Does anyone know how to cure the whistling from a factory installed roof rack.....We dont want to take it off, just cure the whistle!!!!!Are there any products or ideas any of you good people know about....

Mark

 

Would a sunroof visor help break up some of the wind your roof rack is going through?



Ive heard people use Dynamat on the inside of their roofs to rid wind
noise... might improve it a little, but I would try breaking up the wind
above the roof first.

 

I've heard that if you remove the black rubber strips that cover the top of the rails it helps. I haven't bothered since I can't really hear the rack anyway (maybe because I don't have a sunroof). Let me know if that helps.

 

I just turn the radio up louder . But seriously, I've heard the same that removing the rubber from the rails help to break up the wind noise. I've grown used to it and I don't have a sunroof, either.

 

As Jaxmini said, remove the black strips and the whistle goes away. We've had our roof rack on since day one (May 02') and have a sunroof also......no whistle...

Cheers!

Donna :smile:

 

I have the dealer installed base and luggage rack. It came with the rubber stips that I figured were to be used on the base when you took off the rack. So the strips are not in place. Anyway there is enough noise that I had initially thought that I'd left a window down. I finally figured that it was the price I pay for extra luggage space. The one thing that I had thought of was that the Thule and Yakima racks have a angled flat front piece that I assume makes the rack more areodynamic and maybe lessens noise. Making one for the stock Mini rack might be a shot in the dark though. Maybe it'll work....maybe not.

 

I just tried putting lite packing tape (2" wide) over the top of the rubber strips across both beems, and it seemed to cut out most of the whistle. There was still some of the buffeting, but it was an improvement. I have two 'custom' Thule bike trays on the rack that may add a little noise (although I didn't notice much change when I originally mounted them on the rack). I pulled the tape back off, and there was a definite difference--best judge at 70mph. Next is to find some quality tape, maybe silver, or black, or IB blue (like the rest of the car), to permanently install. Or how about different rubber molding--smooth outer surface--more flush fit. Anybody know of any sources of rubber moldings that might already have a good 'fit'.

 

i was warned about the possiblity of whistling from my racks by the manager. he said basically take out the rubber strip as it tends to allow the wind to funnel thru the tunnel it creates.

since i use my racks for surf boards, i simply fitted some rack pads over the length of the racks to cushion my board. and i've had no noise since.

 

The other day I opened up the roof and reached up. I grabbed the luggage rack up front where the pieces join. The whistling stopped. I haven't had the time to fool with it lately, but maybe just a small rap of black electrical tape might do it. It'll all be just trial and error I'm afraid. I'll post if I find something that works.

 

I bought an old Yakima fairing and mounted it to the front bar. It solved the whistling problem that was causing me to go crazy. I can post a pic or two if you want. It looks okay and while I don't really like the Yakima advertising it's much better than the whistling.

Another thing that helps to put bar pads on the bars. I got some at my rack store. They helped but weren't as good as the fairing.

Cheers,

E

 

Yo, eman. I'd like to see pictures, if possible. I have a cut down Yakama faring I thought about trying, but hadn't had a chance to work on the installation, yet.
Thanks

 

I have the rack with the new bike carrier made by Thule with the angled front. And no sunroof. And i don't use the black strips. It never whistles.

 

here are a few pics. I could do a better job bolting it on. The bolts are a little long and I used 1" washers above and below. Hopefully the attached pics will come through correctly.

E

 

eman, thanks for the pictures.

I never could understand why a fairing wasn't available
for the Mini rack.

I'd thought about fabricating my own, but I wasn't sure how to
attach it. Where did you find the Yakima fairing? Did any of the
mounting hardware come with it? I'd have to do something a bit different
since I have the luggage rack mounted on the base.

 

Sorry I should have provided that detail. I got it used at Sports Rack in Bellevue for about $40.

The fairing just came with the fairing and the angle brackets. There were a ton of snowboarding stickers on it but a hair dryer and some goof off took care of those. I had to bend the brackets a little (15-20 degrees) to make it fit but it wasn't a big deal. You could probably make one of the current smaller fairings from Thule or Yakima work if you could make a few mounting brackets but I haven't looked into that option in detail.

I've had the fairng for 4-5 months and wouldn't use the bars without it. It killed the whistling completely. It looks a bit ugly but I use the bike rack quite a bit so the trade off works for me.

 

Yakima fairings are available on the net, or often on E-bay. They cost around $40 with all the mounting clips and stuff. They are available in different lengths, and I believe the shortest one is 40", which works on the Mini (May need some trimming). The thing I can't figure out is why they do not have a White roof rack for cars with white roofs. I figure a white roof rack with a white fairing would look excellent!

 

Thanks for the pics, eman. Your installation looks great. With the brackets I've got and a little 'engineering', it looks quite doable. Have you noticed any wearing or skuffing on the roof surface where the leading edge of the faring rests?
I'm gonna look into the new Thule bike rails shown on another post. My custom ones work fine, 4-5 days a week--but the new ones look better. At the same time, I could pull the rubber strips and see how the noise goes.
PS Nice lookin' car--I've got the IB/IB w/ white stripes, although I'm wondering about some 8" 'Cobra' stripes, especially after catching a biography of Caroll Shelby on Speed Channel last night.
kgspin

 

d2mini

What model # is your Thule bike tray?
Thanks
kgspin

 

No idea. sorry.

Just call your local mini parts department and ask for the new fork mount bike carrier.

 

kgspin - I haven't noticed any wear but I haven't taken the rack off in a few months. I took a look anyway and I don't see any rubbing or anything.

 

:smile: I redid my rack yesterday. Took off the bike trays and rubber strips. Drove around, including on the freeway--no whistle, light buffeting. Put on a pair of Rocky Mounts bike trays--the Lariet (with a little customizing). They're more solid, look better,and-----I CAN DRIVE WITH THE SUNROOF OPEN!! Only took 27,000 miles to get here. Don't need the fairing now.

 

I put Yakima on my MCS. They are super low profile........

 

I had this problem with my Jetta and the Yakima fairing made it quieter than when there was absolutely nothing on the roof because it redirected the wind over the entire roof.

 

I do not have a fairing. My racks are spread wide.......I think the wind hits them in the right spot.......I don't really hear them