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Thule Fairing on Volvo OEM load bars "wing profile"

13K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  Toy Slacker 
#1 ·
I've bought the Volvo OEM load bars that have the aerodynamic profile seen here:
https://www.volvowholesaleparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=MorePartInfo&PartID=788444&siteid=213784&catalogid=6710

When I've attached my bike racks to them, there can be quite a bit of noise over 40 mph. I have a feeling the same will be the case when I get ski racks. That being said, Volvo doesn't make a fairing (wind deflector) for the front bar.

I think someone posted on here that Thule builds Volvo's load accessories and the aero bars we have are pretty similar to Thule's. Can anyone tell me if they've used a Thule fairing with these bars (and what size?)

Thanks.
 
#5 ·
Mandraxe - pics please?!
 
#6 ·
871XT 38" Does NOT Fit!

I just picked one up at REI and tried it on my Volvo wing type aluminum cross bars and the clamps will not fit on the cross bar. The way the fairing clamps to the cross bar for the non square type ie. Thule Rapid Aero is clipping on the T-Track and wrapping around the "Aero Bar" and therein lies the problem. Since I knew Thule makes the load carrying accessories for Volvo I "assumed" that Thule Rapid Aero™ is the same as "Load carrier, aluminum profile PN 30789025" aka wing profile. They are in fact different then the Thule Rapid Aero™ bars. Thule Rapid Aero™ bars are not as wide as the wing profile bars so when I tried to wrap around the clip it would only go half way. It would appear that we would need larger clips to make it work. I don't know if Thule makes an adapter clips I'm going to try to contact them to see.





Anyway here is an action shot of my XC60 with wing type cross bars and sliding ski/snowboard holder from yesterday. I really only hear them above 65mph and even then the noise level was not too bad and with some music at 40% volume I could barely notice it.

 
#7 · (Edited)
I just picked one up at REI and tried it on my Volvo wing type aluminum cross bars and the clamps will not fit on the cross bar. The way the fairing clamps to the cross bar for the non square type ie. Thule Rapid Aero is clipping on the T-Track and wrapping around the "Aero Bar" and therein lies the problem. Since I knew Thule makes the load carrying accessories for Volvo I "assumed" that Thule Rapid Aero™ is the same as "Load carrier, aluminum profile PN 30789025" aka wing profile. They are in fact different then the Thule Rapid Aero™ bars. Thule Rapid Aero™ bars are not as wide as the wing profile bars so when I tried to wrap around the clip it would only go half way. It would appear that we would need larger clips to make it work. I don't know if Thule makes an adapter clips I'm going to try to contact them to see.





Anyway here is an action shot of my XC60 with wing type cross bars and sliding ski/snowboard holder from yesterday. I really only hear them above 65mph and even then the noise level was not too bad and with some music at 40% volume I could barely notice it.

Those are not AERO's, looks like you have the standard Volvo XC60 Silver Load bars, I guess I should have looked at your pictures when you said AERO :)
 
#8 ·
Jaz - thank you for the post and picture! I now don't need to try this myself and go through the pains of returning it.

I barely notice noise when its the bars alone but when I put the fork mount (Volvo OEM) on it then it is very very noisy - even without bikes. Rather than attaching and detaching the bike mount I was hoping to just put a fairing on and forget it.

I can't believe Volvo doesn't offer a fairing.
 
#9 ·
I had the exact same issue (same load bars and setup)...I actually just played around with the spacing of the bars and right now for the Volvo Silver (Aero) bars and snowboard rack, there is minimal noise even >90mph The two biggest things I did were:

1. For snowboarding, I moved the whole assembly towards the rear of the car as much as possible
2. Since the spacing was different for the bike racks, I grabbed some silver pinstripping tape from Autozone and used it to mark the crossbar location on the rails so I didn't have to keep fiddling with it :)

To note- I have the fork-mounted bike racks...which do you use? I don't know if that has an appreciable difference or not...
 
#10 ·
For you that have the fork mount cariers from Volvo - what do they look like?

I ordered these, based on the print out the parts guy showed me and what I had seen on the volvo accessory sites:


And these were in the box - Confused at first but then definitelty pleased as these look great, seem to cost much more (in the thule version) and mostly only be in Europe?

 
#11 ·
I have had Volvo OEM load bars with T-Track on V40, V50, XC90 and now my new XC60. All make significant noise when you pull the black rubber strip out of the T-Track. I eventually cut the strip up to fill in around the bike mount I had on the rack, this helped a lot with noise. I took a run a few years ago at trying to get the the Thule Faring working on the wing bars I had for the V50 and XC90 but gave up. I have the load bars on order form the dealer for new XC60. Very interested to learn if someone finds a solution. Cheers.
 
#12 ·
Good point on the rubber strips helping with the noise. I bought 2 extra 47 inch rubber strips from Thule so that I can keep the full length one to use if I have just the bars on, or the box on, but with other stuff like the bike carriers I can cut to fit strips to seal most all of the T track.
 
#13 ·
I'm going to revive this thread so I can ask some questions and maybe get some advice for rack items for my new XC60 RD.

I have Thule bike and ski racks from the last vehicle (2001), but they are for the square bars. So one option is to just get the square-bar cross bars 31214946 and use these old attachments. Opinions on this idea?

But with the good prices on the new parts I'm inclined to get all new aero Aluminum cross bars 30789025 and new racks. I like the fork-mounted bike carrier 31330727, especially if I get the Thule 561 version in twbannon's second picture of post #10 above. Think I'll get the new style?

Next question - it seems the new bike rack needs two locks. So for two bike racks and two cross rails I need eight locks. Don't they only come in packs of six? And I'll need even more for a new ski rack too. Would my old Thule locks from the old accessories fit?
 
#14 ·
I would go with the newer load bars and accesories and sell you old stuff on craigslist for what you can (just me). As for locks, the bike racks and the load bars come with locks - you would only need to buy more if you were trying to consolidate keys. Your old thule cores should work, but look for threads on line for how to tell which cores are interchangeable or how to get them out of your current devices.
 
#15 ·
Thanks for the input. I think you convinced me to get new. Prices are good + rebates. The other ones are already twelve years old and if we keep the XC60 that long they will be at a quarter century.

I sure hope that I get the newer style bike carrier. The one online dealer I called was not familiar with any change. Some sites now identify the carrier part number with a -4 added. The parts dept guy had no idea what that meant.

We'll probably give the old rack and carriers to the new owners as a bonus gift as we know they bike.
 
#16 ·
There were some guys that made the Thule Fairing work on their S40s on here. But it involved cutting the Thule clamps, and fashioning a DYI clamp out of steel pipe strapping and electrical tape to fit around the OEM bars. The end product looked pretty good, but just too involved for my laziness.

Someone else bought the Inno Fairing, which I have been meaning to buy, just haven't yet. For my '10 V70 and the XC60s with side rails, you "should" be able to get either the small or medium one to fit in between the roof mounted rails. The Medium Fairing (Inno says it's 40") measures 38" along the top edge and 40" along the bottom edge, just in case anyone needs that detail.
 
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