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I just picked up a set of the Audi Base Carrier Bars for my Allroad at the dealership, but I haven't put them on yet. When I do, I'll report here on how they work out. I'm going to use them along with a couple of RockyMounts Brass Knuckles bike racks.
Yesterday, I installed the Audi Base Carrier Bars on my Allroad. I'm happy to report they look great, the sunroof opens without interference, and they fit perfectly. However, I am a bit disappointed in the amount of wind noise. It's kind of a low howl that starts building above 20 MPH and seems to fade in and out. Apparently, Thule makes a knurled rubber strip called a "WindDiffuser Strip" that fits the T-slot and disturbs the airflow around the bars in order to silence the noise, so I may give that a try. Others report spiralling a bungee cord around the cross bar also gets rid of the noise.
In addition to the bars, I added one of the RockyMounts Brass Knuckles bike racks and there was no issue installing it on the Audi cross bars. After that, I drove around a bit with a mountain bike on the rack and the whole setup remained stable.
Overall, I'm happy; I just wish it was a little quieter.
Just the Audi cross bars.
With a RockyMounts Brass Knuckles rack holding a bike.
Last edited by eric.kappmeier; 07-20-2017 at 04:59 PM.
Reason: Added pictures.
Yesterday, I installed the Audi Base Carrier Bars on my Allroad. I'm happy to report they look great, the sunroof opens without interference, and they fit perfectly. However, I am a bit disappointed in the amount of wind noise. It's kind of a low howl that starts building above 20 MPH and seems to fade in and out. Apparently, Thule makes a knurled rubber strip called a "WindDiffuser Strip" that fits the T-slot and disturbs the airflow around the bars in order to silence the noise, so I may give that a try. Others report spiralling a bungee cord around the cross bar also gets rid of the noise.
In addition to the bars, I added one of the RockyMounts Brass Knuckles bike racks and there was no issue installing it on the Audi cross bars. After that, I drove around a bit with a mountain bike on the rack and the whole setup remained stable.
Overall, I'm happy; I just wish it was a little quieter.
Just the Audi cross bars.
With a RockyMounts Brass Knuckles rack holding a bike.
Do you have any rubber strip in the slots? If you don't, it will be very noisy.
Do you have any rubber strip in the slots? If you don't, it will be very noisy.
Yes, the stock Audi strips are in there. They're flat, so I wonder if the Thule WindDiffuser ones would be an improvement. Someone on the Q5 forum said he tried them and they worked for him. Thanks for the reply.
Yes, the stock Audi strips are in there. They're flat, so I wonder if the Thule WindDiffuser ones would be an improvement. Someone on the Q5 forum said he tried them and they worked for him. Thanks for the reply.
I just installed a set of 53" Whispbars (through bars) that I was able to buy at Rerack.com, along with Whispbar WB400 J Cradle Kayak Carrier which is amazingly slick and strong. No noticeable wind noise. The rubber strip stays put in the slot (no need to be cutting it out and installing pieces). It pushes down to slide or drop in slot-mounted accessories. A brilliant system- too bad Yakima, who purchased Whispbar (made in Australia or New Zealand, I think) has been discontinued in the US. Rerack was able to buy up a whole bunch of their stuff, and discounts it handsomely.
53's are way wide for the allroad IMO. I used the thule 450R feet with AR47 crossbars. The box is an older Ascent 1100 that I modified with Audi 8V0071744 adapters to mount into the track. This setup clears the sunroof and is fairly quiet even with the box.
As an alternative, the 4035 fit kit a 460 feet also work, they will clamp the roof rails as opposed to strapping around them like the 450R do, although this will raise the cross bars by 1.5 inches.
I have an older pair of the Thule Aero Bars that are oval shaped VS teardroped and with the rubber strips in place the wind noise is minimal. I can also open the sunroof fully with a roof box attached. One mod I made was ordering replacement rubber for my Aero bars (originals were pretty beat up) and then cutting up the old rubber strips to fill in the gaps on the bottom of the bars where they hang over the edge of the car. There is a track there that allows the rack mounts to adjust to the width of the factory roof racks. Once I had everything mounted and tightened I inserted the rubber strips to the 4 inches of overhang.
Yes, the stock Audi strips are in there. They're flat, so I wonder if the Thule WindDiffuser ones would be an improvement. Someone on the Q5 forum said he tried them and they worked for him. Thanks for the reply.
The Thule WindDiffuser strips, I'm happy to report, cured the wind noise coming from my Audi Base Carrier bars. When driving at highway speed, there is a barely audible amount of wind noise but you really have to listen for it.
Audi Base Carrier Bars with Thule WindDiffuser rubber strips. They fit the slots perfectly.
Audi Base Carrier Bars with Thule WindDiffuser rubber strips. Here's the profile so you can see the bumps.
Looks like a nice system. I tried my Whispbars this morning, using my K328 Fit Kit that I had from my JSW, and they seem to fit perfectly. Slightly fussier to install than yours. The clearance to there panoramic Gras is more than enough, even to mount my Kayak Racks which wrap around the load bar.
I haven't loaded anything on the bars yet, but did a 60mph test and couldn't detect any undesirable wind noise so far. Ordering new bike racks today.
Had no idea Whispbar he been discontinued in the US. That is sad news as they were the best option for bars in my opinion. Love the ones on the JSW.
so Arch, just to confirm, your whips bars from the JSW are working or you got a different set?
Had no idea Whispbar had been discontinued in the US. That is sad news as they were the best option for bars in my opinion. Love the ones on the JSW.
so Arch, just to confirm, your whips bars from the JSW are working or you got a different set?
The Whispbars from my JSW were working on my AR with the same fitment kit, but in order to get a little more load length, I ordered 53" Whispbars S17 through bars while I could still get them, using the old feet that I had. I am quite happy with the setup, and I don't think they are too wide for the AR for my purposes.
As I said, ReRack bought up all of the Whispbar stock, and they are selling it deeply discounted.
The Whispbars from my JSW were working on my AR with the same fitment kit, but in order to get a little more load length, I ordered 53" Whispbars S17 through bars while I could still get them, using the old feet that I had. I am quite happy with the setup, and I don't think they are too wide for the AR for my purposes.
As I said, ReRack bought up all of the Whispbar stock, and they are selling it deeply discounted.
Got it, ok. Thank you for the clarification. I pretty much only mount a bike to the bars so my current whips bars should work on the new Allroad when the time comes then. That's good to hear as it's one less thing I will have to buy.
07-20-2017, 04:36 PM
