So I did these mods based on recommendations from the FitFreak community, and I figured I'd get them both done at the same time. Obviously there are plenty of write-ups for each of these mods, but I did them each slightly differently than I've seen on the forum, and I haven't seen a write-up that covered both mods at the same time (not that combining them is anything more than having two links open at one time).

I got all Honda parts from Bernardi Honda, so the links to parts are from that website. I own a 2011 Fit Sport, so if you have a base model the requirements for the mesh may be different.

Here goes nothing, my first DIY:

DISCLAIMER: Neither FitFreak.net nor myself are responsible for any problems resulting from modifications to your vehicle. This DIY is presented solely for educational purposes.

PARTS/TOOLS
1- Honda Accord horn (PN: 38100-STK-A02)
2- Clips for hood latch cover (PN: 91518-SM4-003)
1- 8"x32" segment of plastic mesh (sold in 3ft wide segments here)
~11- Zip-ties (I used black but I suppose you could use any color)

12mm socket/wrench
10mm socket
Scissors

1. Before proceeding I cut the mesh to the proper dimensions. Scissors worked fine enough, just make sure the piece has straight sides. The roll I received from McMaster-Carr was not cut straight and I spent a decent amount of time make sure everything was square.

2. Open the hood and pop the clips out from the bulkhead cover. There are eight (8) of them. The furthest clips from the center on each side are longer than the rest; be sure to keep track of those.


3. Once you've removed the clips, pull the bulkhead cover over the hood latch and off of the car.


4. You can see the horn, but first you have to remove the hood latch cover. I just tugged on each side and the cover came right off. You can be more delicate if you'd like but I had two spare clips already purchased.


5. Next, unplug the horn and use the 12mm socket to loosen the bolt that fastens it to the car.


6. The horn comes free. Make sure to keep the bolt handy because you'll need it to fasten the new horn on. Note the difference in size of the horns, but perhaps more importantly the location of the plug. Later, you'll have to adjust the bracket on the new horn to angle it better.


7. Part 1 of the horn installation is done. Now on to the mesh, and with the horn gone there should be a little bit more room to squeeze your arm down there.

8. Note the location of the two clips on the bottom of this pocket in front of the A/C condenser. Hard to tell in this picture (phone pic, sorry) but they are located on either side, in slight divots, almost directly underneath the holes for the bulkhead cover's front clips.


Better pics here:


And here:


9. Next, you'll want to slip the mesh into the pocket and size up where those clips fall in relation to your piece of mesh. You need to cut holes so that you can remove the clips, push them through the mesh and then reattach them. Make sure the mesh is taut between the clips.




10. I made small cuts in the mesh down by the bottom that would allow it to fold over itself, helping the flat mesh contour better with the curved bumper. I also trimmed the mesh so that it was equidistant from the grille all the way along the bottom. Obviously an optional step, but I have a slight case of OCD when it comes to this kind of thing.

11. Next, you need to zip-tie the mesh. I saw several ways of doing this on the forum, including using adhesive mounts around the grille to hide the installation, as well as just zip-tying the mesh right to the grille. I chose the latter option, and used 11 mounting places.

-The grille has four columns of equal thickness, as well as 3 horizontal support bars where the middle bar is significantly thicker than the other two. I never used the thick middle bar.
-I mounted 5 zip-ties on the upper support, in each space between the columns (4 columns = 5 spaces). [I went for the center of each space for the middle 3 spaces, and toward the outside of the car some for the outer two spaces.]
-I used 1 zip-tie on each side of the lower support, attaching the zip-ties as far toward the outside of the car as I could.
-I then used 4 zip-ties on the very bottom of each column, pulling the mesh very tight as it tends to slide toward the condenser.







12. Affixing the mesh is totally up to what you feel comfortable with. Looking back on it, I might remove the zip-ties in the spaces and use the top of the columns, but in any case the grille mesh is done! I must say I think it looks great...and it's a very cheap solution to a potentially very expensive repair/replacement/headache.


13. Now for part 2 of the horn installation. The hardest part of this whole mod for me was loosening the 10mm bolt on the back of the Accord horn. Much effort resulted in no progress, and I ended up going inside and using a vice to hold the bracket while I put all of my weight on the socket wrench. But, I finally got it to budge.

14. Here's the key to proper installation of the horn. Behind the hood latch, where the old horn's bracket used to be, there are punched-out ridges that are meant to act as a guide for the bracket. But you also need the horn to be affixed in the upright position, as attaching it otherwise could potentially allow the elements into the horn. So after loosening the 10mm bolt, turn the bracket back so that, when holding the horn upright, the bracket is sitting on top of the white plug. Then tighten the 10mm bolt.

15. Before attaching the horn, take your scissors, go behind the small black rectangular piece seen to the right of the horn in the picture, and very delicately snip the electrical tape binding the horn wiring to another set of wires. Be very careful not to snip either of the wires. Doing this will give you more slack on the horn wire. Attach the horn to the car via the 12mm bolt, lining the bracket up between the two guides. The horn should be just about level. Then plug in the horn, reattach the hood latch cover and bulkhead cover, and close the hood. Doneski!


Note that if you try to test the horn without bolting it to the frame, it will not work and you'll wonder why. It's because the bolt acts as a ground for the horn. So your horn isn't defective yet, just bolt it and see.

$27.12 shipped for the horn and two clips (I pay tax from Bernardi in MA)
$1.19 for 1ft of mesh (I bought 3ft and other supplies, so your shipping may be different)

Around $30 for the two easiest, safest and popular mods on these forums. I'll be posting a video comparing the two horns very soon.

 

great write up man

 

I wouldn't go so far as calling the Accord Horn as one of the "safest mods" you can perform on your Fit. I would argue the opposite from personal experience. Yes, it's popular because it's cheap and easy, but you're actually decreasing the decibel output, which is stamped right on the horn bracket. The Accord horn has both a lower decibel output and lower tone/frequency than the stock Fit horn.

I performed the mod too, and quickly realized that the Accord horn actually helped less in traffic. Also, unless you remove the plastic horn cover, the sound from the horn is projected downward into the dead cavity in front of the radiator, not forward towards the person/driver you are attempting to alert, making the mod even LESS effective. I even ran both the stock horn and Accord horn together for a while with crappy results in traffic. The audible output is dictated by the loudest (highest db) horn installed - and the stock Fit horn DID in fact project better than the Accord horn, but with the same scary results in traffic.

If you want to be heard, you have to go aftermarket to get real results. I have a thread discussing a lot of this, and quite a few members with similar experiences have chimed in calling BS on the cheap/easy Accord horn mod.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ket-horns.html

 

I certainly don't doubt that at all, any kind of aftermarket horn is going to be louder than stock.

I'm a poor graduate student who rarely has time or money to invest too much in my car at this moment. I literally hated the stock horn; I was sick of being laughed off. So I went with cheap, easy and short duration over more expensive and more difficult. I don't have a lot of experience with car wiring, though I'm sure I could figure it out with some time. At some point in the future I may add some Supertones, but I don't want to mess around with my car too much as it is less than a month old. At least now my horn isn't so wimpy.

By safest, while I did mean "on the road" safest, I also meant that the mod process itself had the potential for less damage to the car.

 

First step mods - good choice. There certainly are better horns, but you did good and the mesh was a wise choice. The oooga would be trick ;-)

First things I did was tint the rear five then installed a Gentex50 auto-dim rear view mirror, then a Stebel horn. Then again I'm not a starving grad-student, but my son-in-law is.

 

Excellent info. I wanted to do these 2 mods at the same time, it was excellent to have them together. Good trick adjusting the Accord bracket. Mine was tough too, but got it done. Didn't break any of the clips, I was using trim panel tools I purchased to help install the Sirius radio. I did remove the upper grill as well, which was just the 4 clips. The 2 screws were missing for some reason. I may need to look into replacements for them. On the plastic piece over the hood latch, I did unhook it from the bottom first, it made getting the clips off easier, due to less overall pressure on them.