Hey guys!

I have a fabric sunroof, and installed the OEM roof rack....I can see why even though it normals fine LR says on their website why it's not compatible.
After 55mph it's super loud, so I thought I'd benefit from getting a Colorado wind deflector for the front to deflect the wind.

Well, it seems the wind flies over the deflector for the rack and comes back with extra vengeance on the fabric and the sound is insane at any speeds of 60mph and above. You can barely have a conversation and it's like having your windows down.

Has anyone discovered a solution to this besides completely removing the roof rack and going back to nothing?

Brad at Colorado Fairing mentioned I am (or was 6 months ago) the only person who has mentioned this problem to him. He's been awesome and willing to help, but at this point I don't even have an idea of what could be done.

Just here to see if any physics/aerodynamic wizards have suggestions or if anyone has created a solution.

I've tried adjustment the cross bars on the rack and moving them around and it does nothing. The wind comes back smashing down on the sunroof right about there the front seats are, so a few feet after the wind deflector

 

I don't have a fabric roof, but I do have the factory style roof rack. I was disappointed with how loud it is, even with a fairing.
I did notice when I hauled a single sheet of plywood on the roof rack that the ride was almost silent. My noise is typically the worst right above the rear seats. With the plywood on top there wasn't any noise.
Now that's a pretty crappy solution, but it is a potential place to start looking if you need a way to quiet the buffeting.

Roof rack, ladder and gear box sure look cool, but all of them took away the quiet and some MPG for me. I still like 'em and won't change it, but the impact is real.

 

this is great insight. I’ve considered just buying a roof top tent hoping it would add that similar protection. But how exactly are you securing a piece of plywood to the roof rack? Tie down straps?

the fabric roof rack violently flaps too, my friend has the glass top and it’s loud but the fabric is on a whole different level. At 70-80mph the radio volume is maxed to hear it

 

I've read and heard from owners that the noise is a deal killer with expedition roof rack and the fabric roof - so you're spot on.

BTW the roof rack is not noisy on my 110 X w glass pano roof, and this is compared to a # of land rovers with whatever racks they offered at the time (D2, LR3/LR4,). I have only a rather womp-wompy buffeting noise if I open only the sunroof without cracking a window. But overall it's not a noisy rack on my Defender, I've read others have an issue with the noise and I just don't have that issue. Perhaps others have a different expectation.

Otherwise it's far less noisy than my Safety Devices rack on my Discovery 2. Regularly drive at 90mph and it's fine. In fact, drove home from a work trip with traction boards and a shovel on top, and not at all noisy.

Perhaps make sure the rubber strips are in every mm of the rails up top? I've heard that can affect noise.

 

Have you checked the noise levels without the expedition rack? Does your fabric roof make any noise without the rack? Is it possible air is leaking thorugh the fabric roof?

 

Yes I had my defender without the rack for awhile, then installed the rack, sound was pretty bad after 50'ish mph which wasnt truly an issue as I lived in an area where the speed limit was mostly 35mph, but I did get the Colorado fairing front wind deflector and it seems to be much worse as the aerodynamics seem to push it over the deflector which then makes it almost smash back down hard onto the fabric roof.

Its been awhile so I dont remember if its worse or not without the deflector on it. The sound isnt so much of leaky air, but moreso the sound of the wind smashing on the fabric like if you were on top and beating your hands on the sunroof area.

 

Sorry about your noise issue. Your first post said that LR states that the rack is not compatible with your vehicle and I bet that could be the very reason why it states that. Racks are also not compatible with the V8's although for a different reason. I do not know what other options there are to alleviate the noise levels in your case, and I do not guess a rear spoiler would fix it. Sounds like air at speeds is coming down on the fabric roof through the rack's sections. May be play around the horizontal bars by moving them and see if that makes any difference. Good luck.

 

I installed expedition roof rack with colorado faring with a fabric sunroof. I did notice above 65mph there was significant wind noise / vibration on the fabric sunroof - nothing on top of the roof rack. I don't think it was as bad as you described. My thoughts are that adding anything on the roof rack will probably reduce the noise. Another option I may try is to wrap paracord around the cross bars and maybe experiment on wrapping just the cross bars that maybe causing the wind turbulence. The paracord should breakup the wind going across the crossbars.

 

@75DEF - Sounds like a good idea. If you're going to be the guinea pig for the community, I'd also suggest putting something solid (plywood?) up there to see if that also changes things up. I suspect the slats cause some sort of harmonics problem and who knows what the optimal spacing is/should be??

 

I have the fabric roof as well. I wanted a roof rack and heard that the wind noise was terrible if a OEM rack was added. After a bunch of research I ended up adding a Prospeed aero expedition rack. I drove it without the front aero plastics on and it was extremely noisy. Similar to what I would expect the OEM rack would be like. After adding the aero front I found that it was still loud. I believe the wind still hits the crossbars and makes a bunch of noise. I added some roof top cases and solid flooring between the cases. I also added lights to the rack. After all that it had quieted down a bunch. I drive at 75-80 on the freeway regularly and yes there is still wind noise but I do not have to max out the stereo volume or yell to have a conversation. I do have to turn up the volume a little bit not too much. My point with all this is that maybe the Colorado fairing and adding a solid platform would make for a quieter ride. The tent will help I bet too however it by itself will create noise. If it was me I would get some T channel nuts and using stainless button top screws I would bolt a thin sealed piece of plywood cut to fit the OEM rack shape. Can easily leave small access holes for tie-downs or even better swap out some bolts with eye bolts.

As a side note JLR does not state the fabric roof is not compatible with a roof rack. If you check with them using your vin it says not recommended. Yes most likely due to noise. For the v8 if you check by vin it states not compatible. Not that it really matters but in the world of warranties and JLR being ridiculous on that front not recommended and not compatible are very different. 🙄

Best of luck on the process I hope you find what works for you. I too won’t go back and am totally fine living with a little extra noise to have the convenience of the rack.

Scott