Roof Rack Question
05-18-2009, 06:24 PM
#11
AudiWorld Senior Member
What button - do you damn kids even have a Q5?
My hunch is the rack completes a "circuit" between the rails, which tells the ESP to kick in SOONER. Normal driving is not effected.
They do kinda look cool, but unfortunately the racks start whistling at about 25MPH and it gets worse from there!
My hunch is the rack completes a "circuit" between the rails, which tells the ESP to kick in SOONER. Normal driving is not effected.
They do kinda look cool, but unfortunately the racks start whistling at about 25MPH and it gets worse from there!
05-18-2009, 06:25 PM
#12
AudiWorld Senior Member
What button - do you damn kids even have a Q5?
My hunch is the rack completes a "circuit" between the rails, which tells the ESP to kick in SOONER. Normal driving is not effected.
They do kinda look cool, but unfortunately the racks start whistling at about 25MPH and it gets worse from there!
My hunch is the rack completes a "circuit" between the rails, which tells the ESP to kick in SOONER. Normal driving is not effected.
They do kinda look cool, but unfortunately the racks start whistling at about 25MPH and it gets worse from there!
05-18-2009, 07:02 PM
#13
AudiWorld Junior Member
The T-groove along the top of the Q5 factory rails is identical to the groove on Thule's rapid aero bars so all Thule accessories should be compatible. I have Criterium and Peleton bike attachments and all that was needed were some adapter bolts available from Thule (xadapt8 and xadapt9) to put these on.
To make up for the reduced capacity of the Q5 compared to my last vehicle (XC90), I also picked up a Thule Atlantis 1800 cargo box. Not wanting to look like a blimp, I debated between this size and the next one down (1600) but the 1800 looks fine. I went with the Atlantis in gloss black finish which is a perfect match to my black Q5.
Last edited by Toronto-Q7; 05-18-2009 at 07:06 PM.
05-18-2009, 07:19 PM
#14
AudiWorld Member
There is no button to press or activate. The rails get attached in a manner which completes a circuit with the onboard computer. The rails can only be attached one way as one end of the rail has three prongs while the other end has two. It is this third prong which completes the circuit adjusting the vehicles center of gravity/rollover mitigation. Also, leaving the rails in place does cause noise at highway speeds, increases drag coefficient and lowers mpg...but not by much.
05-19-2009, 06:23 PM
#16
AudiWorld Junior Member
05-24-2009, 06:45 PM
#17
AudiWorld Junior Member
Q5 with Thule bike carriers
Here are a few pics with my bike attachments on. The Audi rails included with the Q5 are compatible with Thule aero bars so it took just $30 for a few adapter bolts to convert my old accessories that I had been mounting on Thule square load bars.
My Criterium arm clamp carrier went on without any issues using an xadapt8 kit. For the Peloton fork-mount carrier however, one of the bolts in the standard xadapt9 kit was too short so I had to go back to my sport rack shop for something a bit longer.
Unfortunately for me though, with the Q5 rails being only 4' long, there's not enough bar to carry my two bike attachments and my cargo box together... I may have to swap out the factory rails for a full Thule setup (towers + fit-kit, and 53" bars).
My Criterium arm clamp carrier went on without any issues using an xadapt8 kit. For the Peloton fork-mount carrier however, one of the bolts in the standard xadapt9 kit was too short so I had to go back to my sport rack shop for something a bit longer.
Unfortunately for me though, with the Q5 rails being only 4' long, there's not enough bar to carry my two bike attachments and my cargo box together... I may have to swap out the factory rails for a full Thule setup (towers + fit-kit, and 53" bars).
05-26-2009, 10:54 AM
#20
AudiWorld Member
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The one roof rack (front if i recall correctly) has a sensor that sends info to the ESP computers that it is connected. It results in the ESP activating it's various functions slightly earlier to compensate for the ASSUMED extra weight up high. There is nothing to tell the car how much weight is on the roof rack, just that the roof rack is connected. This is why the dealership should advise customers not to drive around with the roof rack on just for the sake of it.