Why does aftermarket always=headache?
08-24-2008, 12:42 PM
#11
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location:
Posts: 3,834
My .02 worth......First and foremost on the shorty antennae thingy getting bent...you are going from antennae that is very flexible in the stock oem antennae to either a shorter rigid piece of steel or alum. which in itself is more likely to bend easier due to the physics of it all..less give....
2nd: you need to be a little more aware of your car and what it has in order to prevent this no matter how you wash it...I wont lecture about removing the antennae...however...even though it was an accident...you still had to ram it pretty hard to bend it...I have 2 s197 with the shorty antennae mod..and still no issues
as far as the using the brush at the car wash or not....that depends on the car wash...the material used on the brush and the length of the material used on the brush...
for instance there is a self serve car wash here in brandon...it has HOT water pre soak...the brush is made out of hog hair material..softer than human hair....it has about 12 inches from the rubber base..the handle is flexible as well so it does not react rigidly to the cars natural body lines....when i start the wash I presoak the brush.....then blast it..then let it foam for a good couple minutes before using..then I wash the car from the top down.....never had an issue at all.....not a single swirl, brush mark etc.....
but take more care when you wash your vehicle and allot of this can be avoided...
2nd: you need to be a little more aware of your car and what it has in order to prevent this no matter how you wash it...I wont lecture about removing the antennae...however...even though it was an accident...you still had to ram it pretty hard to bend it...I have 2 s197 with the shorty antennae mod..and still no issues
as far as the using the brush at the car wash or not....that depends on the car wash...the material used on the brush and the length of the material used on the brush...
for instance there is a self serve car wash here in brandon...it has HOT water pre soak...the brush is made out of hog hair material..softer than human hair....it has about 12 inches from the rubber base..the handle is flexible as well so it does not react rigidly to the cars natural body lines....when i start the wash I presoak the brush.....then blast it..then let it foam for a good couple minutes before using..then I wash the car from the top down.....never had an issue at all.....not a single swirl, brush mark etc.....
but take more care when you wash your vehicle and allot of this can be avoided...
08-24-2008, 03:31 PM
#13
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 770
i know exactly what you mean.
1. i bought a cai/tune. install is piece of cake. go to start my car, won't start. car had been reflashed at the dealership and needed an updated strategy code. easily fixed with new tunes e-mailed to me.
2. i bought new speakers and radio. i had the standard speakers and replaced them with infinity's. install was pretty easy. but the front speakers were hitting the inside of the door causing a rattle. put some felt on the door and rattle gone.
3. bought some boomtubes and couldn't get them aligned and they were hitting the body underneath. finally had to get them professionally aligned and put some foam under the support bar to prevent it from hitting the body.
4. lowered my car and was perfect at first but then started getting a terrible rattle. turns out the adj panhard bar retaining nut had become loose. locktite resolved that.
5. new wheels and tires installed and a wobble appeared in the steering wheel. rotated tires and finally was told about the rotor retaining piece. problem solved.
why can't i just slap something on and be done with it! seems like something always pops up and kind of ruins the fun for a while.
having said that, it all works great now and i'm super happy!
but i hear ya...
1. i bought a cai/tune. install is piece of cake. go to start my car, won't start. car had been reflashed at the dealership and needed an updated strategy code. easily fixed with new tunes e-mailed to me.
2. i bought new speakers and radio. i had the standard speakers and replaced them with infinity's. install was pretty easy. but the front speakers were hitting the inside of the door causing a rattle. put some felt on the door and rattle gone.
3. bought some boomtubes and couldn't get them aligned and they were hitting the body underneath. finally had to get them professionally aligned and put some foam under the support bar to prevent it from hitting the body.
4. lowered my car and was perfect at first but then started getting a terrible rattle. turns out the adj panhard bar retaining nut had become loose. locktite resolved that.
5. new wheels and tires installed and a wobble appeared in the steering wheel. rotated tires and finally was told about the rotor retaining piece. problem solved.
why can't i just slap something on and be done with it! seems like something always pops up and kind of ruins the fun for a while.
having said that, it all works great now and i'm super happy!
but i hear ya...
08-24-2008, 03:55 PM
#14
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location:
Posts: 790
My mother walked past my car holding avery large box and walked straight into my steeda shorty and it didnt even budge, she just bugged me for a week that her hand hurt from where it hit. i recommend it, its strong as hell. Some might complain thats its to thick or stands out to much, but i like it! Its .250 to .312 thick aluminum with a steel stud at the bottom. -Jon
-Jon
-Jon
08-24-2008, 08:58 PM
#16
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location:
Posts: 70
Got my 13 inch shorty antenna 2 weeks ago. Today I took my car to the carwash where you wash it yourself within a certain limit of time. As I was doing the work with the foam brush I slightly bumped into my recently purchased aftermarket product (done that 3 times harder to the stock one multiple times and nothing ever happened) and boom. I notice that now it's bent. As I'm trying to angle it back the way it was the POS breaks on me. WOW!!!!!! I know I'm probably gonna get "well you should've removed it" so for those who think so the response is "well I've never had to with the OE one". Why is it that if it's not Ford, Ford Racing, Saleen, or Steeda it has to give you at least a little bit of a headache??? Can't we finally get aftermarket parts that won't give you crap all the time?
08-25-2008, 12:22 AM
#18
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location:
Posts: 929
My mother walked past my car holding avery large box and walked straight into my steeda shorty and it didnt even budge, she just bugged me for a week that her hand hurt from where it hit. i recommend it, its strong as hell. Some might complain thats its to thick or stands out to much, but i like it! Its .250 to .312 thick aluminum with a steel stud at the bottom. -Jon
-Jon
-Jon
08-25-2008, 06:57 AM
#19
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: MI
Posts: 231
Car wash aside. The reason mods equals headache is because most of the mods you buy are mods you heard about in forums such as this. "BS makes the world go round" my friend. After a few more mod issues you will learn to "step back" and take a deep breath before believing everything you read about concerning a mod. Example: The shorty antenna looks nice. However, if the station you wish to listen to isn't one of those commercial mega watt stations, then the reception sucks. There's a reason the antenna is 3 plus feet long. If Ford could make a smaller antenna that worked just as well they would.
What you describe is the very reason I sold my heavily modified Jeep. I had far too many products that did not perform as well as stock and as well as I expected. Stainless gas tank rusting, etc.
So now I am choosing my products VERY carefully, buying only the products I believe are high quality and direct bolt in.
In your case, I guess the old saying, the grass is not always greener..... holds true. Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone.
