Reducing wind noise Gamiviti wind deflector

[CharlieS]

I just installed a Gamiviti rack and it is terrific. The wind deflector makes a bit more noise than I'd like though.

I have the front wind deflector installed with the 4 clips, and the vibration/rattle was loud over 35 mph. With only four points of contact it makes room for a lot of movement. I added a couple of the rubber nubs that come with it, and they helped. I added all of them, and it got better, but wasn't completely eliminated, especially in certain cross wind conditions.

I think it needs more, but the nubs feel like a bit of a bandaid. Has anyone attached the wind deflector more permanently (I don't have a lightbar behind there, so don't plan to need to remove it regularly)? If so how? Has anyone found a better solution to vibration/noise?

It seems like additional sets of clips might help, but there'd need to be like three more sets, one set at each extremity and one in the middle.

I was also thinking of a soft layer with better coverage, maybe foam backed adhesive strip along the whole length of the two horizontal bars or maybe even wrapping the top and bottom tubes with paracord?

I'd love to learn what tips and tricks others have used.

 

[tbisaacs]

My prinsu has bulb trim that makes contact with the roof and it’s totally silent. Have you considered something like that?

 

[CharlieS]

I'll definitely check it out. There's a pretty substantial gap along the bottom. The wind deflector is rattling against the upper and lower horizontal bars making the noise. My son and I can put a hand on the deflector through the sunroof and the noise stops.

 

[Orange Hat]

I installed my Gamiviti rack about 6 months ago. I have the rack at the lowest profile and doing so didn't allow me to mount the deflector without it contacting the roof. At first, I drove without it and it howled anywhere above 35-40 mph. With a goal to get the deflector installed and look as tucked as it could, I trimmed less than a 1/4 of an inch off of the bottom of the deflector allowing it to mount at the existing hole locations...doing so left a gap of about 1/8 of an inch between the deflector and the roof line. It is dead silent, even at 80+ mph...and I mean dead silent, don't even know it's there!

Now, with that said, there was the occasional rattle between the deflector and the rack tubing but I applied those bulb/dimple trim dots that Tim (@nakman) provides along the deflector where it would make contact and they are perfect...no rattle and they are still in place.

Tim was so great to work with, he even included black stainless hardware for the deflector as I wanted it all "black'd out". Next up is a rack for the 80!

 

[CharlieS]

Thanks.

The front tower is a fixed height, but I suppose I could loosen the other six and raise the rear to get the front lower. The wind deflector is currently 1-1/4" off the roof.

Our observation is that the noise comes from the wind deflector moving and hitting the crossbars. The rubberized dots nearly eliminate the noise, but not under all circumstances.

I contrast this with a Thule deflector that I ran for years and didn't make any noise. This rack is a lot more sturdy, so I'm sure it can be resolved.

 

[ttrmike]

I had this same exact issue. The air dam would vibrate like mad at higher speeds and the little rubber bumpers would bounce back and forth off of the top and bottom rails.

To fix the issue I ran full length automotive weatherstripping along the top and bottom bars. This is what i used: https://www.lowes.com/pd/M-D-10-ft-...Rubber-Marine-Automotive-Weatherstrip/1038917

Totally fixed the issue, now the vibration is gone. However I think the rest of the noise comes from the round bar design and the exposed towers, so I have a new air dam being made that hopefully remedies that issue.

 

[CharlieS]

I had this same exact issue. The air dam would vibrate like mad at higher speeds and the little rubber bumpers would bounce back and forth off of the top and bottom rails.

To fix the issue I ran full length automotive weatherstripping along the top and bottom bars. This is what i used: https://www.lowes.com/pd/M-D-10-ft-...Rubber-Marine-Automotive-Weatherstrip/1038917

Totally fixed the issue, now the vibration is gone. However I think the rest of the noise comes from the round bar design and the exposed towers, so I have a new air dam being made that hopefully remedies that issue.

Yes! Exactly this. I'll grab some of that weatherstrip at Lowes today. Thank you.

 

[linuxgod]

FYI I used a bit of double-sided tape between the back side of the fairing and the bars, to keep everything tight and prevent any vibration. Sticky butyl tape or something similar would work too - you just need something waterproof and thick enough to space the fairing off the bar. That said I don't have the actual Gamiviti fairing as I have forward-facing tabs for my light bar and I botched cutting slots in mine and had to buy a piece of ABS and cut it. Mine is a few inches wider and maybe an inch or so taller than the one Tim sells, but I think the behavior is the same.

 

[CharlieS]

Tim got back to me. My roof to fairing gap is way off. I need to loosen the tower mounts and adjust it so I have 1/4" gap. That alone might just do the trick. If not, I'll try these other ideas.

 

[linuxgod]

Tim got back to me. My roof to fairing gap is way off. I need to loosen the tower mounts and adjust it so I have 1/4" gap. That alone might just do the trick. If not, I'll try these other ideas.

Yeah mine is a tad larger than Tim's but mine was actually resting on the black plastic drip rails on the sides. I shifted it up slightly when I noticed that it was very slowly wearing a tiny groove into them.

The fairing itself is quite and helped reduced noise a lot, even with the light bar in front. I say "helped" because the kayak racks, maxtrax, etc on my roof definitely add wind noise.

 

[CharlieS]

Just as Tim said, putting the fairing at 1/4" off the roofline eliminated all of that vibration that was happening and the rack is quiet now!

 

[FloodHopper]

Where do you measure the gap between your deflector and the roof? Right in the middle?

 

[CharlieS]

I measured it at multiple points - it matches the curve of the roof. I had 1/4" every place I measured.

 

[CharlieS]

It worked on 50mph with the small rubber dots, but was noisy again at interstate highway speeds. I picked up some weatherstripping from the hardware store that quieted it down at all practical speeds.