whitby

I bought the Audi carrier bars and bike racks, thinking they would be much better than after market.
I cursed the roof bars for a year for excessive wind noise. I just realized I never put the rubber inserts in. DUH!
in desperation I put them in the tracks and the wind noise disappeared.
Now i just need to trim them to fit around my bike carriers

Fixeroh

Admit it, you didn't read the instruction manual when installing the carrier on your car. And we all know men ALWAYS read the instructions when building or assembling things. But that's great you found the source of the annoyance. Wonder if my wife has some noise eliminating rubber inserts that I'm not aware of...........

whitby

I was quite annoyed, and I would not recommend them. They are not cheap, but now I have solved the noise problem I would recommend them. They fit perfectly, lock into the door frame and straddle the crease in the roof - which is probably the strongest point. I like the 'standup' bike racks. They slide in and out of the bars really easy, they lock and it is easy to get a bike on. They are also really stable. I only but the racks on when I need them and sometimes forget. So I have occasionally pulled some G-force driving like i normally would - then held my breath waiting for it all to come crashing down.
Now I am looking for a way to carry a kayak.

Fixeroh

I must admit to not ever thinking of putting a carrier on my S3. All the roof racks and carriers are on the wife's SUV. That was a Subaru Tribeca until Jan this year when someone plowed in the back of it. Now it's an Audi Q5 which came with a very nice rack system from Audi. The cross members integrate so well into the built in rail system. Very clever and looks very nice. When I haul my bicycle, I put in into the back of my old Ford pickup however. Never travel too far. Sounds like you're pretty outdoorsy however. Glad you have it working for you. Surely there is a good kayak rack device that will work with your Audi carrier.