Roof racks and wind noise...

[crownjewelwl]

Anything I can do about it or just par for the course?

Using a Thule criterium on aeroblade edge bars.

Missing my 1up already!

[thirdgenbird]

My whispbar and euro pitch fork setup is dead silent.

I think the fact that it is attached to a roof rack (not effecting the door seals) has a big play in it. Not just the aero shape.

[crownjewelwl]

It isn't the aeroblades...had them on for a few days before the criterium

So it is the bike rack itself...just wondering if there is a particular gap I need to try to fill

Had whispbars first but not enough clearance for my sunroof...

[azrider]

I have old skool Yakima roof rack and mine is dead silent....then again my car is pretty soundproof as it is. Do you have fairing? When I don't have the fairing on it makes quite a difference.

[crownjewelwl]

I have old skool Yakima roof rack and mine is dead silent....then again my car is pretty soundproof as it is. Do you have fairing? When I don't have the fairing on it makes quite a difference.

No fairing available for the aeroblades as they shouldn't need them!

[KF9YR]

You could get the 1up roof mount. I have 2 of them on my Tonneau cover. I like that they're low profile when not holding the bikes.

I also have no trouble taking them through the car wash as the felt strips don't get caught on them.

[crownjewelwl]

You could get the 1up roof mount. I have 2 of them on my Tonneau cover. I like that they're low profile when not holding the bikes.

I also have no trouble taking them through the car wash as the felt strips don't get caught on them.

Looked at the roof tray as an option....1up says you need at least an inch of clearance for it to work...the aeroblades are pretty low profile so it woujkd be too tight!

[azrider]

No fairing available for the aeroblades as they shouldn't need them!

Woops....I am of zero assistance then.

[FlashUNC]

Volume knob on the stereo.

[crownjewelwl]

Volume knob on the stereo.

Works but I'm ocd

[foo_fighter]

I just read something about wrapping some shock cord(bungee) around the bars to break up the airflow. Worth a shot.

[R3awak3n]

What about those wind deflector things? I forget the name. My rack is noisey as well, its on a tall suv so i feel that it makes for an even louder ride. I dont mind it but my wife definitely complains about it.

[crownjewelwl]

The bars themselves are silent....the fairings are for non arirfoil shaped bars

It is the bike rack itself...clearly there is a gap somewhere that is causing the noise

[Mikej]

Yeah I have the wind noise too- Thule with square bars and fairing and echelons. I have a sun roof and think I might try to put some sound proofing between the glass and that shade thing. I don't really like the sun roof anyway.

[azrider]

May I ask what kind of car ?

[vqdriver]

kind of curious about this. i always thought the noise was from the bike. i didn't realize the rack itself was so noisy.

[Elefantino]

Plumbing insulation. Works for my Thule stuff up to 80 mph.

[Mr. Pink]

I have a Subaru Forester with a sunroof, so I cured my noise issue by putting on that rain/wind guard that Subaru sell for the sunroof, and that filled the gap between rack and roof nicely. Thule also sells a fairing that will fill that gap, depending on the car. Attaches easily.

[fishwhisperer]

i use a whispbar/rocky mounts euro combination and it was annoyingly noisy until i tried two things:

1) i shoved the rear crossbar wayyy back along the door sill. far farther back then i would've normally thought to try. almost to the point of bending the pitchfork.

2) used a laser level to align the pitchforks with the center longitudinal axis of the car. sounds weird, but on my car (vw golf) the door sill lines flare out toward the end, so i had the racks cambered to match those and not with the wind.

the first technique got rid of most of the noise, but the second made it silent enough to open the sunroof again :cool:

[SoCalSteve]

Not sure if my set up is quiet or not...between the wonderful sound of the engine and the fun of driving it, I've never noticed...:rolleyes:

[seanile]

#humblebrag

[thirdgenbird]

i use a whispbar/rocky mounts euro combination and it was annoyingly noisy until i tried two things:

1) i shoved the rear crossbar wayyy back along the door sill. far farther back then i would've normally thought to try. almost to the point of bending the pitchfork.

2) used a laser level to align the pitchforks with the center longitudinal axis of the car. sounds weird, but on my car (vw golf) the door sill lines flare out toward the end, so i had the racks cambered to match those and not with the wind.

the first technique got rid of most of the noise, but the second made it silent enough to open the sunroof again :cool:

I did these first thing on my jsw.

1)The long roof lets me put the first cross bar right above the b pillar

2)I did good old fashion measuring off the center line. It's amazing how much the roof width changes. Just looking at the bike trays you would swear they are toed out 2in but they are dead straight.


SoCal, nice 991

[Elefantino]

Not sure if my set up is quiet or not...between the wonderful sound of the engine and the fun of driving it, I've never noticed...:rolleyes:
Don't let the sound of the engine distract you and cause you to drive into your garage. The garage always wins.

[SoCalSteve]

Don't let the sound of the engine distract you and cause you to drive into your garage. The garage always wins.

True dat!!!

I think we have all done that ONE TIME in our lives ( I know I have...:mad:)

[jimoots]

Don't know if this helps your situation, buuuuuut

I had issues with a Thule 591 roof rack, particularly the one on the left. Basically, they use a reversible design (one rack can be mounted on either side of the vehicle) but this meant that there was some overhang on the front side. Wind then went into the exposed cavity and made noise.

That kinda sounds dirty.

Picture... thousand words...

http://i42.tinypic.com/j7dith.jpg

Essentially I put some tape underneath it to get rid of the noise. This picture was taken quite early in the piece - I eventually got some electrical tape that was much more pleasant on the eye.

Hope that helps.

[crownjewelwl]

That's exactly my problem....need to figure out a good way to cover the gap


Don't know if this helps your situation, buuuuuut

I had issues with a Thule 591 roof rack, particularly the one on the left. Basically, they use a reversible design (one rack can be mounted on either side of the vehicle) but this meant that there was some overhang on the front side. Wind then went into the exposed cavity and made noise.

That kinda sounds dirty.

Picture... thousand words...

http://i42.tinypic.com/j7dith.jpg

Essentially I put some tape underneath it to get rid of the noise. This picture was taken quite early in the piece - I eventually got some electrical tape that was much more pleasant on the eye.

Hope that helps.

[crownjewelwl]

May I ask what kind of car ?

E63 AMG wagon....I don't want to turn up the stereo cuz I wanna hear the engine!!

[veloduffer]

True dat!!!



I think we have all done that ONE TIME in our lives ( I know I have...:mad:)


I haven't done that, BUT I have a manual garage opener. 😊 Having to get out of the car to get the door, is a good reminder.

I did almost drive into a parking garage with my cargo box on last month. Thankfully I caught myself in time.

[sloanfiske]

Anything I can do about it or just par for the course?

Using a Thule criterium on aeroblade edge bars.

Missing my 1up already!

There isn't a single roof rack i've ever used that didn't make at least a little noise.

The plastic jam things at the front sort of help i suppose, but never made much of a difference to me.

Then again, the cars i've had that had roof racks are shaped like refrigerators with a hood, so they make wind noise standing still.

[crownjewelwl]

so i spoke to the dudes at rack attack...

they said that the default position for the criterium is on the passenger side...the mounting bracket flip flops and there isn't a forward overhang over the bars on the passenger side...

better but still some noise...

[azrider]

E63 AMG wagon....I don't want to turn up the stereo cuz I wanna hear the engine!!

Dude........pics.......now. I'm a sucker for wagons with roof racks

[schneiderrd]

Why did you get rid of you're 1Up? It has to be the best bike rack going.

[jimoots]

That's exactly my problem....need to figure out a good way to cover the gap

The one thing I never bothered with, but seemed like a really good idea, was either using blu-tak or perhaps some sort of a filler.

Tape works well as a stopgap measure, totally kills the noise. Drove me nuts until I did this.

When flipped around to driver side, there's no noise though.

[crownjewelwl]

Dude........pics.......now. I'm a sucker for wagons with roof racks

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOW6zmpapMQSafnEWaycPPLnA8B_QGgFScnMGba

so switching the position really helped...still a little noise at around 40mph but much more tolerable...

[SeanScott]

I kind of feel like we could have a picture thread of just bikes on roof racks. (maybe there is one?)I love it.
I am also obsessed with old team cars.
I would love to build an old Volvo Molteni or a Look Peugeot (Bernard Tapie style). I would drive around with huge sideburns and hand out sprites and sandwich to group local rides.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a106/sscott55/IMG_2293-2_zps0fidjeij.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/user/sscott55/media/IMG_2293-2_zps0fidjeij.jpg.html)

[thirdgenbird]

Sweet decal

[batman1425]

Wind noise is inevitable at some level with any roof rack setup and can be car dependent. I've had the same bars, trays, and faring on 3 different cars with different amounts and types of noise from each setup.

One that puzzled me for a while was the locking handle on my Rockmounts trays. The handle is hollow and open at the end. If you position it wrong the air moving around it is like blowing over an empty soda bottle. The whistle was maddening. Fixed it by putting a piece of electrical tape over the hole.

[azrider]

I am also obsessed with old team cars.
I would love to build an old Volvo Molteni or a Look Peugeot

I'm right there with ya.....



http://www.prewarcar.com/images/stories/user_images/_1403023366_resized_p1080646.jpg

[christian]

1974/75 Volvo in Orange.... ok....

http://burlington.craigslist.org/cto/5040862550.html

http://images.craigslist.org/00404_9G8UiiZfNJ0_600x450.jpg

[SeanScott]

Christian - really great find.
For not very much money one could own a very unique car.
I would have to have a 6 speed manual and modern turbo swap in it.
Very Tempting

[christian]

I'm from northern Sweden. Old Volvos find me.