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This replacement rubberized Vortex strip slides into the top channel of any Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero crossbar to reduce drag and wind noise. 15-3/4" Long rubber strip can be cut to accommodate all your channel-mounted carriers and accessories.
Features:
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi, everyone. It's Lily Angeline here at etrailer and today we're are looking at the replacement Vortex Strip for your Rhino Rack Vortex Aero crossbar here at etrailer. When you do get some Rhino Rack Vortex Aero crossbars, they come pre-installed with these strips and you may need to replace them for some different reasons, sometimes you might cut off a little bit too much when you're fitting your accessories in there or they may get damaged from extreme weather conditions, whether it be a lot of sun or a lot of cold, either way it's really easy to replace them, and let's take a look at them. These are made for the Vortex Aero crossbars and they have a unique design here at the top. Now your Aero Crossbars are designed to reduce wind drag and wind noise and these strips just add to that design. You can see how you have grooves as well as how they are shaped to help with that drag and noise.
Now, these are very important, not only to reduce that wind noise and drag when they are on your vehicle but also to protect your crossbars. As I lift this up you can see how the inside is now open to the elements. Water can get in through and grime can get in. You really don't want those inside your crossbars. So if you do find gaps on your strips, please replace them or fill them up as quick as you can.
The Vortex strips are 15 and three quarter inches long. Now that's gonna be a useful measurement for you because these crossbars come with those separate strips. So here we have the 49 inch long crossbar and what that actually means is your crossbar's space or where t-tracks are, are 49 and 5/8th inches long. So we have one, two, three and a small piece of a fourth of these strips on there. So you're gonna have to cut and mix and match according to your crossbar spread.
Another purpose for these strips are they do give a little bit of a rise to your crossbar, that way if you do have your kayak, your canoe, your surf board straight on the bars, and you're not using a kayak here, you don't have to worry too much about it having contact with the crossbar. You have a little bit of cushion just to prevent those extra scuffs and scratches during transport. Now I have here the old strip and you can see how it maintains its shape, it's not as flexible as it was before and it's slightly brittle, it's still gonna be effective and it still works, but compare it to the flexibility of this other strip, you can see why I wanted to change it. So for install, what you need to do is just take off the end cap first, so that you have it in an open space, so use your key, unlock that end cap and pop it off. You then have two options for installing your replacement strip.
The first one is you can feed it through the t-tracks here at the bottom or the second one which I like to do a lot more is just place it right where you want it to go and pop it in. One thing to make sure is that it's lined up with the other strip on the bar and that you push it in to make sure there are no gaps between the two strips. Once you have all your missing or damaged Vortex strips replaced, you can then pop your end cap back on and then lock it into place and then you are good to go. My final thoughts about these Vortex strips is it is a good idea just to check on your own current Rhino Rack system if they're good and if they're brittle or if they need replacing, they're still gonna work great but if you want them to work greater, I recommend replacing them since it's a really quick and easy process. Again, these are just for Rhino Rack Vortex Aero crossbars. If you have other types of crossbars, check them out on our each trailer site to get the right replacement for you..
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (299 Customer Reviews)
This replacement rubberized Vortex strip slides into the top channel of any Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero crossbar to reduce drag and wind noise. 15-3/4" Long rubber strip can be cut to accommodate all your channel-mounted carriers and accessories.I haven't installed the product yet, but as far as shopping and delivery from etrailer goes, the process was first rate. the Vortex strip is exactly as described. now we'll see if it works!
Bought these for our Kia Carnival after members of a Kia group referred them. We use these for the tracks that are visible when the seats are rearranged or removed from the car. Prevents the kids crumbs from falling into the tracks! They’ve been great!
Very easy to install, looks better than the stock strip, brought this for a 2023 Mazda CX-50 to help reduce wind noise. Have not tested yet but was recommended.
Would be 5 stars if it was one full length instead of 3 individual strips.
Daniel
1/19/2024
Wind noise has been reduced significantly! Great product! Definitely worth the swap.
Name another company unafraid to ask for a one-year review of their products... first for me. I had a hiccup with shipping - they acted immediately. My installers were incorrect about an element and I was upset - the service and consideration of doing whatever I needed (gave me every possible option including time to sort it out on my end) was genuine and superior. Ultimately, they provided me with an excellent, high-quality product and customer service that continues to deliver. Very pleased and would absolutely buy their products again.
This was used on a different make roof rail. Could not find replacement strips for my OEM Audi roof rack rails. Even the Audi direct part was WRONG; no idea why as they verified the PN. This part fits into the t-slot gap (~1/2") perfectly on the 8WS.071.126.
First off - excellent customer service! I called to ask about some parts and I received a “live” person in seconds. No phone button death loop, just a quick response. The assistant was helpful, professional, and knowledgeable.
Now for the other part - The 8” Rhino roof rack for our sky-touch wrangler jeep, worked excellent! Easy to assemble, great finish. I would highly recommend their Etrailer and their products. On the Big Island of Hawaii, these racks will get some use for sure!
Mahalo!
Works amazing with the Tesla Model Y OEM roof racks. Had unbearable whistling and wind noise with the original rubber strips, and after installing these the whistling was gone and wind noise was reduced significantly.
The Rhino pioneer roof rack and vortex crossbars are going to work great on my Ram Truck with Retrax tonneau cover to help me carry extra gear. I also have the Yakama HD overhaul rack for carrying my kayaks. Everthing fits perfectly!
We have a 2024 Tesla Model Y and the roof rack was whistling between the speeds of 40 and 60mph. I removed the factory foam rail inserts and installed 6 of these. These STOPPED the whistling and are better at gripping our roof rack gear. If your roof rack / Crossbars are whistling, I would get these. They stopped our whistling!
Received crossbars when promised. Installation was straightforward. Was missing a couple parts. Informed company and they responded quickly with replacement parts. Very pleased.
They worked ok. I say that because I bought them for a non-Rhino rack that is similar in shape. Not a big fan of the 15 3/4" long strips but understand that if I add channel accessories that it would be easier to fit. They are soft and grippy but when I slid my cargo box on the rack the rolled out of the channel. Would have liked the right ones but A.R.E. isn't the easiest to get accessories from.
I've been using these on my Yakima rack. Sure, Yakima's internal strip looks good and the concept of adding T-bolts without having to trim anything seems appealing. However, in practice, the internal strip deforms with long-term loads and its presence makes installing T-bolts somewhat difficult. These Rhino Rack Vortex Strips are fantastic for my needs. I bought way too many so that I could have sets for when I have T-bolts installed and sets for when my rack is naked, which is almost never.
Has made a little bit of a difference on the whistle noise from roof rack, it was recommended to get something rounded that completely covers the gaps to minimize the sound, but at this point I’ve gotten used to the sound.
The strips solved the primary problem of whistling wind noise from the front roof rack on my Tesla Y. Unfortunately the strips don’t allow for T-Slot mounting. When I wanted to use my ski rack I had to replace the strip with the old Tesla (Yakama) strip
Works great on my 2020 Kia Sorento crossbars and helped to reduce the wind noise. Much better than the flat inserts that the crossbars came with. etrailer service was great; good price, prompt delivery and excellent customer service with follow ups. Highly recommended!
I like the Rhino Rack RTV track because is allows Vortex Aero cross bars to be easily moved and removed. However the appropriately sized rectangular track nuts (M6 24x21x5 part No. N057) used to mount items to the rack are no longer available or manufactured. Consequently RTV track cannot be easily used to secure additional items. Rhino Rack is unable to offer a solution other than returning the wrong sized track nuts so I will manufacture my own attachment nuts. After drilling 18 holes in the roof of my new car and installing the RTV track and cross bars, the lack of compatible nuts was a big disappointment. The product should not be sold if components are not available.
Katrina D.
8/29/2023
I have gotten in contact with the manufacturer and they have confirmed that part # N057 [track nuts] are actually available for sale. I am sorry that you were mislead with this information. I will send you the manufacturers information via email for you to get in contact with them.
I ordered and received replacement strips for my Vortex.Aero bars. They’re perfect and I got them for a good price.
William
11/14/2023
A year later, the replacement rack strips are working and looking great.
Replaced the OEM vortex strips on 2023 Mazda CX-50 cross bars with these and it greatly reduced the wind noise. Now there is no noise up to about 45-50 MPH, some noise up to about 75, and noticeable noise above 75. This is a huge improvement from the original strips that came with the cross bars.
#RS299B- Rhino-Rack RS 2500 Roof Rack for Fixed Mounting Points - Vortex Aero Crossbars - Aluminum - Black
Really liked the rack, made well, looks like it will stand-up well.
One problem was the lack of actual instructions for this particular install. Had to pick text items out of 2 guides that were included but neither was for this exact install. Wasted quite a bit of time that could have been better spent. Overall the rack seems to have mounted OK, seems tight and is quiet when driven at higher speeds.
The next real complaint is the four end covers and locking assembly that secure them to the crossbar ends.
After installing these end caps and securing them with the lock, it became apparent that the locked end caps were not actually a security feature since one good pull with your hand from underneath the open bottom edge could rip those end caps, lock included, off the rails in a split second. There is a 3/4" inch gap between the top edge of the rubber foot that sits against the vehicle roof and the bottom edge of the end cap, giving ample space to fit in your four finger and rip those end caps completely off the rails. Once off, the rack can easily be removed with simple tools. At best the locks just give the appearance of a deterrent.
Extending the bottom edge of the end caps inward about 3/4" inch might help alleviate the problem by not letting you get your fingers up and under the end caps as easily.
Aside from those two minor problems I like the rack and hope to get some good kayaking days in this summer.
Although the site says there is no guarantee these strips will function on other roof racks, I used these on my Mazda roof racks made by Yakima. They went from making a howl on the highway to just a bit of wind noise. Could not be happier! The secret to installing these is to work them into the lateral groove on one side of the strip while pushing them into place on the other side. I did not find this difficult.
Dave M.
I bought these vortex strips because of the horrible noise from the roof racks on my newly purchased Mazda CX50. Since I installed them, the noise basically disappeared and I now enjoy using my car. They are very affordable too!
This absolutely worked and was so easy to take out my Tesla Y OEM rubber strip and replace it with this! The whistling noise now is gone!
Fits the OEM Tesla model Y racks. I would say it cuts wind noise down by 50%. It's not perfect, but if going 70mph or less and you have some music, you won't notice the noise from the racks.
Above 75, they are still pretty noticable. But either way still less than without them.
For the model Y racks, you need 3 strips per rack. So order 6 total.
Excellent piece, very durable, fits right in, I installed on my crossbar and no longer have any Whistling sound. Highly recommend this product!
Actually used this on a Thule Aerobar since I lost the small strip I remove when adding my rack. It fits in the slot perfectly, and though the texture on top doesn't match the Thule texture, it works great.
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William
9/15/2024
after using this product for a year, I would strongly recommend it. the wind noise after installation was markedly reduced to a point where I barely hear it.