Performance Roof Box + Thule WingBars = Noise Issues

satchurator

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I purchased the Porsche Performance Roof Box before I received my CT4 (unboxing thread here). After seeing the issues @Swissbob experienced with his OEM roof bars, I decided to get the Thule WingBar Edge 9585B roof bars.

After two winter road trips, I've been experiencing a frustrating noise issue. Its not the wind rush / whistling you would expect from roofbars/boxen, rather its an intense buzzing noise that starts above 65 mph (~105 kph) and gets more intense with increasing speed. It was quite unbearable.

There was no visible shaking, so after double checking the torquing of the clamps and making sure nothing else was loose, I eventually narrowed it down to the front edge 'nose' of the box, where the upper and lower parts of the clamshell come together. It seems as though the airflow is such that its pushing through that front nose junction and causing them to chatter intensely.

Given that the press release for the Performance Roof Box was touting wind tunnel tests at up to 120mph, I'm pretty disappointed. However, I'm inclined to attribute the problem to a combination of the roof box and the Thule WingBars together. The Thule WingBars sit lower than the OEM bars, closer to the panoramic glass surface. Also, where the OEM bars have compensated height such that the PPRB would sit perfectly horizontally, the Thule WingBars are not height compensated. So on top of the WingBars, the PPRB is not perfectly horizontal - its flat underside is at about 3º to the horizontal.

I am very reluctant to switch to the Porsche OEM bars and risk trashing my roof rails. So my low-tech solution is to add three strips of black electrical tape! With three strips of tape at the front, the box is quite silent.

Sharing this as an FYI to other folks who have or are considering this combination of accessories. I'm interested to hear if anybody else is having noise issues with their Porsche Performance Roof Box, regardless of how its mounted.

P.S. Any suggestions on how to easily share an audio clip without creating accounts elsewhere?

Porsche Taycan Performance Roof Box + Thule WingBars = Noise Issues MountedTWB - 1


Porsche Taycan Performance Roof Box + Thule WingBars = Noise Issues MountingPPRBOnTWB - 1


Porsche Taycan Performance Roof Box + Thule WingBars = Noise Issues SideOfPPRBAndTWB - 1


Porsche Taycan Performance Roof Box + Thule WingBars = Noise Issues FrontOfPPRB - 1
 

thecoloradokid

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Just throwing this out there, but I have seen online that in some cases turning the carrier around with the bigger end facing forward improves efficiency. Maybe it might take care of your noise issue?

Your car looks great in snow, btw.
 

fgwinn

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The low profile Thule bars look more OEM than the Porsche bars. Have you removed the bars to confirm that they do not damage the rails?

Is the Performance Roof Box secured to the bars with a bolt that slides into the track on the bar? It does not look like there is much clearance between the box and the glass roof.
 
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satchurator

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The low profile Thule bars look more OEM than the Porsche bars. Have you removed the bars to confirm that they do not damage the rails?

Is the Performance Roof Box secured to the bars with a bolt that slides into the track on the bar? It does not look like there is much clearance between the box and the glass roof.
I have not yet removed the Thule WingBars for the first time, but I am confident there won’t be damage. They attach by a rubber-coated metal collar that loops around the roof rails. Zero metal to metal contact.

Look closely at the images I attached to the first post - the roof box attaches to the roof bars by four adjustable rubberized metal claws - the exact same mechanism as Thule’s boxes (the PPRB is made for Porsche by Thule). After installing there is about 3/4 of an inch (2cm) clearance between the lowest point of the claws to the panoramic roof glass.
 
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fgwinn

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I have not yet removed the Thule WingBars for the first time, but I am confident there won’t be damage. They attach by a rubber-coated metal collar that loops around the roof rails. Zero metal to metal contact.

Look closely at the images I attached to the first post - the roof box attaches to the roof bars by four adjustable rubberized metal claws - the exact same mechanism as Thule’s boxes (the PPRB is made for Porsche by Thule). After installing there is about 3/4 of an inch (2cm) clearance between the lowest point of the claws to the panoramic roof glass.
My concern is that even though the straps are rubber coated, they do not match the angle of the nonparallel rails. It seems to me that the clamping pressure will be concentrated on the front edge of the strap where the distance between the rails is slightly greater.
 


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satchurator

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My concern is that even though the straps are rubber coated, they do not match the angle of the nonparallel rails. It seems to me that the clamping pressure will be concentrated on the front edge of the strap where the distance between the rails is slightly greater.
We'll see. I shall report back on another thread when I eventually remove the WingBars. There are only so many ways to attach these things. The slotted bolt method would be quite challenging to install, IMO. Older non-Taycan Porsche roofbars have had rubberized clamps. The Porsche OEM Taycan roofbars have bare metal clamps. In the face of this goldilocks paradox, I went with the Thule WingBars.

Appreciate the discussion here, but it would be nice to bring this focus of this thread back to my original objective of discussing noise issues with the PPRB.
 

McgR

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I don’t have my car yet. Hopefully in a couple of weeks. I have also ordered the Thule wingbars but with a Thule Vector M roofbox.

I hope I will be able to put in on the Taycan and that it doesn’t have a conflict with the roof with the low position of the wingbars.
 

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I got the same setup as yours. (Thule low profile bar + Porsche roof box on a CT4 ^^). The buzzing sound from the box at around 100~120 Km/h drove me crazy. Today, I moved the box as far as it can go to the rear.

The noise is gone now ^^ (I hope it does not comeback!!!)

Here are the pics

Porsche Taycan Performance Roof Box + Thule WingBars = Noise Issues 타이칸루프박스출고위치before


Porsche Taycan Performance Roof Box + Thule WingBars = Noise Issues 타이칸루프박스소음제거위치


(FYI, I also moved the bars forward as much as I could.)
 
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McgR

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I got the same setup as yours. (Thule low profile bar + Porsche roof box on a CT4 ^^). The buzzing sound from the box at around 100~120 Km/h drove me crazy. Today, I moved the box as far as it can go to the rear.

The noise is gone now ^^ (I hope it does not comeback!!!)

Here are the pics

타이칸루프박스출고위치before.jpg


타이칸루프박스소음제거위치.jpg


(FYI, I also moved the rear parallel bar forward as much as I could)
I am also having noise issues but with the Thule Vector M roof box. Not buzzing but more a wind noise. I hoped it would be more silent with the aerodynamic box. I wondered if it would be less with the Porsche box but the trick seems to be to shift it as far back as possible.

if you shift the roof bars more to the rear the box will be unleveled I presume. Front one comes higher and the trear one deeper. Probably why you shifted the rear one to the front ? That’s why I did it.
 
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satchurator

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I got the same setup as yours. (Thule low profile bar + Porsche roof box on a CT4 ^^). The buzzing sound from the box at around 100~120 Km/h drove me crazy. Today, I moved the box as far as it can go to the rear.

The noise is gone now ^^ (I hope it does not comeback!!!)

Here are the pics

타이칸루프박스출고위치before.jpg


타이칸루프박스소음제거위치.jpg


(FYI, I also moved the bars forward as much as I could.)
Thanks for sharing - I might try this.
Looks like the box is slightly more level - would you agree?
Do you have any issues with the rear hatch / trunk door clearance when opening?
 

Driver

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Thanks for sharing - I might try this.
Looks like the box is slightly more level - would you agree?
Do you have any issues with the rear hatch / trunk door clearance when opening?
Yes, I would say my roof box looks more level now. The buzzing noise is gone really :please:👍 so far, so good.

There is about 1cm space between the box and tailgate when fully opened even though they look so close in the pic below.

Porsche Taycan Performance Roof Box + Thule WingBars = Noise Issues KakaoTalk_20240128_143727164
 
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xqdong

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Install box, bike rack etc. on the top would increase the wind resistance to car, increased power usage, and shorter the range. Do you any estimation, how much KM range decreased after you installed the box on the top?

ps. I have bike rack installed on my taycan, I estimate it decreased 30-50KM range.
 
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satchurator

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Install box, bike rack etc. on the topic would increase the wind resistance to car, increased power usage, and shorter the range. Do you any estimation, how much KM range decreased after you installed the box on the top?

ps. I have bike rack installed on my taycan, I estimate it decreased 30-50KM range.
For my setup (shown in first post), it's a 15-20% reduction in consumption.
more specifically, round-trip observed for (approximately) the same route with and without the roofbars and roofbox is 50kWh/100miles (with) vs 42kWh/100miles (without). That is in the US North East winter, with winter tires.

@Driver Interested to hear what consumption you observe with your different positioning.
 

xqdong

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For my setup (shown in first post), it's a 15-20% reduction in consumption.
more specifically, round-trip observed for (approximately) the same route with and without the roofbars and roofbox is 50kWh/100miles (with) vs 42kWh/100miles (without). That is in the US North East winter, with winter tires.

@Driver Interested to hear what consumption you observe with your different positioning.
Thanks. your reduction is a bit bigger than mine, obviously, the box has bigger wind facing than bike rack.
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