Roof Cargo Box Wind Noise?

[flcruising]

I've searched, but didn't come up with much.

I was just wondering what type of wind noise can be expected from a roof cargo box and rack combo. Haven't decided on the OEM or Thule rack. I'm looking at a lower profile box like the Thule Ascent 1100, but am open to whatever you guys suggest.

I have a highland universal rack I use on another vehicle, and the road noise (unloaded) is definitely not acceptable for a road trip.

 

[volvovod]

I've searched, but didn't come up with much.

I was just wondering what type of wind noise can be expected from a roof cargo box and rack combo. Haven't decided on the OEM or Thule rack. I'm looking at a lower profile box like the Thule Ascent 1100, but am open to whatever you guys suggest.

I have a highland universal rack I use on another vehicle, and the road noise (unloaded) is definitely not acceptable for a road trip.

I have a huge but aerodynamic Yakima box sitting on top of the Thule rack (no wind deflector). I am surprised by the relative lack of drama: while the same setup on 2004 MPV produced a lot of noise, on Mazda5 I almost hear no difference up to 75 mph.

 

[dishe]

can you open the moonroof with that setup?

 

[flcruising]

What are the dimensions of your yakima box? It's not like we'll ever carry skis, so I'm just interested in one that can hold our luggage.

 

[volvovod]

To dishe: Can not open it even without the box on top - I do not have a moonroof

To flcruising: It is about 7 ft long.

 

[flcruising]

Does it interfere with the rear hatch at all?

What do you think about this thing?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

I have no idea what size works best on top of the 5.

 

[Peanuts]

Thule Ascent 1100 and Thule Sidearm bike roof rack

My 2 cents...

I've got the Thule Ascent 1100 and the Sidearm bike roof rack mounted on the standard OEM Mazda roof racks.

Inteference with doors, antenna, etc. - none whatsoever, and I have the cargo carrier mounted as far to the rear as it will go.

Width-wise, if you're looking to mount both a bike rack and cargo carrier on the OEM roof racks, 25-26" is about as wide a cargo carrier as you can get and still comfortably have space to mount a roof-mounted bike rack.

Moonroof, I can definitely open it without problems with the cargo carrier alone. With the bike rack on, I need to remember to use the smallest length bolts on the front roof rack or I'll hit the bike rack fastening nuts.

Noise-wise, I have no moonroof wind deflector. With the OEM roof racks mounted alone, interior cabin noise is not a big deal, especially with the plastic noise-reduction clips mounted on the racks. With the cargo carrier, I've noticed a fair amount of noise past 100km/h and definitely with cross-winds. With the bike rack and the cargo carrier together, the noise is noticeably louder, and conversation is impossible with the moonroof open at typical highway speed limits (100 km/h, around 65 miles/h). I hardly ever open the moonroof with both the bike rack and cargo carrier on together, and I tend to keep the moonroof "shade" closed as that helps deaden the noise.

Capacity wise, best way I have of visualizing the space available with the Ascent 1100 is that it can carry 4 filled expedition-sized hiking backpacks (80L capacity) with some room left over in the ends for boots and small bags. Main limitation is that the bulky stuff needs to go in the middle, due to the low height of the cargo carrier.

Without any bikes mounted on the roof, I can probably get through 80-90% of parking garages with low roof clearances with the Ascent 1100 and OEM racks, but just barely (with an inch or two to spare). If you've got at least 7' 6" of clerance, you're OK with the Ascent 1100 and OEM rack.

 

[Tsuru]

Just finished a 6000Km road trip with a Thule Mountaineer 669TT box attached to an Inno IN-XR rack. During a test drive before the trip with just the rack the noise level was pretty high. The cargo box on top reduced the noise level to acceptable. During the trip you couldn't really hear any wind noise but that's because I had the OEM Toyo tires still on the car which were making atrocious road noise.
Don't bother with a fairing if you're mounting a box. It'll only make the wind resistance worse. If you're concerned one trick I've learned to reduce wind noise is to wrap a bungee cord around the front rack 5-6 times before mounting the box.

 

[flcruising]

I've got an Inno IN-XR rack coming. Was seriously considering the Sportrack 1300 I posted above because my whole setup would only be $400. A decent Thule box is that much by itself.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean about wrapping the bungee...?

 

[steinwayb]

Roof noise no big deal

I have a 2006 Mazda5 Sport. I use the OEM roof rack with a Sears Xcargo roof carrier I bought used for 50 bucks on craigslist. Surprisingly, I don't notice any difference in the noise (probably because I only use it once a year for our annual trip up North around the holidays and we've got the movies playing on the DVD player for my kids). I will say it reduces the gas mileage by around 3 miles per gallon, so instead of getting around 27 or 28 MPG on the highway, it drops to around 24 or 25...still not too bad.

 

[dishe]

I have a 2006 Mazda5 Sport. I use the OEM roof rack with a Sears Xcargo roof carrier I bought used for 50 bucks on craigslist. Surprisingly, I don't notice any difference in the noise (probably because I only use it once a year for our annual trip up North around the holidays and we've got the movies playing on the DVD player for my kids). I will say it reduces the gas mileage by around 3 miles per gallon, so instead of getting around 27 or 28 MPG on the highway, it drops to around 24 or 25...still not too bad.

Interesting... see, comments like this make me wonder if the OE Mazda racks are better designed for the least amount of noise and performance hit (MPG) versus the aftermarkets.

Or perhaps its those huge Cargo boxes from Thule and Yakima making the noise versus your Xcargo?
I personally am a fan of the X-cargo from Sears, they seem a whole lot more affordable yet no one on the forums discusses them much.

I had already ordered a Thule Podium 460 kit from ORSracks, but they are out of the 3080 fit kit, saying Thule has them backordered until Aug 20!

So now I'm weighing my alternatives. How much did you pay for your Mazda Rack?

 

[coolmazda5]

In my case the Thule wind fairing made a huge difference on noise (with or without box). I have the OEM Roof Rack (made by Thule), 872x Thule wind fairing and the Thule Cascade XT 1700 cargo box...

 

[flcruising]

I have a 2006 Mazda5 Sport. I use the OEM roof rack with a Sears Xcargo roof carrier I bought used for 50 bucks on craigslist. Surprisingly, I don't notice any difference in the noise (probably because I only use it once a year for our annual trip up North around the holidays and we've got the movies playing on the DVD player for my kids). I will say it reduces the gas mileage by around 3 miles per gallon, so instead of getting around 27 or 28 MPG on the highway, it drops to around 24 or 25...still not too bad.

I like this X-Cargo. Definitely big. Thanks for the pointer. The reviews have me wondering though. If someone here chimes in with their experience it would be appreciated. I'm trying to avoid spending twice as much on a Thule. Those things never show up on Craigslist here.


http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...21x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=02872016000P

 

[Tsuru]

I've got an Inno IN-XR rack coming. Was seriously considering the Sportrack 1300 I posted above because my whole setup would only be $400. A decent Thule box is that much by itself.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean about wrapping the bungee...?

Sorry, I missed your earlier post. Attached is a picture with a short bungee wrapped around the rail. Of course when mounted the stays would be much further apart but you get the idea. I've also attached a picture of the 5 loaded up at a rest stop in Minnesota.

When filling up in Illinois I was directly beside an '09 Touring with the OEM rack mounted. The OEM rack is considerably higher than the Inno but the angle that the racks would hold a cargo box at would be pretty similar. That being said I finally calculated my trip mileage and I averaged 29.3MPG over the whole 6000Km trip. Not bad considering how large the Thule box I own is and how much heavy headwind I drove into.

 

[dishe]

Sorry, I missed your earlier post. Attached is a picture with a short bungee wrapped around the rail. Of course when mounted the stays would be much further apart but you get the idea. I've also attached a picture of the 5 loaded up at a rest stop in Minnesota.

I'm not sure I under the physics behind this- why would wrapping a cord around the crossbeam make any kind of difference??

 

[Tsuru]

I'm not sure exactly what it accomplishes either but I've heard about this from too many sources to discredit the idea completely. My guess would be that it provides the air that hits the bar with a suggested direction of travel. I only took 1st-year physics though so I'm no expert. Maybe it's another urban myth.

 

[steinwayb]

Interesting... see, comments like this make me wonder if the OE Mazda racks are better designed for the least amount of noise and performance hit (MPG) versus the aftermarkets.

Or perhaps its those huge Cargo boxes from Thule and Yakima making the noise versus your Xcargo?
I personally am a fan of the X-cargo from Sears, they seem a whole lot more affordable yet no one on the forums discusses them much.

I had already ordered a Thule Podium 460 kit from ORSracks, but they are out of the 3080 fit kit, saying Thule has them backordered until Aug 20!

So now I'm weighing my alternatives. How much did you pay for your Mazda Rack?

I think I paid about $275 for it. My wife ordered it from a dealer in Texas who happened to be selling them over the net for a cheaper price (including shipping) then our local dealer.

 

[remarquian]

When filling up in Illinois I was directly beside an '09 Touring with the OEM rack mounted. The OEM rack is considerably higher than the Inno but the angle that the racks would hold a cargo box at would be pretty similar.

I think I like the Inno better than the OEM rack.

I've had the OEM rack on for over two years and never used it (having three kids, we *thought* we'd need it, but never did).

Monday we're going to take a road trip to San Diego, so we bought a SportRack 1300. In installing the cargo box yesterday, I realized the mountable width of the OEM rack was less than I wanted it to be as I also want enough unused space to mount a bicycle.` The Inno rack seems to have more width.

Having the rack not be so tall would be cool too.

Today, with the box on top I had to make an emergency stop at the mall. Of course I forgot about the box on top, until it scraped on the 6'10" high pipe hanging off the entrance to the parking garage.

Oops. No noticeable damage.

Plus I think the Inno looks better and is cheaper.

Oh, what a pain buyer's remorse is.

 

[Tsuru]

I think I like the Inno better than the OEM rack.

I've had the OEM rack on for over two years and never used it (having three kids, we *thought* we'd need it, but never did).

Monday we're going to take a road trip to San Diego, so we bought a SportRack 1300. In installing the cargo box yesterday, I realized the mountable width of the OEM rack was less than I wanted it to be as I also want enough unused space to mount a bicycle.` The Inno rack seems to have more width.

Having the rack not be so tall would be cool too.

Today, with the box on top I had to make an emergency stop at the mall. Of course I forgot about the box on top, until it scraped on the 6'10" high pipe hanging off the entrance to the parking garage.

Oops. No noticeable damage.

Plus I think the Inno looks better and is cheaper.

Oh, what a pain buyer's remorse is.

If it's any consolation I doubt the Inno existed when you purchased your OEM rack.
With my Thule Mountaineer box (Similar to the Sportrack 1300, just larger) on the Inno I'm still just under 7'
In theory, since the OEM rack is made by Thule, you should be able to just purchase longer cross bars and install them on your OE feet. That would be much cheaper than buying a whole new rack.

 

[remarquian]

In theory, since the OEM rack is made by Thule, you should be able to just purchase longer cross bars and install them on your OE feet. That would be much cheaper than buying a whole new rack.

No, that's now the way the OEM bars work, lookee:

The bars are terminated by the posts.

But you are right about the aftermarket racks not existing when I bought the car.

Thanks for trying to console me .