[Jsonnett]

Hi guys. First post here!

I've had my 15' 335ix for about two months now. One of the first things I purchased for it were the oem bmw roof racks to haul my surfboard. After install I noticed that these things would whistle like a freakin nerfball at any speed faster than about 15mph. It was really bad. Especially with the sunroof open. Totally disappointing from an oem product. I searched for solutions and the only fix I could find was to put a fairing on.

Deciding to take a stab at a diy fix, I started messing around with putting electrical tape around the seams until I found where the whistle was coming from. I was able to find the spot that made the whistle right where the bottom side of the horizontal bar mates with the plastic end caps. It was only a problem on the front rack too.

THE FIX: I took some hot glue (you could also use silicone or something similar) and filled the gap between the bar and the plastic piece with a small bead to prevent wind from sneaking in between the two pieces. Again I only needed to do this on the front rack but both the left and right sides. Pic attached. It looks a little janky if you get up close (I'm sure it's possible to do a cleaner job) but honestly unless you were deliberately looking for it you wouldn't notice it.

100% of the annoying whistle is gone. The racks still make the normal wind noise sound when going fast but absolutely no more whistling!

Hope this helps someone out there with the same problem I had! These racks are a steal for the price and look great imo.

[tullett4400]

Thanks for the advice. I had the same problem.

[arsenal]

When the roof racks are removed, is anything supposed to go in the hole where the bolts go for securing the rack to the car?

[OC_F32]

Originally Posted by arsenal

When the roof racks are removed, is anything supposed to go in the hole where the bolts go for securing the rack to the car?

No. The ABS flaps that cover them is all that's needed.

[GAConways]

I just went through the same process with a set of new-to-me BMW roof bars on my 2015 F34. I experimented with 1” wide blue painters tape until I found that the same horizontal “gaps” on the front uprights of the front bar are causing the whistling. I ended up using black hi-temp RTV to fill the gap between the plastic and the aluminum since it gets too hot for hot glue down here in GA.

So +1 for this fix! 👍🏻