I assume the the wind noise in my 99.5 Avant (>70mph) is caused by the roof rack. The noise can easily be drowned out by the radio or the fan but I'm wondering if there is anyway to reduce the wind noise by other means? Does the sunroof wind deflector have any beneficial secondary effects on the wind noise from the roof rack?

Curious....

I would be hesitant to stick anything else on the roof in hopes of reducing the wind noise. You will probably end up making more noise. We have just decided to live with it. It's not like it is really all that noticeable anyway. If you end up putting a bike/ski rack on it, Yakima makes a good setup called the doublecross. They have a little plastic wing that clips on the crossbar that helps a bit. The front fairing also helps.

Chris
97 2.8q coilovers, etc
99 1.8t Avant Garrett

Adam,

I have not experienced the wind noise you describe, and I routinely commute at high speed on the interstate. My Avant has no sunroof, so I for the time being, I think it is reasonable to discount the rack rails. Could it be that the sounds you hear are caused by the sunroof? Do you have a tight seal at the edges of the sunroof, or is there a gap? Is everything flush where the glass and metal meet? Sometimes astounding wind noises emerge from slight differences in spacing or height of adjacent parts (differences that fall within product tolerance specs).

Steve W. (in MD)
99.5 Avant 1.8TQMSS (no sunroof or windnoises)

but it's a '99, not a 99.5. Perhaps the rack was revised? I do get some noise from the side mirrors, though.

I'm not absolutely sure the noise is coming from the roof rack, but I've heard a few people mention wind noise from the rack.

Yesterday while driving it sounded more like the mirrors were causing the noise but it was hard to localize, since I was trying to pay attention to the road too. All windows (and sunroof) were closed -no air was coming through the cabin and I could hear the wind blowing on the left and right side of the car near the A-pillar.

Like I said, I really don't begin to notice it until I'm at speeds greater than ~70mph.

Helped on my 98.5 QMS Avant - this is not just an Avant problem. Otherwise car is quiet to me.

Thule makes a fairing for use with their roof rack. I used it on another car and it substantially reduced the wind noise - and you get better mileage I suspect. I'm not sure if they have a rack for the A4, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did. They ain't cheap, but they're super.

The wind noise in my 98.5 Avant comes from the window design and is present only at higher speeds. I do have wind noises at lower speeds, but these do not involve the car and are related to dietary habits. %^)