Does this light bar wind noise fix actually work?

[BroncoTrail]

I just had a light bar installed and it has the heat sink "fins" on the back of it, like most do. As soon as I hit 30mph I hear the wind start to howl/whistle. At highway speeds it's unbearable.

I did some research and found a bunch of videos that say to install rubber pieces that are meant for door edges over the fins. Has anyone tried this? Sounds like a cheap, easy fix - almost too good to be true though.

I also wonder if the rubber should be taken off if I am using the light bar for a long period of time and it starts to get really hot.

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[Tex]

The trailing edges of the fins are not the primary culprit, and those trim pieces wouldn't help even if it was. This idea is basically grasping at straws, the fins look like they'd make a lot of noise and so they get blamed for it. They are responsible for a small amount of noise caused by lightbars, but it's insignificant by comparison, and the only way to eliminate that noise is by taping over them or removing them entirely, killing their effectiveness at heat dissipation. To answer your question on that subject, putting rubber trim on one or two fins won't kill it, the whole rear half of the lightbar is a heat sink. Those fins are really only necessary when you're using the light for an extended time while stationary, and if it's a decent lightbar there should be some thermal throttling built into the circuitry to protect it as well. Just be conscious of how much you're using the light without airflow.

If you want to actually do something about the aerodynamics of a lightbar, you need to do something about the front of the lightbar that's shaped like a brick, rather than the rear which is considerably more aerodynamic. You need to clean up that blunt shape and turn it into a more rounded aerodynamic shape. A DIY solution is to buy a clear lexan tube like what is used for shipping posters and whatnot, split it along the length and trim as necessary. Flatten out the excess over the lightbar and secure with small screws, adhesive, or clamp it down, whatever works for you. There's the other option of buying one already made, and I believe there's a company or two making them now. They look to be made from pretty thick plexiglass from the photos I've seen. It really blows my mind that the better (more expensive) lightbar companies aren't already integrating them into their lights from the start, or at least offering their own aero covers, especially considering how well-known the wind noise and drag issues are with big dual row lightbars. (also glare shields, why has nobody bothered to eliminate hood glare?)

A word of caution on Broncos, however. if you mount a lightbar on a rack behind the windshield frame, you're going to have some serious wind interference with a hard top. The air ends up oscillating between going over the top of the lightbar and below it, the space between the bar and the hard top will experience high and low pressure changes rapidly, which causes buffeting and vibration in the top and the lightbar. Same basic concept as how a whistle works, just on a much larger scale and far lower frequency. Don't know how it plays out on a soft top, but I'd imagine equally bad or worse. Round aero covers don't help much with this situation, and neither will VG's installed on the windshield frame to break up the airflow. If the leading edge of the aero cover could be made asymmetrical (meaning, the shape would look like an upside down airfoil) then it would theoretically try to divert more air away from getting trapped between the two and causing all of that buffeting. I haven't figured out how to shape a piece of lexan or plexiglass that long and have it look remotely presentable with an effective shape, but I did come up with an alternative...a simple brace between the lightbar and the top in the center. It's literally a piece of 2x4 that I cut down to fit between the top and lightbar for my most recent road trip, and it fixed the buffeting. Was getting a bit desperate for a solution and that's the first thing that worked. I suppose something a bit nicer could be made with a thick sheet of plexiglass bent into a U-shape to distribute the pressure on the hard top better than a 2x4, but at this point I'm making a mount that will allow me to pivot the lightbar itself 90deg rearward and stow against the side rail on the rack without having to be disconnected or removed for long road trips.

 

[popo_patty]

I installed a light bar on my Bronco. Tons of wind noise, soft top started flapping, I had to raise my music levels several points and my wife hated riding in the Bronco.

I installed the Ford aero skin hood deflector and 80% of the flapping went away, most of the wind noise went away and my wife likes my Bronco again. It’s on $89 and soooo worth it. It changes the airflow and moves the air over your light bar instead of through it.

 

[BroncoTrail]

@Tex Hmmm OK so something like this? https://www.quadratec.com/p/aerolidz/52-aerox-dual-led-light-bar-silencer

Looks like another Bronco is already using it https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/light-bar-wind-noise-fix.54737/

 

[BroncoTrail]

I just ordered this. Will let ya know how it works out. I'l need to shorten it since my light bar is 40".

AeroLidz Single Row Light Bar Cover - Noise & Wind Silencer for Jeep/Truck Whistle - Single Row LED Lights | Straight Lightbar Cover - UV Polycarbonate 52" inch - Clear

 

[Tex]

Yep, that looks like the one I was thinking of.

 

[Canyon Coolers]

I installed a light bar on my Bronco. Tons of wind noise, soft top started flapping, I had to raise my music levels several points and my wife hated riding in the Bronco.

I installed the Ford aero skin hood deflector and 80% of the flapping went away, most of the wind noise went away and my wife likes my Bronco again. It’s on $89 and soooo worth it. It changes the airflow and moves the air over your light bar instead of through it.

I dont have the top light bar, but I do second the hood deflector trick. It is downright quiet since I put that on. FYI I went with a bumper mount light bar to avoid the noise.

 

[Tex]

I went with a bumper mount light bar

This just means you have room for a second light bar

 

[KABQ]

I installed a light bar on my Bronco. Tons of wind noise, soft top started flapping, I had to raise my music levels several points and my wife hated riding in the Bronco.

I installed the Ford aero skin hood deflector and 80% of the flapping went away, most of the wind noise went away and my wife likes my Bronco again. It’s on $89 and soooo worth it. It changes the airflow and moves the air over your light bar instead of through it.

I also noticed a lot less wind noise on my hard top after installing a hood deflector, even without a light bar.

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