Prius Roof Antenna Delete

[redpoint5]

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.



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?

[dirtydave]

YKYAEI!

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

[NeilBlanchard]

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

[Vman455]

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.

[ksa8907]

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

[Xist]

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.

[redpoint5]

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.

[Xist]

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

[Cd]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

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.

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.

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by ksa8907

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

I should clarify, the interior rear light housing.