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Rack Fairings

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43K views 43 replies 24 participants last post by  XVdrive16  
#1 ·
Has anyone attached any brand of fairing to their roof rack yet? Unsure of what size to order.
 
#2 ·
Pacrosstrek,
Do you have a sunroof? I have a Thule brand (but all brands seem to be the same from researching) and I have a sunroof on my XV. My bars were howling in the wind so I bought the Thule fairing. It ends up resting on the sunroof. Of course I didn't install it. I searched on the internet and it seems like this is a problem with all racks. You can't extent the fairing far enough in front of the sunroof to clear it.

I just called Thule today and they were unaware of the problem. They asked me to take pictures and send them in so that "engineering" can look to see the problem.

A friend on a different Crosstrek site recommended wrapping the bars with parachute cord and that stops the howling. I got some parachute cord from him but haven't had time to wrap my bars yet.
 
#13 ·
I have the Windjammer and it works fine. I already owned the Yakima fairing but didn't want to use it on my XV because it would sit right on the sunroof. Decided to try the Windjammer instead and I'm happy!
 
#5 ·
I just put my old Yakima fairing on there, but had to trim about 1.5" from either side. That actually seems to fit better than if I got the recommended size for the XV. Snugs up against the inside of the rails. I wondered about people with the sunroof though. That glorified piece of Lexan that is the fairing, is attached with four little plastic arms, but if they were just a little bit longer they could clear the sunroof.
 
#6 ·
I have the Thule fairing on my 450 crossbars. Makes everything virtually silent at highway speeds. Note that certain accessories (kayak racks, bike racks, etc) will increase the wind noise regardless of whether or not you have a fairing.
 
#8 ·
Been a while since I bought it, but I think it was a 44", which I shortened to about 41.
Yakima charts say a 38" fits the XV, and when unmodified it kinda tapers off at the ends to a rounded point.
Trimming off the ends of a 44" eliminates most of that taper, so the end of the fairing is just about level with the roof rails.

I don't know if it makes any functional difference at all, but it looks good to me.
 
#11 ·
Here is the proper setup to getting a fairing that mounts directly to your factory aero bars. My last piece shows either today or tomorrow and I will put it on.

Inno universal fairing, size medium, part# INA261

Make sure to include the long-bolt kit.

Their medium fairing fits just inside the two raised sides and the clamps are designed to fit over factory bars. Because two of the clamps will go over the jaws on the outsides of the bars the long bolt kit is designed to work for this. This is the only setup I have found that does not involve cutting, gluing, splicing, praying, zip-tying, reversing, etc.
 
#16 ·
Hey guys so what was the end result on the fairings and a sunroof? Will it interfere?
Anyways, I want to buy either Yakima or Thule all at once. I'm leaning towards Thule with the Aeroblade, but their site says the fairings are only compatible with Rapid Aero and Square bars? Has anyone noticed this?
I can get a good deal on the Yakima round bars, not sure what width to get though on the fairings
 
#22 ·
I'm in the same boat as you. Looking at the either the Thule Aeroblade or Yakima Whispbar rack. Neither of their fairings will work with those options though, but Inno has the universal fairing that others have mentioned that would work so long as you get the long bolt kit along with it. I've been looking into ways of Macgyvering the mounts of the Inno fairing onto a Yakima or Thule fairing so that the fairing would match the crossbars. If only I could purchase the mounting hardware from Inno separately.....
 
#17 ·
Hi,

Also wondering what fairing definitively fits over a sunroof on the OEM rails & bars. On the OEM bars I have 2 swagman bike-racks and the combination causes MAJOR screaming with the roof open or tilted. About to go on a 2000+ mile road trip and looking for advice beyond parachute cord to utilize the investments. Thanks!
 
#19 ·
Just following up for others that are struggling to find a match. I bought the INNO large fairing and it does not fit over the bars, and I don't see how the long-bolt kit would help since the bracket only goes about half-way over the OEM bars. I saw a post in here saying that the long-bolt kit would work but with OEM bars the depth isn't the issue it's the width of the bar. Still searching, will follow-up!

@Troutbum - I will post pics for sure :)
 
#18 ·
"If you hum a few bars I can name that Tune " :icon_lol:

Have a great trip, post some pics along the way:rock:

Troutbum
 
#20 ·
Nvega, where are you located?
 
#24 ·
They told me the same thing as well when I asked them a while ago. Personally I want it for aesthetics rather than better aerodynamics or reducing wind noise. Would rather slap stickers and crap up on it than on the back window. It's turning into quite the project the deeper into it I go...
 
#26 · (Edited)
I've got the Yakima round bars (48") with the 38" fairing and I don't find that there's much noise. There may be a slight change in your mpg, but not really noticeable.
I wasn't too sure about the bar length because I wanted to have my Skybox 12 and 2 bike racks up there, but I also didn't want to have to put on a hockey helmet to get in/out of the car, so that's why I've got the 48's. It's going to be tight, but I think I will be able to get it all up there.

Has anyone kept the fairing on with a box on the rack? It fits, but there's not much room. Thx.
 
#31 ·
I have a thule bike rack with fairing, I've been meaning to install on my new xv, and will do this weekend and post pics of results. Mine to has sun roof. But came with factory crossbars. Not using factory because they have s slight arch to them and it looks like my bike when mounted would be tilted slightly at angle. Don't want that.
 
#32 ·
The thule crossbar with fairing just reached the edge of sunroof glass. I tested sunroof and it works just fine with the square bars. If anyone is worried about paint or front egde of glass being scuffed by feet of fairing I'd recommend doing what is done with hood deflector and using clear pieces of 3m sticky tape to apply underneath feet on the surface of car so as to not touch the paint.
 

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#33 ·
Thanks for posting! I picked up the 450 foot pack a few weeks ago, will be using 58 inch square bars that I used from my previous car. eventually will pick up 50 inch bars. Not sure what size fairing I have, but it probably fits both the 58 & 50 inch bars

Which bike rack do you have? I am undecided between the paceline, sprint, & circuit.
 
#35 ·
I bought Thule square bars and a fairing, since the square bars screamed like a banshee. The fairing sits just on the front of the sunroof exactly like the pictures from Dgcruzer2525. It also doesn't quite touch the roof (hovering just above on the edges, like the picture shows). I returned them and went with the Thule Aeroblades. The Aeroblades whistle really loud too, so I'm at a loss as to what to do.

What I want, is a fairing that can clear the sunroof or bars that don't bark at the moon. I don't like round bars as much since they always feel less secure when putting on kayaks (they roll forward or backward).

2015 XV