Rich_W

<center><img src="http://www.rwnewmedia.com/a4/images/roof_rack/2.jpg"></center><p>the fact that the fairing will extend far enough to rest on the glass with the front load bar in the factory-designated position, not the paint.

I've seen Yak users ruin their paint by placing the fairing on it.

I only put my rack on when I'm using it... I do not reccomend keeping any rack on perminently. Both can damage the window mouldings in time...

MarkFank

You just need to set it up properly to do so. Agreed, if you put the fairing on the paint you'd have some damage and I'm sure there are lots of people that have the fairing set up incorrectly.

Best thing about Yakima over Thule is round bars are stronger and the ankle-biters rule! :-)

coolHluke

<ul><li><a href="http://www.yakima.com">http://www.yakima.com</a</li></ul>

KleinCrazy

You have to cut down the sides of the fairing for it to fit between rails. and I remove it every time I wash the car. Using db meter you get a drop of about 10-15 with the fairing vs without and my MPG seem to do about 1.5-2 better.

It is well worth the trouble in IMHO. Just remember to take it off in the winter!!! all that road salt sitting behind the fair is BAD!

L8er
KleinCrazy

RKA

in which case we would be forced to have it touch the paint. Anyone try the new fairings?

DRG

... and it's not what you may think. The original standard-sized fairing was an actual full fairing that spanned the width of the vehicle and COULD be made to rest on the glass if you use the load bar position as recommended by Yakima rather than by using the door markings (which are designed for the Audi bars). This fairing mounted with metal brackets that permitted a degree of adjustment and, in fact, required a bit of adjustment to get the fairing to fit right.

The new fairing is much different. More like a fairingette. It does not span the full width of the load bars in the Yakima-recommended size. It is also much less deep and thus does not even come close to reaching the glass. Rather, it now attaches to the load bar with four plastic brackets. The middle two are snap-on and the end two are held on with wing nuts in the same was as the rear of a bike rack. The fairing then rests on the roof of the car. To prevent damage, they provide soft rubber pads to put on the fairing as well as small clear vinyl tabs which self-adhere to the car roof. The rubber fairing pads sit on these. The vinyl tabs don't seem to cause any paint damage themselves, but they are slightly visible and a bit ugly (it's hard to install them so that they are actually completey clear - fingerprints and trapped air tend to make them milky).

The new fairing does not fully capture all the air flow and send it over the rack. There is a space between the bottom of the fairing and the roof - only those four rubber feet actually touch. Also, the front towers see air flow, since the fairing doesn't fully span. Still, it's a lot less bulky than the original fairing and easier to install and remove. Plus, it quiets the rack down quite a bit. There is still some wind noise, but it's reduced and that annoying resonance with the sunroof opening is gone (the one that sounds like a sick ghost).

leeep

... since the factory rails are set too far back for a normal fairing to reach the windshield. Of course some folks have made modifications to the fairing mounts to extend the reach.

For the time being, I just live with the wind noise. My rack is off whenever I'm not using it anyhow. =)

Cheers!

Chard

all components included, i got quoted 10% under MSRP from a local shop. Is that a good deal? The guy told me that if I find a better deal, he'll match/beat it. So what's the best price people are seeing? Thanks all!

GRRLBURTON

you usually will not find Thule on sale at most places so i would take the deal the guy gave you, I myself have thule, i have the thule fairing, bars, bike racks and snowboards racks!

Rob Pecori

Great bikes!