Replacing ZS EV aerial with shark fin style from the HS or similar?

I know, I know.

It's been mentioned before, but each time I find a thread about it and someone says "search the forum for people that have done this/discussed this" I can never find a comprehensive thread about it. Either nobody has done it, or there have been some compromises e.g. losing DAB or AM/FM or satellite navigation.

Basically, we hate the standard old fashioned/cheap looking aerial on the ZS EV and want to replace it with a shark fin style one like the MG HS has. I know some of the non-UK ZS EVs actually came with a shark fin style aerial too, I don't know why MG UK didn't put one on the UK model - cost cutting I suppose?

Anyway I'd like to know...

1. Has anyone done this and retained full use of DAB/radio/satnav?
2. Is there a link to a thread or threads where it's discussed in detail (I can't find one)?
3. Does it seem possible/feasible to replace the standard aerial with one from a HS? There are plenty of second had HS shark fin aerials on eBay.
4. If not, what would the best alternative be? I'm not really interested in just unscrewing the top part of the aerial to shorten it as someone else suggested
5. What kind of place should I approach regarding adapting a HS shark fin to fit the ZS? I'm assuming any body shop will do minor electrical stuff too?

Thanks

I have done it. I had to buy quite a large one in order to cover the base. It was easy to connect, and I checked that the radio worked perfectly before sticking down the shark fin. I bought it from Aliexpress and the colour matched perfectly

Susanna said:

I have done it. I had to buy quite a large one in order to cover the base. It was easy to connect, and I checked that the radio worked perfectly before sticking down the shark fin. I bought it from Aliexpress and the colour matched perfectly

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Very slick .
Link to the page please .

Sorry, I don’t know how to do that…….
Will this do?

Susanna said:

I have done it. I had to buy quite a large one in order to cover the base. It was easy to connect, and I checked that the radio worked perfectly before sticking down the shark fin. I bought it from Aliexpress and the colour matched perfectly

Click to expand...

Thanks for that, looks great.

Did it come with instructions or easy just to figure it out?
What colour did you go for Black or Pearl Black?
I assume everything else is working ok e.g. the car's own navigation (not Apple CarPlay), DAB and AM/FM?

Didn't think it would be as that! Thanks.

Here's a link to it, thanks again to @Susanna


Even bigger discount at the moment. Going to order one, expect as it's AliExpress it'll take a few weeks but can't moan at that price.

My car is silver, so that’s what I bought. You literally just screw in the attachment to the thread that’s left after removing the ‘whip’ aerial. Couldn’t be easier. Everything works fine in the car - DAB/sat nav etc.

Make sure you order the ‘Super Shark’ as the aerial base is large on the MG

Susanna said:

My car is silver, so that’s what I bought. You literally just screw in the attachment to the thread that’s left after removing the ‘whip’ aerial. Couldn’t be easier. Everything works fine in the car - DAB/sat nav etc.

Make sure you order the ‘Super Shark’ as the aerial base is large on the MG

Click to expand...

Oh I thought the pic of the black car was yours.

Thank you very much, looks promising and much cheaper than what I had planned with a MG HS aerial.

Will update this thread once mine arrives and it's fitted (if anyone cares to see).

@Topeka - I looked at my photo again, and it’s hard to see the colour, especially at that angle. It’s definitely silver!
My super shark was delivered very quickly.

The AliExpress page gives the total height of this shark fin as 61mm. When I measure the height of the antenna base on my car, it is closer to 70mm. I can't imagine that that would fit.

@aserraric Is that definitely the dimension for the super shark?

Susanna said:

@aserraric Is that definitely the dimension for the super shark?

Click to expand...

The AliExpress page is rather confusing. I don't see any different sizes.
Are you saying that the one you bought is taller than 61mm?

Great Idea definatley works for me. I have to put an elastic around mine to pull down to get it into the garage to charge. Perfect.
Thank you

Thanks for the recommendation, I have ordered the same

My Super Shark arrived today - much quicker than I expected!

I ordered a black one, my car is the dynamic red, which I don't think any of their reds will match, but as the sun roof has black trim and black tinted glass it should look good.

Just want a warmer day to fit it, so that it sticks down well!

@Eclectic - I think that will look very smart. I much prefer the look of the shark fin to the whip aerial. Warming the 3m and the area around the aerial base with a hairdryer works well when the weather is cold, but I am sure you know that anyway!!

My solution was to fit this sharks fin aerial kit that I got from Amazon. Had to make a couple of adjustments to make it fit properly but it's been there since Christmas 2022 and has had no detrimental effect on the radios performance either DAB or FM. My car is ZS EV LR ( not connect )

Its a nice sunny day here in East Kent, so I left the car out in the sun for a while before fitting my Sharks Fin aerial.

I eased the fin with a rasp to get a better fit (the rubber seal on the MG aerial mount was just catching the inner lip of the fin) then all went well, very easy job, and I'm pleased with the result.

I tried to install my Supershark yesterday, but my DAB reception basically died when I connected it.
A bit disappointing since everybody said the reception was fine for them.

I guess I'll stick with the short stick antenna that I had before.

I guess it may depend on how strong your DAB signal strength was initially ?.
If in your location the DAB signal is very strong, then any minimum loss produced by fitting a short / less powerful antenna is not going to be noticed.
If the signal is not that great to start with, then what you had, is easily lost .

I get that, but I'm not even comparing it to the long factory antenna, but to my little aftermarket stub antenna, which is already significantly worse. Since it apparently can't even match that, I cannot recommend it at all.