I guess I should post pics of my ride and install. Note that I am not too familiar with posting pics on this forum, so things may look a bit interesting.
First, my ride:
Inside the rear hatch:
Under the spare tire:
And, under the rear compartment (the bells are aimed to the rear):
To show that the bells are level with the muffler (you can see the bells’ silhouette in the background, hopefully)
Note that I did not do this install myself, for I did not have the ONE tool I needed to get it done: a shop with a hydraulic lift. I had a relative who does have a shop install it for me, and he did an awesome job at it. Personally, I would have wanted to install the bells a bit higher; but seeing as they’re behind the rear axle, there shouldn’t be too much danger of anything big hitting them.
I originally had the compressor and tank sitting where the spare tire is in the pic above, and everything did fit together perfectly. However, the 1/4’’ air hose would have needed to go through the plastic beneath as well as the metal floor where the spare tire was originally. Also, the plastic piece just didn’t make a solid enough mount point, as it would vibrate whenever the compressor came on, and shake everything. So now, the only indication that something is amiss is the floor panel doesn’t quite fit with that spare tire under it.
The horn is activated by pressing the horn button on the steering wheel. I plan to add a switch so I can decide to beep the car’s stock horn, or beep the stock horn and the shockers. But for now, those bad drivers get it all.
I installed some extra fittings over the weekend, so I can now connect an air hose to it and air up tires if I need to. The new setup does not leak a single drop of air. I had to get rid of the original brass compression fitting for the black hose going to the horn valve; the tiny nipple on the end was leaking air. So I replaced it with a much longer and tighter compression fitting (where the black hose fits into the system).
Looks really good! Im planning on putting some shockers in an HHR also. I saw your picture of the spare tire in your first post… Does the spare still fit in the back compartment even once you have the compressor and tank in there?
Unfortunately, the spare tire is slightly too wide to fit. Check out the second pic in my first post. It shows that I had to put the spare between the floor panel and the panel beneath, which leaves a 2 or 3-inch gap where the floor panel sits on top of the tire. I can still load stuff in there; it just doesn’t look perfect.
I guess if you really wanted the floor panel completely level, you could maybe take out the plastic panel beneath, find a nut and fashion a washer large enough to hold the wheel, and screw them onto the rod just above the tank, but I’m not sure how the heat from the compressor will affect the tire over time.
Or maybe cutting out the parts of the panel beneath so the tire does sit flush, but that may weaken the panel too much. Not quite sure how to mitigate that.
I made this nifty little valve so I could fill up my air tank with any air compressor with a quick-connect fitting on it. I used it several times to fill up my tank with my dad’s compressor when I was waiting for the new leader hose to come in, which stopped filling at 120 psi. Still enough for one good honk.
Here it is, connected to my system. I had just installed the new leader hose I got today, and the compressor filled the system up to 145 psi from about 90 psi in about a minute.
Spare tire and air hose on top…
…and the floor panel on top of that. Note the rust stain on the left–that’s where I had a small, old toolbox whose bottom was rusting a bit.
Anyways, I got the new hose on, and the system is back to full capacity.
Yep, great pics! And thanks for the reply about the spare tire too! One thing that Id like to see is your “honker” button/switch up front. Did you go stealth or “in your face”?
I just wired the electric valve directly into the car’s horn. To honk the shockers, I simply beep the horn as normal. I have the toggle switch to turn the shockers on and off, but I just haven’t felt like installing it. So unless someone actually honks my horn, they won’t know it’s there just by looking through the window.
Yeah, I drained all the air out of the tank, disconnected the tank from the leader hose, the air hose, and the battery, lifted the tank out of the spare tire well, turned the tank so the lowest point would be the drain, shook the tank to listen for water…nothing.
EDIT: I had installed the horns, compressor, and tank back in early October or so, so it may not have been that humid over the fall and winter?
Complete newb here, just stepping away from stock horns and Hella’s…
Do you think a 5 gal. tank would have fit in the spare tire well???
I’m looking into using the same space on my ride and want to maximize my space as much as possible. I too am limited (Nissan Versa HB) and really need some guidance before I make several costly mistakes. Thanx for any help and for the inspiration…
Just upgraded all my stock horns (w. Hadley TRUCK stock horns, 2 pair) and now I wanna move up (Little by Little)
I’m only starting off with 2 pair of KLEINN 102’s but want to get the best I can afford for everything else so upgrading later will be easier… 5 gal. tank if possible, 400c or better… etc., etc… All installed in the spare tire well except for the horns.
BUT!!! I like many on here also have NAGGING WIFE SYNDROME; so I have to take baby steps to desensitize her slowly… LMBO… That’s all folks
Hahaha… Stuff that matey. Just buy a set of Nathan’s for yourself and put a Shocker kit into her car. First time she’ll get to blast some idiot in traffic, she’ll be sold on the benefits - guaranteed.
