About to buy a Yakima Roof Rack to hold two bikes and was looking at the price of the air dam, and wondered if it was worth the price. And for that matter, does it even do anything other than make the rack look “cool”. Your comments are appreciated.

(Sarcastic Road Nazis need not reply )

I got mine for the cool factor. I think they are $40? Not much really.

Can't speak from experience with the specific product you're asking about, but I have the OEM roof rack on my Ford Focus which does not come with an air-dam.

The only time I hear wind noise is when I have bikes on the rack. However, when I'm in my buddies car that has a Yakima with the air-dam it whistles like a banshee.

You just guaranteed yourself responses from road nazis.

It does help quiet things down.

It doesn't do much for your bike, but as lobster pointed out, it does quiet down the whistling over the bars. If you have a sunroof, then get one.

Subaru Outback, Yakima racks. On my old car there was little to no wind noise. On the new Outback TONS. I bought that darn overpriced dam and it made a world of difference. So I conclude the interaction with the rack/car/dam makes a huge difference; it's not just about the dam.

I have the dam, and I don't get much noise.

Where else are you gonna put your Clifbar/CrankBros/OBX/Patagonia/Trek stickers?

It made a huge difference on my wife's car.

+1

I always see the OBX sticker, what does it mean?

** a quick search showed its a place in NC. Why do I see them all the time in NY?**

Outer Banks, NC

It made a huge difference in wind noise on my Element.

The racks used to howl like banshees, now I don't hear anything.

The Outer Banks are crawling with Northerners in the summer. Not too far, cheap, and "rustic" for the cityfolk.
I think the OBX stickers were at the forefront (relatively spealing) of the fake euro country ID stickers that every town, college, and fraternity have these days...going back to the mid-90s.

it makes such a difference i didn;t have one and it was so loud you couldn;t talk but with one you can;t even tell there is a roof rack

As others said, yes it quiets things down, and improves fuel efficiency. I tried to cheap out and not use it at first but after one ride it was ubearable and I bought it.

https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

I have a Yakima roof rack with the faring and it works well for me to keep the noise down. Just remember to take the bike off b4 you pull into your garage or go through any fast food joints. Best tip is to keep the garage door opener in the back seat so you have to get out to get it. I've seen a few guys come into the shop with busted top tubes after raming their bikes into their garage. Not a pretty sight.

The good news is that it's easy to add later - try the rack without it first and see if the noise is bearable. On my car (Acura TSX) the wind noise was stupid loud without it, so I use one.

JB

I have the air deflector (technically called a fairing) on my Thule rack and while it's a hassle to clean around it does make a difference. It not only gives your setup a more sporty look, more importantly, it really cuts down on wind noise. This is especially true when you're zippin' down the fwy trying to get to the start of a ride on time. I've gone up to 90mph in my BMW with the bike on the roof, no problem. Yes, even with my carbon bike.

The only thing you have to be careful with are garages. I hit my frame on my own garage once- carbon frame. Wasn't a big deal, had it fixed and it's great. Lesson learned: carbon frames are a lot stronger and resilient than people think.

Anyway, I think you should get the fairing.

You can always try it without first and see if you get much noise. I have thule bars on a VW Golf and they were loud as hell before I shelled out for the windshield. It can always be added after the fact - so no reason to buy one until you know whether you need it.

Like already mentioned purpose is to cut down on wind noise, I don't have the fairing and it howls like a madman, but I just deal with it.

Also if you get it, the install is very important so you don't damage the paint on your roof. i've heard users complaining of that

I drove for ten years without a fairing. When I did get one I kicked myself for not having bought one earlier. It cuts down on the noise so well I leave my rack on year round much to my wife's disgust.

Tek...that is one funny site...thanks, I needed a good laugh this morning.