to a small
> >roadster that has a pair!...
>
> Not sure how "deep" you mean. IMO, you only get "deep" from a V8, so it would
> sound pretentious coming from a Miata. And to me, there's no sound from a Miata
> like a Borla exhaust note. Perfect, top up, down, or off. And Borlas are
> available engineered for direct fit on Miatae.
>
> >The horn, well, this might seem like a dorky thing to change, but I
> >really dislike the weak little thing that's on there now. I admit that
> >I like the idea of those Italian air horns, more so because I tend to
> >like classy retro things....
>
> Here I still like the sound of the "Crazy Red Italian" horns (I believe that's
> right).
>
> But then I once had an AAH-OOO-GAH horn on a Fiat Dino, so what do I know... 8
>
> -- Larry

You're probably, right, "deep" may not be the best description- how
about "low rumble?"

An AAH-OOO-GAH!? I didn't know those ever really existed except in the
movies!

On Apr 2, 4:02 pm, Grant Edwards > wrote:
> On 2007-04-02, pltrgyst > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On 2 Apr 2007 12:15:10 -0700, "ajk170" > wrote:
>
> >>Let me help qualify what the muffler needs to be: 1) a nice, deep
> >>growl, but not something that sounds like some 19 year old wanna-be-
> >>street racer. The sound is something that sounds befitting to a small
> >>roadster that has a pair!...
>
> > Not sure how "deep" you mean. IMO, you only get "deep" from a V8, so it would
> > sound pretentious coming from a Miata. And to me, there's no sound from a Miata
> > like a Borla exhaust note. Perfect, top up, down, or off. And Borlas are
> > available engineered for direct fit on Miatae.
>
> >>The horn, well, this might seem like a dorky thing to change, but I
> >>really dislike the weak little thing that's on there now. I admit that
> >>I like the idea of those Italian air horns, more so because I tend to
> >>like classy retro things....
>
> > Here I still like the sound of the "Crazy Red Italian" horns
> > (I believe that's right).
>
> I had a pair of those. They lasted about a year before they
> failed. I replaced them with another pair of similar (but
> different brand) air-horns. They lasted about the same amount
> of time before they failed. I replaced those with Serious
> Auto's wicked-loud horns. They've been working fine for 6+
> years now. The serious auto ones are just standard
> good-quality dual horns like detroit used for decades (along
> with some custom brackets and wiring).
>
> > But then I once had an AAH-OOO-GAH horn on a Fiat Dino, so
> > what do I know... 8
>
> --
> Grant Edwards grante Yow! Being a BALD HERO
> at is almost as FESTIVE as a
> visi.com TATTOOED KNOCKWURST.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

that's what I was thinking- that those air horns fail. I hate to drop
$50 only to drop another a year later.

Drew

pltrgyst wrote:
>ajk170 wrote:
>
>>Let me help qualify what the muffler needs to be: 1) a nice, deep
>>growl, but not something that sounds like some 19 year old wanna-be-
>>street racer. The sound is something that sounds befitting to a
>>small
>>roadster that has a pair!...
>
> Not sure how "deep" you mean. IMO, you only get "deep" from a V8, so
> it would
> sound pretentious coming from a Miata. And to me, there's no sound
> from a Miata
> like a Borla exhaust note. Perfect, top up, down, or off. And Borlas
> are
> available engineered for direct fit on Miatae.

Let me second the Borla vote.

>>The horn, well, this might seem like a dorky thing to change, but I
>>really dislike the weak little thing that's on there now. I admit
>>that
>>I like the idea of those Italian air horns, more so because I tend
>>to
>>like classy retro things....
>
> Here I still like the sound of the "Crazy Red Italian" horns (I
> believe that's
> right).

I've had Crazy Reds on Belle for lots of years now without any
problems.

> But then I once had an AAH-OOO-GAH horn on a Fiat Dino, so what do I
> know... 8

Heh - there was one of those on the 1959 Saab 93 I learned to drive
on. ;-)

Iva & Belle.)
'90B Classic Red.)
#3 winkin' Miata

>
> -- Larry

Grant Edwards wrote:

> I had a pair of those. They lasted about a year before they
> failed. I replaced them with another pair of similar (but
> different brand) air-horns. They lasted about the same amount
> of time before they failed. I replaced those with Serious
> Auto's wicked-loud horns. They've been working fine for 6+
> years now. The serious auto ones are just standard
> good-quality dual horns like detroit used for decades (along
> with some custom brackets and wiring).

Mine were still working after smashing a deer at 60 - 65 mph, they just
weren't "Wicked Loud" anymore. I think that the shattered remains were
still louder than the stock horn.

Very highly recommended.

You can go with less money spent, but I like the whole package and
consider it worth the money for the simplicity of installation. If it
involves electrical wires and I find it easy to put on, then anyone can
install them.

Pat

Cubans, Puerto Ricans and a few other Latin Americans still refer to
city buses as Guaguas, apparently because the 1st busses in service in
those contries were equiped with those horns (this is totally useless
knowledge)

On 2 Apr 2007 13:04:38 -0700, "ajk170" >
wrote:

>On Apr 2, 3:46 pm, pltrgyst > wrote:
>> On 2 Apr 2007 12:15:10 -0700, "ajk170" > wrote:
>>
>> >Let me help qualify what the muffler needs to be: 1) a nice, deep
>> >growl, but not something that sounds like some 19 year old wanna-be-
>> >street racer. The sound is something that sounds befitting to a small
>> >roadster that has a pair!...
>>
>> Not sure how "deep" you mean. IMO, you only get "deep" from a V8, so it would
>> sound pretentious coming from a Miata. And to me, there's no sound from a Miata
>> like a Borla exhaust note. Perfect, top up, down, or off. And Borlas are
>> available engineered for direct fit on Miatae.
>>
>> >The horn, well, this might seem like a dorky thing to change, but I
>> >really dislike the weak little thing that's on there now. I admit that
>> >I like the idea of those Italian air horns, more so because I tend to
>> >like classy retro things....
>>
>> Here I still like the sound of the "Crazy Red Italian" horns (I believe that's
>> right).
>>
>> But then I once had an AAH-OOO-GAH horn on a Fiat Dino, so what do I know... 8
>>
>> -- Larry
>
>You're probably, right, "deep" may not be the best description- how
>about "low rumble?"
>
>An AAH-OOO-GAH!? I didn't know those ever really existed except in the
>movies!

The problem have noticed with a lot of aftermarket horns is that they have
a noticable delay. A friend had some driven by an electric
motor/compressor, they were silent for about half a second, then ramped up
to full volume after about 1 second. Nice and loud, but pretty much useless
to warn some idiot who just pulled out in front of you.

Be good if you could find "on time" specs, or test first.

"M. Cantera" > wrote in message
...
> Cubans, Puerto Ricans and a few other Latin Americans still refer to
> city buses as Guaguas, apparently because the 1st busses in service in
> those contries were equiped with those horns (this is totally useless
> knowledge)
>

We call that "trivia" to be kind ;-)

Chris
99BBB