Oem roof rack - NEED fairing or remove ?

[90210]

We installed OEM roof rack for our roof box. We use it 2-3 times a year for long trips

However even with the oem mini rubber fairing it is very annoyingly loud

Wife is getting annoyed at it

1) when I installed it myself I didn't think taking it off will be super easy

Would you guys recommend removing cross bars only? That will look pretty dumb

2) should I go get a Thule or whatever fairing from sport chalet? Are they universal? Will noise go away


Appreciate ANY HeLp you can provide

 

[Komodo693]

I remove mine when not in use, much quieter.

 

[90210]

Remove fully or just cross bars

 

[Davicho]

We installed OEM roof rack for our roof box. We use it 2-3 times a year for long trips

However even with the oem mini rubber fairing it is very annoyingly loud

Wife is getting annoyed at it

1) when I installed it myself I didn't think taking it off will be super easy

Would you guys recommend removing cross bars only? That will look pretty dumb

2) should I go get a Thule or whatever fairing from sport chalet? Are they universal? Will noise go away


Appreciate ANY HeLp you can provide

Your wife would most definitely HATE driving my MZ5. I keep my rack and basket on year round. I think it looks cool and given I use 5 out of the 6 seats all the time I like to never get caught without it in case I happen to stumble on a great buy that requires larger cargo room than the room I have with one seat folded down. Easy as buy, throw on top and tie the s*** down. LOL! In fact I just used it twice in December. One for Xmas tree duty and the other on Xmas day for the unexpected Power Wheels gift my oldest son bought for his younger siblings.

 

[90210]

Your wife would most definitely HATE driving my MZ5. I keep my rack and basket on year round. I think it looks cool and given I use 5 out of the 6 seats all the time I like to never get caught without it in case I happen to stumble on a great buy that requires larger cargo room than the room I have with one seat folded down. Easy as buy, throw on top and tie the s*** down. LOL! In fact I just used it twice in December. One for Xmas tree duty and the other on Xmas day for the unexpected Power Wheels gift my oldest son bought for his younger siblings.

Haha yeah she would.

I use the 3rd row when inlaws come, otherwise its a 4 seater always.

I am going to see the instructions if there is a easy /quicker way of taking off the OEM roof rack instead of buying a fairing

no need to piss off the wife

 

[90210]

Take off 6 minutes
Putting the little plastic cover to cover the holes taking forever to line it up

 

[Typhoonk123456]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqwLxewsgTI

plan on picking some up to have on hand. So may try this trick on the bars

 

[90210]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqwLxewsgTI

plan on picking some up to have on hand. So may try this trick on the bars

oem fairing has these blades

It works to remove 60% of noise

I have done the bungee thing as well there was still significant howling

I removed it
All noise gone
Wife happy

 

[New5Owner]

I vote for removal when not needed. We got our 5 in August and had the factory roof rack installed because we were planning a long road trip. Soon after we got back home I popped it off (took 3 minutes) to cut wind noise. Before Christmas we were getting ready for the drive to MIL's house and I realized we would probably benefit from having the rack on over the holidays... 10 minutes to re-install in the cold and dark - my first time installing. I will probably leave it on throughout the winter to haul skis & snowboards, but it will come off again in the spring.

It's not a 'quick release' rack, but about as close as you can get. I found the hardest parts of the installation are getting the bolt to line up with the threaded hole and getting the crossbar (roughly) centred. The hardest part of removal is snapping the plastic covers into place (and not losing them when the rack is installed).

 

[90210]

Yeah removed it

Those plastic piece coverings are a menace

I vote for removal when not needed. We got our 5 in August and had the factory roof rack installed because we were planning a long road trip. Soon after we got back home I popped it off (took 3 minutes) to cut wind noise. Before Christmas we were getting ready for the drive to MIL's house and I realized we would probably benefit from having the rack on over the holidays... 10 minutes to re-install in the cold and dark - my first time installing. I will probably leave it on throughout the winter to haul skis & snowboards, but it will come off again in the spring.

It's not a 'quick release' rack, but about as close as you can get. I found the hardest parts of the installation are getting the bolt to line up with the threaded hole and getting the crossbar (roughly) centred. The hardest part of removal is snapping the plastic covers into place (and not losing them when the rack is installed).