Thule Rack System Issue...RANT

[aaron1085]

I have the Thule rack system installed on my A4 with the attachment for 2 snowboards/skis as well as the front fairing. I have had this for a month or so now and took my first trip down to MA with it last week...this is the first time I've been above 60mph with the rack system installed. I got to say, not impressed.

I guess I didn't know what to expect, and expected a bit of nosie and drag but WOW...the car felt like it was towing a damn camper and the wind noise was quite noticeable. I guess I am wondering if others have this issue and if perhaps taking the fairing off and allowing the wind to flow thru/under the rack system would cut down on drag and noise..thoughts/suggestions?!

/RANT

[mr shickadance]

put your snowboard upside down with the base facing the sky, that should help, if you ski, lay both skis base-facing-sky and see if that helps

[Leo14]

^ that

EDIT : You have the wind blocker thing on the front and it still is holding you back a lot?

[viperdsa]

I don't notice that much drag even with my bike on top of mine; but I always have my rack on so I guess I have just gotten used to the little more wind noise.

[kinnan12]

Depending on how far you have your bindings apart on your board, you wont be able to fit both binding between the 2 racks and you are forced to do what I do, and thats slide the board back terribly far. Now if you slide the board up front instead of moving it back to accommodate the bindings, I could see that making a huge drag and noise issue. Please take a pic of your setup.

[EErie B6]

Depending on how far you have your bindings apart on your board, you wont be able to fit both binding between the 2 racks and you are forced to do what I do, and thats slide the board back terribly far. Now if you slide the board up front instead of moving it back to accommodate the bindings, I could see that making a huge drag and noise issue. Please take a pic of your setup.

erm, why not just mount the bars farther apart?

[rollerton]

Weird, I have a Yakima system on my B6 avant I can't even hear the rack at all. Fairing or not, board or or no board- you can't even tell it's there until you look up through the sunroof. And a 275 mile round trip on the highway showed no difference in mpg, so I assume, no drag?

[EErie B6]

I guess I didn't know what to expect, and expected a bit of nosie and drag but WOW...the car felt like it was towing a damn camper and the wind noise was quite noticeable. I guess I am wondering if others have this issue and if perhaps taking the fairing off and allowing the wind to flow thru/under the rack system would cut down on drag and noise..thoughts/suggestions?!

/RANT

I have a thule ski rack on my allroad... TBH, i cant hear it at all with the windows up. never tried with the windows down but as long as it is <32* out thats not going to be an issue. I have had it up over 85mph with boards and skis on it and never noticed anything out of the ordinary. The only thing i notice is a drop in MPG. Summer time the allroad gets 24.5-25mpg indicated on the HWY. Winter time with the rack im seeing right at 20mpg. Part of this im sure is winter blend gas, but i know a big part is the rack. It does not make noise that i can tell at any speed i cruise at.

I 'em offset to the right as far as they can go and still stay inside the rail.

[Dangler]

erm, why not just mount the bars farther apart?

on a sedan body, you can't. There are specific locations where the bars mount. if you open the doors on the b7 sedan there are holes in the upper door jam to accept the pins in the foot-bases of the load bars. on your all-road the bars mount to the roof rails, which let you adjust the bar distances.

To the OP, The bindings are probably causing the wind noise. I have a rood box to carry my boards. keep the fairing on, and turn the boards with the bindings facing down, and see if that cuts down on wind noise. and make sure your fairing is centered.

also note, when it rains, the load bars over 70mph's may whistle when they get wet. Seriously, It happens on mine, but can be compensated for with your stereo.

[ryanworth]

Not sure why you are feeling so much drag. I have OEM bars with Thule attachments and Thule fairing. I've hit 100 with 3 boards with no issues at all.

I mean sure there is more wind as you get faster, but it's not a hinderance at all.

[WhyIs6afraidOf7]

this doesn't answer your question but i found out that my 06 a4 comes with a ski sack ,if you want to call it that, behind the backseat arm rest. i consider it one of the craziest thing you could put in a car but unfortunately i dont snowboard and have no use for it =(

[rjkotler]

I have a Yakima rack system on mine but the wind profile is pretty similar to the Thule. Try taking off the attachment that you have for your snowboards. Use some bungee cords and carry the boards directly on the crossbars. Upside down if the bindings will clear the roof. This will make a big difference. Also try removing the fairing. It will be directing wind right up into the boards if you leave it on.

I also have some pads on my crossbars and they tend to bring the wind noise down some as well.

Good luck.

[EErie B6]

on a sedan body, you can't.

bummer. did not know that. i thought they at least had some degree of movement. This is probably the reason for the wind noise as well... the sedan guys look like they have to run the lead bar a lot farther forward than their avant brothers. My guess is this puts the leading bar smack dab in the middle of the air flow coming off the windshield. If you can't adjust anything, you might just be stuck with the noise.

If it is that bad of an issue, you might want to look into Wispbars.

[kristokes]

Did you take the protective film off the fairing? The film is on both sides of the fairing and the back side is sometimes missed. If it was not taken off during install, that is the cause of your noise.

[kristokes]

[Leo14]

^ Thats hot.

[viperdsa]

Did you take the protective film off the fairing? The film is on both sides of the fairing and the back side is sometimes missed. If it was not taken off during install, that is the cause of your noise.

I forgot the backside and it seperated from the fairing at ~90mph, nearly poo'd myself from the noise it made.

[camoto]

I took mine off yesterday. I get this horrible vibration from that stupid fairing. I have repeatedly had to tweak it so it fits super tight to the roof and sure enough after a hundred miles or so it starts in again. I just got completely sick of having to tighten the fairing down so I took the whole damn rack off. I will put it back on when I need to ski or bike but now am refusing have it on there unless it is in use. Since taking it off I am realizing how much drag and noise it made, I had gotten used to the noise it made and now I am not missing it at all. I can live with the noise on the way to the slopes or trails.

[Maverik869]

Got any more pics of your setup? Is that an Audi Roof Rack and Thule fairing?

[Adub-Drew]

I get tons of noise from my fairing, along with drop in MPG. It dosen't help my car at all but i love the look. Not to mention my new Rallyarmor UR mudflaps that are super soft. At 65+ they tend to flap a bit i get tons of noise but i really could care less, i just turn my music volume up...

[72mako]

I ran my Thule without the fairing for a week and there was an annoying howl on the highway. I put the fairing on and that took care of the howl. I still get a good amount of wind noise but I only had a bike rack up there and not a board rack. It's definitely much quieter right now since the rack is off for the winter.

Nick

[aaron1085]

forgot to mention: I was driving to MA without my snowboard so..that wasn't a cause or issue.

I'm not sure if the racks (where the snowboard goes) is creating the drag, or the fairing itself...It seems like physics should tell me the fairing should be the size of a mack truck fairing to direct air up and over, or no fairing at all to let wind flow thru the rack system..idk, thanks for the replies. I see some of you are having the same issue.

Hate to have $400 sitting in the basement, but its annoying to have drag AND noise. Tho it does look dope like SloWhite up there.

[Matt@EuropaParts]

Noise? Yeah, it makes noise at highway speeds, with or without the fairing. That's to be expected. It's not particularly loud, but its there. As for the drag, it sounds like you're doing something wrong. I only experience drag above 75mph or so, never at 60mph. Adjust the fairing a bit and see if that helps. It's also worth noting that the snowboard racks do make more noise than the bike trays, and they're more of an obstacle to wind flow.

Some people run racks because it looks cool; I run mine because I use it frequently, so I'm ok with the trade offs (which there are).

Also, fwiw, I was able to get my hand on the older style fairing (solid piece):

[kristokes]

Tho it does look dope like SloWhite up there.

It looks dope, huh?

[kristokes]

Got any more pics of your setup? Is that an Audi Roof Rack and Thule fairing?

I'll try to get more pics later but my set up is as follows:

VW Votex roof rack base bar modified by ECS tuning to fit B6/B7 (originally made for VW)
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Audi..._B7/ES2102247/

Thule 91726 Universal Pull Top snowboard carrier
http://thule.com/en/US/Products/Snow...ull%20Top.aspx

Thule 872XT 44" Fairing
http://thule.com/en/US/Products/Base...44%20inch.aspx


*Will require some modifications in order for fairing to fit this specific application. Here are a few links that may help:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...tex-Roof-Racks

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...=1#post5807626

[GarrettReid]

It looks dope, huh?

What lip is that? I dig it

[kristokes]

What lip is that? I dig it

Deval CF spoiler from Eurogear
http://www.eurogearusa.com/spoilers/...r_spoiler.html

More pics:

[GarrettReid]

Errr... From the side I don't dig it as much

[kristokes]

Errr... From the side I don't dig it as much

Lol to each its own

[GarrettReid]

Lol to each its own

It looks good don't get me wrong, but from the side it just looks toooo long

[aaron1085]

so, I took another highway ride down to MA last week and this time, removed the Thule fairing. I noticed SUBSTANTIALLY less drag and wind noise. I did however leave the snowboard/ski attachments on the bars, and did feel some drag on the car.

I'm shocked the fairing produced so much drag and noise when in essence, it is supposed to limit both....

Perhaps if I remove the snowboard/ski attachments and just leave the base bars on, it will cruise even better... ??? thoiughts?

[Soul Kitchen]

this is dope! your car looks mean!
heres mine, wish it was lower though,


and to the OP aaron to be honest the wind noise is not that bad at all. I can hardly tell the rack is on my car, even when I do go on the highway. Maybe your fairing was positions incorrectly or something like that,
my rack will make more noise without the fairing.

[A4Q]

I had no problems on my car, I had 2x snowboards and 3x ski's. I have not read through this thread, but Did you remember to place the frontside of the ski pointing backwards of the car?