# Mazda 5 sunroof with roof rack faring... need ideas



## 40hills (Apr 24, 2006)

I have a Mazda 5 with the factory roof rack and sunroof. On the front edge of the sunroof I have the little factory wind deflector (which I would remove if necessary).

I want to reduce the wind noise and hopefully improve gas mileage slightly by installing a faring for the front bar. Problem is, the front bar is pretty far back from the front of the sunroof and I don't think any of the available Thule or Yakima farings are wide enough to span that gap. I suppose I could use what's available, but it would be resting on the sunroof and would probably move or shift every time I open the roof, either causing scuff marks or spraying bugs down on my head or something.

Ideas for a faring? Have I just not looked hard enough, or in the wrong places?


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## wankel (Mar 7, 2004)

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123708742&highlight=fairing


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## 40hills (Apr 24, 2006)

*Fairing sits on the sunroof*

Thanks for the link. If you look at the first pic however you'll see that the fairing is resting on the sunroof... that's what I was hoping to avoid.


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## bvibert (Mar 30, 2006)

The second post in the thread linked to above says this:



> Looks good.
> I've got one of those on my Mazda5, but I also have the wind deflector for the sunroof. So the base of the fairing rests on the deflector and allows me to use the sunroof if I need to.
> The fairing is great in that it does really help with the wind noise.


That might be an option.


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## 40hills (Apr 24, 2006)

FWIW and to whom it may concern...

I bought one of the Thule fairings and it did virtually nothing to reduce the wind noise of the roof rack. I did some test rides with the family and no one could notice any reduction in noise... so it went back to REI. Thankfully they have an excellent return policy (that's why I shopped there). In addition to not reducing wind noise, it rendered the sunroof virtually unusable.

So after 3 years of dealing with the convenient, but noisy roof rack, I took it off. I also removed the small sunroof fairing. Ahhhhh, what a nice difference. The car is QUIET on the highway for the first time, and I can actually drive with the sunroof open and not go deaf from the jet blast. I am also noticing slightly better gas mileage. The car does look a little less cool without the accessories, like I just drove it off the dealer's lot, but I'm going for the sleak and efficient look now. I may even decide to get a hitch rack for carrying multiple bikes, it's that much better without the noisy racks on the roof.

The roof rack does have some advantages, but I'm glad it's off the car. I'll only mount it when I have to now.


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## 40hills (Apr 24, 2006)

40hills said:


> FWIW and to whom it may concern...
> 
> I bought one of the Thule fairings and it did virtually nothing to reduce the wind noise of the roof rack. I did some test rides with the family and no one could notice any reduction in noise... so it went back to REI. Thankfully they have an excellent return policy (that's why I shopped there). In addition to not reducing wind noise, it rendered the sunroof virtually unusable.
> 
> ...


That's pretty cool. It's been 4 weeks since you took the racks off, do you still like it?

Yes, absolutely. The difference in wind noise is huge and I basically don't want to use the roof racks again unless I have to.


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## willevans (Jun 15, 2006)

You can take 1/4 to 3/8 diameter rope and wrap it around the bars like a barber pole strip and it cuts the noise some.


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## 40hills (Apr 24, 2006)

willevans said:


> You can take 1/4 to 3/8 diameter rope and wrap it around the bars like a barber pole strip and it cuts the noise some.


I've always wondered why Thule doesn't make a snap-on airfoil thing for their square bars. I bet that would help tremendously. I think they make aero bars, so I guess they want you to buy those for big bucks.


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## unsuspended (Dec 17, 2005)

I have a Protege5 with a roofrack/sunroof combo. I just got used to not using the sunroof during rack season (spring, summer, fall). It's annoying, but the wind noise is just too much when the roof is retracted and I can't even use the tilt feature because the bolts on the rack stick down too far and would make contact with the glass.
With a larger vehicle like the 5, I would go with a hitch rack. The roof racks are nice, but mileage really suffers at highway speeds.
Heck, I would like a 5 just so I could put a bike INSIDE.


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## 40hills (Apr 24, 2006)

unsuspended said:


> Heck, I would like a 5 just so I could put a bike INSIDE.


Hauling the bike inside the car is what I've been doing for a long time now... it works great. I don't miss the roof rack... yet... but haven't really needed it either. In fact, the roof rack is so easy to install on the 5 that it's not a big deal to put it on as-needed (say only for big camping trips or something) vs leaving it on.

EDIT: see pic...

Fork mount on a sheet of wood... doesn't budge at all. The rear wheel sits between the 2nd row bucket seats. Don't even need to lower the saddle either.


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## digitaldream (Sep 22, 2009)

40hills said:


> I have a Mazda 5 with the factory roof rack and sunroof. On the front edge of the sunroof I have the little factory wind deflector (which I would remove if necessary).
> 
> I want to reduce the wind noise and hopefully improve gas mileage slightly by installing a faring for the front bar. Problem is, the front bar is pretty far back from the front of the sunroof and I don't think any of the available Thule or Yakima farings are wide enough to span that gap. I suppose I could use what's available, but it would be resting on the sunroof and would probably move or shift every time I open the roof, either causing scuff marks or spraying bugs down on my head or something.
> 
> Ideas for a faring? Have I just not looked hard enough, or in the wrong places?


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