Prius Roof Antenna Delete
 

Is there a way to delete the silly looking roof antenna on the gen III Prius? Not only is it causing a slight amount of drag, but it could get damaged in a car wash and it looks unsightly.

The shark fin antennas look to be shaped incorrectly also. They have abrupt trailing edges and would perhaps be more aerodynamic if installed the other way around.

http://blog.juicedhybrid.com/wp-cont...enna.jpg?w=150

Ideally I would just connect a flexible wire antenna and hide it under the dash.

I wonder why all manufacturers don't opt for integrating the antenna into the rear window?

YKYAEI!

heh, what about just a hammer and chisel?
And take off that massive rear wiper blade too...

I can't imagine this will have any noticeable affect on your FE.

I ended up just putting a shark fin antenna on; I figure it's better than that thing sticking 7" up into the airstream (and it probably is). Is it a huge difference? No. But, every little bit helps, and little bits add up. I also removed the rear wiper and motor with a nylon plug from Lowe's and some silicon.

You can probably relocate the antenna to inside the car, but you'll have to remove the headliner to get at the base and I have no idea what it looks like under there, not having gone that way myself. I would imagine you could find a shop that would fill the resulting hole and paint; on my Ram, the shop that owned it previously had done this with the OEM fender-mounted antenna and I couldn't tell there had ever been anything there.

In my car, the rear light housing gives access to a nut that holds the antenna on.

Does the shark fin have a greater frontal area? I imagine that it would create a minuscule improvement, slightly greater if positioned "backwards," while "Dude! Your antenna is backwards!" would definitely be noticeable.

Those shark fin antennas look to me like rooftop cargo boxes in that they are positioned backwards from the most efficient aero shape. If there must be a blunt surface, it should be the leading edge, not the trailing.

Can we make a shark-fin windtunnel? :D For... testing? :)

I think the public has had it drilled into their minds that a pointed front is always best. When I look at jets and rockets, I can see how that people could think this, since the front is pointed and the back end is an open flat end.
http://www.aviastar.org/pictures/usa...tarfighter.jpg

I should clarify, the interior rear light housing.

Cd, planes still taper more at the end than the front.

The public in the 30's had a better idea of the right shape.
http://www.century-of-flight.net/new...l/images/8.jpg

Came across this article on antenna drag last night.

This summer I had planned on removing mine. My idea was to run antennae wire (or speaker wire...something for a test anyway) from the antennae signal wire, seal the hole, run the wire straight back into the space where the hatch opens into, to the sides, then back up and under the coverings for the roof rack. Then would just need to cover the small wire running to the hatch, unless I can run it from the inside...hadn't looked.

Not sure how well it'll pick up a signal, but still want to try it.

Something kind of like this. Photochop away!

http://i59.tinypic.com/deqjo8.jpg

I was thinking I'd give up on removing the antenna, but I like Rishar's idea, especially if it improves HD radio reception. For some reason it comes in very poorly on the Prius compared to the in-window antenna on the Camry.

I was also thinking of changing the antenna shape to be more teardrop, but I find it interesting that the "separating plate" has less drag than the "streamline profile".

http://www.virtualv8.com/freport4.jpg

This morning I removed the rear wiper and motor. I have not used it a single time, even in a downpour. The window sheds water well enough to see approaching vehicles, and besides, the people behind need to mind me, not the other way around. The Prius has a backup camera, too, making it less important to have rearward visibility. I've also got pipe insulation blocking 100% of the lower grill.