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?

 

Why on earth would you use the foam brush on your paint?
The guy before you probably cleaned the mud and stones out of the bed of his pickup, 2 years of brake dust off his wheels and dropped it, brush down in the stall several times.

 

ditto^^^

 

I agree man, I knew when I was in Germany it was illegal to wash your car anywhere but a car wash. Since I have been back to the states it will never touch a car wash... need to pamper her a little bit man...

 

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 he said.

Common sense people, common sense...

 

I had the same experience. Got a shorty, installed it. Looked good, but first trip through a carwash, it bent. I put my OEM one back on. I kept the shorty in case I go to a show or something. Aftermarket just isn't made as well as factory, usually.

 

if I HAVE to go to a car wash like that, then just take the pressure washer and blast the hell out of the foam brush before you use it. Honestly, a 10 second power wash, of the brush, will blow most things off it, that could damage your car. But again, this is if you MUST use one!

 

never had any problems with my 8 inch shorty.....been through quite a bit and it still is like new.

 

are we still talking about antennas?