[Sail]

The stock antenna on Grand i10 is an eye-sore. Decided to replace it with aftermarket Shark Fin Antenna. These are available widely on e-shopping portals. Price varies with the color of the antenna.

There are lots of brands available in the market. But most of them do not work with all frequency bands. One of my friend suggested to go ahead with this brand (though it is pricey) as it works with all frequency. Yet to try out all bands, let see.

Here is the link: - http://www.amazon.in/Auto-Pearl-Prem...ilpage_o00_s00

Price: INR 1599/-

Below are some pictures for you guys:-

The package arrived:-









Inside contents:-



The famous eye sore:-




Work begins:-

Fixing area should be squeaky clean.

Various sizes of screws & nuts provided along with the package, take your pick.

After fixing the antenna cable, position the antenna body & clean the fixing area with alcohol (provided with the package).

Remove the seal tape, and a good warm hair drier applied for proper fixing with paint surface.

Just fix it & keep it well pressed for 2 minutes.









Paint shade match





The final look:-

[parsh]

Great looking. All seems good.

I have seen same designs at 900-1000 on Amazon, guess there is not much difference technically in either. Only the low cost ones like 250-350 seem merely for show.

But the big question. How is the reception compared with the stock antenna? Does it seem worth changing over for looks?

[Sail]

Originally Posted by parsh

Great looking. All seems good.

I have seen same designs at 900-1000 on Amazon, guess there is not much difference technically in either. Only the low cost ones like 250-350 seem merely for show.

But the big question. How is the reception compared with the stock antenna? Does it seem worth changing over for looks?

Hi Parsh,

Yes, reception quality has improved to my ears. Sharpness / clarity has gone up quite a notch. Also this morning I have tried out across all FM range and all are working.

Now I am waiting to see how is the reception on highways. You must have noticed, when we drive away from city area the reception quality degrades.

From price point, yes it is on expensive side. But I just went with my friend's advice and color of my car.

No regrets at this point, have to check long term reliability.

[Mr. Nobody]

Really wish to buy one but a lot of them have reviews of poor reception. I drive only within the city so will there be any issue? negligible drop in quality is okay as radio anyway has poor quality and i usually listen to music using Bluetooth. But would prefer to hear audio than static on the days when i feel like listening to radio stations.

[kunalsingh]

Originally Posted by Sail

......Decided to replace it with aftermarket Shark Fin Antenna. These are available widely on e-shopping portals. Price varies with the color of the antenna.

Here is the link: - http://www.amazon.in/Auto-Pearl-Prem...ilpage_o00_s00

.....

Dear Sail, thanks for sharing such a detailed write-up. I have in fact ordered a shark fin antenna for my '09 Honda City iVtec from the same brand "Auto Pearl" and have noticed that it exactly similar to the one you installed. In fact, I couldn't help but notice that the seller has actually used your pictures from this very thread in his official item description and installation guide

Link (the price has been reduced to Rs.460/- compared to Rs.1500/- that you paid) : https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just wanted to know how the antenna has been holding up through the years? I'm not really worried about getting improved reception as I barely ever listen to FM while driving and have been satisfied with the reception quality in my car without the antenna attached (I have removed and kept it in the dashboard as it gets stolen very quickly). How's the fit and finish (adhesion) holding up? Thanks,

[Sail]

Originally Posted by kunalsingh

Just wanted to know how the antenna has been holding up through the years? I'm not really worried about getting improved reception as I barely ever listen to FM while driving and have been satisfied with the reception quality in my car without the antenna attached (I have removed and kept it in the dashboard as it gets stolen very quickly). How's the fit and finish (adhesion) holding up? Thanks,

Hi Kunal,

Thanks for your inputs. And it is hilarious from the seller.

Well, it is close to 3 years now, and still holding good. No sign of any reception de-gradation. Paint also in same condition. In-between I saw one side of the glue gave up & antenna body started coming up. I did nothing and our Delhi NCR heat did the job, it got repasted on its own.

If the seller maintained their quality, it will go on for ages. Be careful while pressure washing though, avoid direct jets, I think that was my mistake.

Brdgs
Sail

[kunalsingh]

Originally Posted by Sail

Hi Kunal,

Thanks for your inputs. And it is hilarious from the seller.

Well, it is close to 3 years now, and still holding good. No sign of any reception de-gradation. Paint also in same condition. In-between I saw one side of the glue gave up & antenna body started coming up. I did nothing and our Delhi NCR heat did the job, it got repasted on its own.

If the seller maintained their quality, it will go on for ages. Be careful while pressure washing though, avoid direct jets, I think that was my mistake.

Brdgs
Sail

Thanks Sail! Will be mindful while pressure washing. Good to know that the antenna is holding up well. Mine arrives tomorrow, I'll share some pics after installation

[kunalsingh]

Hi Sail, so my experience has not been so great. As mentioned earlier, I'd placed an order for a Shark Fin Antenna from the same brand (Auto Pearl) for my '09 Honda City (after thoroughly checking the details on Amazon).

Here is the link of the item I ordered : https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I was really excited for the Antenna and was eagerly waiting for it to arrive (took 3 days with Prime). However, this is what I saw when I opened the package :





The seller had sent me a silver coloured antenna
This is inspite of them clearly stating that the colour was "WHITE" and for my particular car model (City iVtec).
Anyhow, tried to get a replacement but the seller didn't do replacements (only refunds). Had to contact Amazon customer care (they're quite excellent in solving issues) and had them request for a replacement in the correct colour.


Received the replacement after 3 more days and I opened the package in front of the delivery agent to check for the colour. Thankfully it was white :







I couldn't help but notice that this antenna looked visibly different from the one you received. It also didn't look as well made either. However, I still decided to go ahead and do a dry-fit test on my car :





As you can see, my doubts came true and the Antenna did not fit my car at all. It had a complete straight bottom (as compared to the curved slant of the car roof) and kept lifting off from one of the edges no matter how I tried to align it. Disappointed with the product as it turned out to be just a generic one and not made specifically for my car. Now my only option is to try Karol Bagh after the Corona surge goes down. Here is a picture of my "Hondu" (it looks incomplete without the antenna) :