DefinitiveCars
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- July 7, 2009
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2013 Ex Sport
Alright, ordered mine today. Will report back when I get it installed.
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Hi Scott. I don't think I'd recommend a cover if you are sticking with the OEM antenna. The only way I can see that working is if you cut a hole where the antenna would be and then place the cover on that area first before covering the rest of the vehicle. Otherwise I'd be concerned that it would snap off. The tip is about 12" from the roof.Okay, this thread is about a year old now and I am scouring this forum for information about how well this Sharkfin antenna really works.
Everyone seems really happy with the way it looks and I have to admit the pictures look fantastic, thank you to all who posted!!
We are about three plus weeks out on our 2013 Tuxedo Sport coming in and I am concerned about the antenna on the roof, but I am more intolerant of poor radio reception.
The Explorer will be my wife's daily driver and she will routinely be putting a car cover on it while at work. When it is summer time here in Arizona and commonly in the high 100 teens with UV indexes between 10 and 12 it makes a lot of sense to cover your car for about 5 months or so.
I am concerned about her being able to get the cover over the antenna easily. It's like anything else; the easier it is, the more often you'll do it and covering your car is no different, I find.
So we've been very interested in the VG Sharfin antenna, but I have been reading terrible reviews all across the internet of aftermarket sharfin antennas in general, so I am reluctant to order one, especially custom painted.
We have had radio reception problems in our last car due to an 'upgrade' and have regretted it ever since. We have really good radio stations out here in Phoenix and listen to the radio all the time, AM, FM and HD. We have no intention of continuing the Sirius Radio subscription, we are kind of suscription averse, no cable, no sat, etc.
If anyone has tried one of these antennas and has a comment about it, regardless of brand, I would appreciate it. I am very interested in any empirical testing or evidence you might have. How far away are your radio stations, what kind of terrain might be affecting your signals, what about AM vs. FM? How did it compare to your OEM antenna, specifically?
We travel into the mountains routinely on the weekends and I don't expect much from the antenna up there, but in metro Phoenix, I need as good or better reception than the OEM antenna across all frequencies or it isn't really worth it.
This truck replaces the car with a top of the line Kenwood with terrible reception (I know, I didn't believe it either) and I don't want even a hint of that in her new Ex.
Let me know what you think, please. I don't think we'll order it until the truck arrives, even though the cover is already on order. But I've seen the inside of that VG Sharkfin and there's not much going on there.
Being a ham radio operator, and electronics technician I know a fair bit about antennas, and this doesn't look like a very robust one, but I am interested in your real world experience on the new Explorer.
Thanks in advance guys!!
Scott
But I've seen the inside of that VG Sharkfin and there's not much going on there.
73's from Phoenix.
Scott
Another ham here Scott. AB7FH, Northwest of Phoenix in Wittmann.
Glad to have you on the site.
Are you planning on putting a ham rig in the Explorer for your wife?
Not sure what you mean or what you expect to be on the inside.
I live in Los Angeles, and have had no problems with reception other than occasionally while going under a long underpass. However I had problems with the stock antenna in these same areas.
Well, we’ve had our Explorer Sport now for about a month and have not had any major issues to speak of other than a few MFT quirks. I installed the VG Sharkfin antenna the second week we had the truck and it has exceeded my expectations in nearly every way.
After experiencing the reception in metro and fringe areas I find very little difference in performance between the OEM whip and the sharkfin antennas. The FM reception seems nearly as good with the sharkfin and the AM reception is acceptable but about half as good, without actually measuring signal strength. The radio in the Explorer has better original reception than my ’08 F350 or the ’09 BMW Z4 we compared it to. I’m sure this plays a large role in how well the sharkfin worked for us and I can now strongly recommend this product for the late model Ford Explorer.
The price of the unit is reasonable and the quality was very high. We’ll see how the paint holds up to the brutal UV out here in Phoenix, but it looks well built. On that note, the car cover is easy to install without fighting the whip antenna and we really like the way it matches the truck, tuxedo black. The car cover is by Covercraft (not from the Ford site) and runs about 350 USD. It makes a huge difference out here in the summer, parking at work. The interior temp stays lower and the Ex doesn’t experience the intense UV. This is our third Covercraft for three different cars and they are very high quality.
Again, I highly recommend the VG Sharkfin if you want to replace your whip antenna with a high quality fractal antenna that won’t snap off under low clearances or if you just want to be able to cover your Ex easily, like us. The quality, delivery and service are top notch from Visual Garage. Send them an email and they will set you up.
Happy motoring from crispy Phoenix, 94 degrees today,
Scott
Love the fin EKY looks like its time to make the switch. Yours looks like a Tuxedo Black EX in the pics. How close does the paint and metallic match? Mine is the same color
Does anyone have contact info for VG?
Looks like their site is down.
I noticed that also. I want to get a shark fin for my daughters silver explorer. They say the site should have been up on July 1, 2013, but it's still down. I'll wait for them to get back up. I purchased a shark fin from them for my 2011 bordeaux explorer and it's been great. Hope they get back in business soon.Does anyone have contact info for VG?
Looks like their site is down.