Extremely Noisy Roof Rack

[leong]

Unfortunately there is no Thule fit kit available for my new car (2015 Impala). So I had to switch to a Yakima roof rack. I don’t know whether it’s the shape (cylindrical) crossbars (or something else) but the Yakima system is very much noisier than the Thule systems (Thule uses square loadbars). Thule even makes a quieter loadbar called the Aeroblade but I didn't buy them for my old car because the standard loadbar is pretty quiet.

Yakima advertises fairings for noise reduction. I wonder if I should buy them. The damn Yakima roof rack sans fairings already cost a significant fraction of my kayak.

Any suggestions or comments?

-Leon

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

Leon,

Do you have end caps for the bars?

One note on fairings: If you have a sunroof that you use, the fairing may interfere with operating it.

[leong]

Leon,

Do you have end caps for the bars?

One note on fairings: If you have a sunroof that you use, the fairing may interfere with operating it.

Yes, the end caps were installed and I know the fairings will interfere with the sunroof. Note, the roof rack was installed by RoofRack techs so the installation is probably correct. I haven't put the kayak on the roof yet. Perhaps the load will change the noise volume.

-Leon

[Doug]

Call RackAttack in Framingham. They may have a suggestion for you.

Doug

[prudenceb]

My Yakima rack was also super noisy until I got the fairing. That completely solved the problem. In my car didn't interfere with sun roof either.

[leong]

Call RackAttack in Framingham. They may have a suggestion for you.

Doug

I bought the Yakima system at RackAttack and their techs installed the roof rack. They did recommend the fairing after I complained that I could no longer hear the radio above 55 MPH. But I'm hoping to solve the problem without buying the fairings (they will interfere with my sunroof). The Thule system is much quieter and Thule fairings or Aeroblades are not needed.

I find it puzzling that Thule stopped making a fit kit for the Impala after 2013. The Impala is the 8'th most common car sold in the US and the 1’st most common American-made car (not counting the Ford F 150 truck).

-Leon – who’ll soon drive to south FLA sans radio

[Brian Nystrom]

There's one simple thing you can try that may help. Spiral wrap some ~1/4" rope or bungee around the crossbars. That breaks up the airflow, which will kill any resonance. That may not be the issue, but it's worth a try.

[Suz]

There's one simple thing you can try that may help. Spiral wrap some ~1/4" rope or bungee around the crossbars. That breaks up the airflow, which will kill any resonance. That may not be the issue, but it's worth a try.

And this one, I can agree with! I was going to suggest this also.

Yakima also makes a load bar for the side - it pulls out from the bar and there is a large (Ish) handle that you use to lock it in position - whether you lock it open or closed. I only mention it as it is super noisy when it is in one position but quiet when it is a quarter turn away from that position.

You may try padding out the cross bar in an area - mine round bars are padded with the surf style pads that velcro on and then I zip tie them to be more secure. I think that when I padded my bar, it quieted down.

Funny story is that I brought my car in for a "noise" that I heard coming from the back rear of the car. The dealer took it for a spin and came back and said it was the roof rack. So, I took the roof rack off and then he could hear the noise. The thing is that I don't notice the that my roof rack is that noisy. I think he was just willing to blame the noise I heard to the rack until I took it off.

Yakima does make the "Whispabar" which has a different profile altogether. It may be that you need that instead of the round bars on your car.

[leong]

Thanks, all.

Unfortunately, the Yakima Whispbars (cost $458!) aren’t available for 2015 Impala’s. But I’ll try wrapping the crossbars with bungees … perhaps that’ll change the resonate frequency enough to reduce the noise.

Also, I’m hoping that when I mount my Thule Hull-A-Port's on the Yakima crossbars to carry my kayak the noise might be reduced. I’m not doing that now because the old car is now being used to transport my kayak until I’m ready to drive to Florida.

I wonder if Thule has a patent on the flat shape of their standard crossbars? Besides less noise than the round shape that Yakima uses, Thule’s crossbars are better for tightly mounting accessories.

-Leon

[John Martinsen]

Ditto the surf pads, will quiet it right down.

[mhabich]

Is the noise all the time or just when the sunroof is open. Fore-aft distance from bar to sunroof makes a big difference.

Yakima makes a Windjammer. It's a snap-on aero fairing for a round bar. Cheap enough, but only 8.5" long. No experience here.

[leong]

>>Is the noise all the time or just when the sunroof is open?
All of the time, in fact, I haven’t opened the sunroof.

>>Yakima makes a Windjammer.
Yes, I might try that if neither pipe insulation nor some wrapped around bungee solves the problem. I’m surprised that you only need Windjammer on the front crossbar.

Thanks all,

-Leon

[leong]

II placed some foam pipe insulation on both the front and rear crossbars (fastened tightly with bungees). It did quiet down somewhat, perhaps 1/3 of the original noise (maybe 5 dB of noise reduction). I wish I had a noise meter to experiment to see how much I could reduce the noise.

FYI, Rack Attack doesn't stock the "Windjammer"; however, I doubt that it would do a better job than both front and rear pipe insulation.

Thanks all for the info.

-Leon

PS
Warning to all: Due to corrosion, all of my Thule Hull-a-Port Pro’s fasteners (bolts with plastic wingnuts) "froze" and had to be hacksawed off. I guess I should have lubricated the bolts occasionally.