Wind deflector on roof rack
- Thread starter BurbanAZ
- Start date
I run a basket on a 05 Kia Sorento, picked it up from a friend who decided to go another route for his 250 ( thought it was too small ), he didnt get the wind deflector, I didnt think to much about it till I mounted it up and loaded it up with 2 skb hard cases and a cooler and WOW what a noise maker !!! at 40 it was ok hit 46 to 57 and man this thing hums zings and just unbearable!! I kept putting off buying the deflector and made about 5 more 3-4 hour trips going at 70 its ok. I was goofing off at my friends house and just cut up some 1/4" birch sprayed it with some black trim paint drilled 8 holes around it and used good quality zip ties...... the wind noise.... is no longer there, MAN what a difference.
one strange thing is I normally get about 15 mils per gallon in the Kia the last trip ( no wind deflector loaded with same skb cases and cooler ) I got 18mpg. going on a 400 mile trip soon so I'll check mileage against the deflector.
enjoyed not spending the 40 bucks for the deflector.
one strange thing is I normally get about 15 mils per gallon in the Kia the last trip ( no wind deflector loaded with same skb cases and cooler ) I got 18mpg. going on a 400 mile trip soon so I'll check mileage against the deflector.
enjoyed not spending the 40 bucks for the deflector.
amostardeiro
Member
I made my own out of acrylic.
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rayra
Expedition Leader
I would also suggest you consider a roof bag to help streamline things, as well as keep much of the water and dust off your gear.
And think of the airflow rising up off your windshield and and deflector and try to position your gear so it isn't jutting into that airstream. Better the gear be stacked rearward for highway travel. Worry about front-rear weight distribution once you are off road and presumably traveling much more slowly.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D9C2CDO/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I22EO1SELT6VI0&colid=QWZ1BSZYG6VW
And think of the airflow rising up off your windshield and and deflector and try to position your gear so it isn't jutting into that airstream. Better the gear be stacked rearward for highway travel. Worry about front-rear weight distribution once you are off road and presumably traveling much more slowly.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D9C2CDO/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I22EO1SELT6VI0&colid=QWZ1BSZYG6VW
Theoretician
Adventurer
Can't speak to the roof, but putting some roofing panels on the sides (and rear) of the frame over the bed of my truck increased my gas mileage by just under 20% compared to just the frame and RTT alone, at 70mph. Cut wind noise quite a bit as well. I wasn't expecting such an improvement, so i didn't bother with sealing it against the back of the cab.
From this, I'm optimistic that providing a similarly more orderly flow of air over the RTT would be beneficial.
From this, I'm optimistic that providing a similarly more orderly flow of air over the RTT would be beneficial.