FL2 Roof Rails

[Danj]

Hi all,

After my existential crisis about buying a 4wd, we have put a deposit on a brand spanking new FL2. Due in Australia in December. So excited I can't sleep!

Have ordered the LR roof rails as needed for surfboards, kayaks, etc.

Have heard reports that the LR roof rails create significant (read annoying) wind noise.

Can anyone confirm or deny this? If there is noise is this caused by the cross bars only?

Many thanks.

[Danj]

Anyone???????

[inside]

I do not have the LR roof rails so can't speak from experience. I have heard some people have had problems with noise however this was rectified. Maybe a search on www.freel2.com (http://www.freel2.com) will help?

[mikehzz]

Hello,

The dealer told me that they couldn't keep the front cross bar on their demo as it was too noisy. I have Thule aftermarket with the Euro cross bars on mine and can't keep them on the car if I take the pod off....the noise was way too annoying (for me anyway). If the pod is on the racks then there is no problem, it seems to diffuse the wind flow. I have heard that the thicker Aero style bar is ok.

Therefore, I only have the racks on when I'm going away and need the pod. Its ok for me, as the fuel consumption goes up when the racks are on anyway. At least I didn't pay the outrageous price for genuine's that annoy you.

Mike

[Rhino]

I purchased my 08 Freelander 3 weeks ago and have fitted the Roof Rail + Cross Bar kit (Note: cross bar is a stiffener between the roof rails, not roof racks...something my dealer was confused about) for $800. Genuine roof racks were another $450, so I got Thule aero racks for $270 and have done the following experiments after reading similar comments about noise. I did the following up to 100km per hour:

· Thule roof racks without rubber channel cover: Whistles like a trooper from 60km to 100km. Something I wouldn’t like to live with.
· Thule roof racks with cover: Noise substantially reduced but there is still an audible deep whistle from the racks. Sounds a bit like the noise you got from the A pillar from older cars. Not bad but is there.
· Roof rails without roof racks: No noticeable noise, but if you concentrate you can hear a similar deep whistle to that described above. But you have to concentrate over the road noise. So it is pretty quite considering how quite these cars drive.

One advantage to the Thule roof racks is how easy they are to fit and remove, no spanners required. So I’ll be removing them when not need, but next time I fit them I’ll tape up the gaps on the underside of the racks and see if there is an improvement.

Hope this helps.

[inside]

With Thule and Rola you need to be aware that they are only rated at 60kg including the weight of the bars which is about 7kg. So if you want to use the full 75kg you can put on the roof these may not be suitable.

[101RRS]

I have a FL1 but have looked on the web at the FL2 system - seems to be mainly cross rails rather than roof bars which seem reasonable aerodynamic.

The standard FL1 bars were a square section and hummed and drummed so loud to be unacceptable - noting the FL1 is a noisy car anyway. I put Thule aero bars on my roof rails (rails - same as FL2) and I find them quite quiet and they remain on the car all the time. They are aluminium aero section with rubber along the top and are easy to fit and remove.

So if the standard FL2 bars are not aero in section I would not buy them and buy the Thule ones - much cheaper and work really well.


Garry