Recently acquired a 2011 Octavia 1.4

Looking to get some roof bars so I can fit my roof box for camping next summer.

Noticed it has a fairly long aerial on the roof towards the back in the centre.

Can this be replaced with a stubby alternative without loss of performance?

It may be that I can position the roof box far forward enough so that it is not an issue but wanted to see what my options are.

I stuck a stubby on. It's fine.

I just unscrew my aerial slightly and angle it down towards the roof so it doesn't snag on my roof box.

VAG stubby for VW Polo is a good option.

Or just angle the existing one.

But I never had any issues and we have quite a long roof box (on an estate).

Ebay has lot of stubby antennas

Ebay has lot of stubby antennas

And many of them don't work well for FM reception, especially in weak signal areas.

Be careful which one you buy if you decide to do that.

But I never had any issues and we have quite a long roof box (on an estate).

 

Yes, it does need to be a long roof box before you encounter aerial snagging on the Estate.

 

My roof box is 2 meters long and it only snags the aerial by an inch or so. However I imagine on the hatch you'd encounter snagging with a smaller box. 

As has been mentioned, I simply unscrew the aeriel, angle it down so it misses the roof box and re-tighten.

Wasn't sure OP had a hatch, hence why I stated mine being an estate.

I have a feeling that even some stubby aerials will hit the toolbox and, as they are less bendy, will cause more problems than the standard whip aerial.

I'd suggest fitting the bars & box and measuring how much room you have spare before buying.

Just unscrew it and leave it off, you won't notice a difference.  Most of the radio reception comes through an aerial printed on the rear driver side window glass.

Unscrewing the aerial (on the pre FL at least) is much easier said than done. There is an anti theft feature that makes removal difficult.....I've never managed it, hence why it's easier to just unscrew it, angle it down a bit and retighten.

Unscrewing the aerial (on the pre FL at least) is much easier said than done. There is an anti theft feature that makes removal difficult.....I've never managed it, hence why it's easier to just unscrew it, angle it down a bit and retighten.

 

No problem on the FL Octavia.  Just like unscrewing a bolt.

Unscrewing the aerial (on the pre FL at least) is much easier said than done. There is an anti theft feature that makes removal difficult.....I've never managed it, hence why it's easier to just unscrew it, angle it down a bit and retighten.

This ^

 

I was trying to remove my aeriel yesterday as I was thinking of putting a bee sting type thing to replace it.  Could I remove it ?!  Heck no !

It will come off, pull harder!

It will come off, pull harder!

 

When I tried it I did pull harder!...........but stopped when the roof started buckling upwards. I didn't really need to remove it, I was just trying it out of curiosity! 

I felt exactly the same first time I removed mine.

Fold it almost flat and pull that way. Less stress on the roof panel.

When you've done it once, it becomes easier to do again.