Sharkfin?

Danny, Can you confirm that they will have satellite antennas in them as well? And if so, will they only receive XM, or will they also get the Sirius stream?

 

This is the first car I've owned in a while that had an actual stick antenna (as opposed to one built into a window), and the FM reception is great. I live in a hilly area, and I can now get clear reception of many stations I couldn't in previous cars.

Does the shark fin replacement antenna noticeably reduce reception?

 

The Shark Fin antenna on my '07 reduced reception by about 15% if I were to guesstimate. I never missed the reception, but it was noticeable and most likely will be the same on the '10. But the thing looks great! I'll be interested if they come out with a Blizzard Pearl one, Danny!

Lee

 

The XM reception in the 2010 leaves much to be desired. It seems to drop more often than in my 2009. Hopefully the shark fin will improve the reception. But, I will not hold my breath.

 

I have the 07 with the XM square antenna in the window. I need to know if I purchase the Sharkfin for it will I be able to run the XM antenna to the roof and will it fit under the Sharkfin?
Thanks.

 

There seemed to be enough room on the underside of the sharkfin for my '07 for the xm antenna. I'm sure Danny will give us the possibilities when he has a sharkfin available for the '10. Do a search on previous threads re: sharkfin to find out more.

Lee

 

Is there a possibilty that water could get trapped underneath the fin and cause paint damage? Is there a water tight seal and/or built in weep holes?

 

dbacksfan,

The Sharkfin is attached to the roof with a one-piece 3M double-sided
sticky tape perimeter gasket.

There are no holes of any kind in the fin itself.

If a fin is manufactured specificaly to fit the curve of the GenIII roof, it
should be a drop-on fit without distortion or warping. If you properly
clean the mounting area to get rid of all dirt and wax, and attach the
gasket to the fin without wrinkles it is unlikely that it would leak.

FWIW, water under the fin probably wouldn't pose a problem for the
paint. However, it might lead to accelerated corrosion at the
connection where the fin's antenna lead is bolted to the OEM antenna
base. It's best to cover that connection with some conductive coating.

There are pictures of the gasket, etc in a thread from about two years
ago. Using the search function with "Sharkfin" as the search term
should turn them up.

EDIT: After pondering on this for a while, I've remembered that the pix
included one of the electronic bits in the fin. The antenna itself is folded
"fractal" style. So perhaps that would be a better search term.

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you for your response. I'll take some time to do additional searches.

BTW, I'm most concerned about tap water from washing my car. The water here is very hard. If left on the paint for a prolonged period of time, the deposits will definitely cause permanent etching in the paint finish.

 

Hello Im new to the forum, I have searched and searched for info on the sharkfin antenna for the 2010 with solar and this is the only post I can find but it doesn't answer if it fits or not, does anyone know if it fits?

I know it diminishes the reception I know its not factory, but I like the way It looks, thanks for any info.

 

Is it way off, is the mount different on the solar car, or is the fin to long and hit the solar panel? I really like the look of it and have a good body shop that can do about anything. thanks for your time.

 

Keep in mind - I believe everyone has reported worse reception. The AM/FM reception in the 2010 is poor as it stands - this will compond that...

One person reported it got so bad, they had to remove the antenna, and put the old one back on.