My review of VG Shark Fin Antenna

I got my VG shark fin antenna in the mail today and had a narrow window of time to install it after I got home from work. Sorry, it's too dark outside for pictures right now. This is how ite went:

1) I grabbed a step stool to reach the car. First, I cleaned the antenna base and local area with rubbing alcohol using a paper towel
2) I used a cloth with water + dish soap to further clean the local area
3) I cleaned again with rubbing alcohol and a clean paper towel - at the end of this cleaning I used a Swiffer dust cloth to pick up any remaining dust left from the paper towels - this really helped.
4) I attached the fin to the antenna base, (washer + nut), orienting the metal part facing down. I was really careful not to over-tighten so I barely used the screw driver (I must have used it for only a half or full turn after I used my fingers to tighten it). It felt snug, but in retrospect I think I might have not tightened it as much as I should have.
5) I got in my car and turned on the radio to test it. I didn't drive around. The whole idea of testing it while driving seemed moot (even if reception is bad you can't return the product). Reception was good, I couldn't really tell the difference.
6) I started marking the area with tape. I grabbed a tape measure but it was almost impossible to measure by myself. So I chucked that idea and just eyeballed it. Still used the painters tape to all mark 4 sides, but that was it. Feeling around, I tried to make sure the antenna base did not touch any part of the fin.
7) I had a family member double check my alignment.
8) I grabbed the rubbing alcohol again and did another wipe down, focusing on the area where the adhesive was going to be.
9) Next, I had to use a hairdryer to heat up the metal of the car. Today was 65 degrees outside and windy.
10) I took off the adhesive cover strip off the fin completely, and started to apply pressure to the front of the fin, for 1 minute.
11) I moved to the middle of the fin and applied pressure there for a minute.
12) Finally I applied pressure for 1 minute to the back 2 corners of the fin (and periodically applying pressure up front too - as that is typically the problem area)
13) Removed the painters tape and I was done.

The Results:

I took a 2 mile test drive around my home. Radio reception is considerably and noticeably worse. I'd say that all of my 12 presets get 10-20% worse radio reception. 1 station that I frequently use is about 40-50% worse. Luckily, I really don't like that station anyway. I'm wondering if it's the result of not installing it very well, such as if the antenna base really is touching the fin (I tried to make sure it didnt) or I didn't screw on the nut tight enough. But it's too late now! Though the radio reception bugs me, I think I will be able to get over it. Luckily there's this cool invention called the iPod that I will listen to more from now on.

I'm actually very envious of the few lucky individuals who said they got the same reception with the Shark Fin as before. I wasn't expecting my reception to be the same, but it wouldve been nice to be one of those lucky few.

When the job was finished I actually wasn't very thrilled. LOL. I think I've seen so many pictures (probably dozens) of Prius shark fins and I've been dreaming about this day forever, that it just doesn't seem like a big deal. But don't get me wrong -

IT. LOOKS. GREAT. Other than the poorer radio reception, this mod really does finish the look of the car.

Is the shark fin worth it? If I had perfect or similar radio reception I would say ABSOLUTELY. But that's the price of looking cool. I don't want to say right away that this shark fin is the best thing since sliced bread, since I havent even gotten a chance to commute to work using it. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Thanks for reading.

 

Thanks for your input. I have no plans to remove it - I simply love the look.

But I'm glad to hear that my results are normal. I could not live with a user error in installation.

 

Reception was not as bad when driving to work, hardly noticeable. I could get used to this. The reason might be because the freeways I take to get to work are much more open space. My initial test was around my sylvan residential area.

I'll post pictures tonight.

 

/delete