Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
The shape is wrong, it has a blunt trailing edge and would require extensive boattailing
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I'm not so sure about this assertion. Look at BMW's antenna designs:
Very similar to those in the OP's link. If BMW could have made them lower drag (which was the whole point of the fin design, after all) for the same cost, I like to think they would have.
Or, consider this: The 2014 Scion FR-S had a short whip antenna.
For 2015, Toyota switched to a shark fin design:
And claimed in their press release:
"On the exterior, a shark-fin antenna has been adopted to improve both looks
and aerodynamics" (emphasis added).
They're the ones with the million-dollar wind tunnels, and unfortunately there's a paucity of drag information on shark fin antennae out there otherwise, so for now the best we can do is infer from the OEMs' actions. At this point, I have to conclude that replacing a wire or whip antenna with a shark fin will be beneficial, even if it's not measurable by us laypersons.