[Northish]

Very nice!

Are you able to open the hatch completely with the box installed?

At some point I might get a box too for sky season but I’d prefer not to have to worry about the wing hitting the box!

In short, yes! I can open the hatch all the way. There are two ways to achieve this... One is to move the box forward enough that the hatch opens all the way. For me, I like things to look "balanced" so after a few days I decided that I would rather move the box back a little bit to make the positioning look better. But this meant that I could open the hatch without the spoiler hitting, so I came up with a really cheap solution that works great.

Basically, I limited the hatch opening height slightly by using some paracord, bungee-cord, and two carbiners. I put a limiter on each side that connects to the grab-handles on the trunk. The other side of the paracord is tied to the trim screws on each side of the trunk. The bungee-cord keeps the carabiners from rattling around when the hatch is closed and act as a shock absorber. Here are some pictures:

 

[Barroux]

That’s very ingenious!

I see how the bungee also pulls everything inside as the hatch is closed and nothing gets trapped in the process.

I would likely have the same issue with wanting it centered, I’ll keep that in mind if I get a box. I’m also thinking having less of the box overhanging fwd would make more stable at speeds.

Had thought about a similar setup before I realised I could move my bicycle carriers (fork mont) far out enough so that the rear wheels clear the wing (on thule bars which protrude out of the towers).

Thanks for sharing your setup!

 

[320icar]

Was on vacation for two weeks. Camping, kayaking, roof top tent etc. Car see’s a lot of use lol

 

[flyingcesar]

In short, yes! I can open the hatch all the way. There are two ways to achieve this... One is to move the box forward enough that the hatch opens all the way. For me, I like things to look "balanced" so after a few days I decided that I would rather move the box back a little bit to make the positioning look better. But this meant that I could open the hatch without the spoiler hitting, so I came up with a really cheap solution that works great.

Basically, I limited the hatch opening height slightly by using some paracord, bungee-cord, and two carbiners. I put a limiter on each side that connects to the grab-handles on the trunk. The other side of the paracord is tied to the trim screws on each side of the trunk. The bungee-cord keeps the carabiners from rattling around when the hatch is closed and act as a shock absorber. Here are some pictures:

What box and what size do you have?

 

[Northish]

What box and what size do you have?

Inno Wedge 660 aka BRM660WH
Length = 80"
Height = 11"
Width = 33"
Capacity = 11 cuft

 

[flyingcesar]

Inno Wedge 660 aka BRM660WH
Length = 80"
Height = 11"
Width = 33"
Capacity = 11 cuft

Awesome thank you.

 

[sportyguy]

I also use Thule for 3 years now and decided to just go for this brand since this is already tested for durability. Bought mine from https://www.levittownfordparts.com/sku/vds4z-7855100-a.html. Still not planning to change it with a different brand since as of the moment I don't see any damage.

 

[BillNye]

Anyone know where you can still get the OEM Ford UK rack from? It's not available via the Ford parts request anymore.

 

[SenderPiggins]

Anyone know where you can still get the OEM Ford UK rack from? It's not available via the Ford parts request anymore.

Email this bloke.

 

[phillofoc]

The Roof Rack is 25% off from the UK site. You will need to use a parcel forwarding service, but at least getting shipping to the forwarder is free.

Roof Base Carrier

Welcome to the official Ford of Britain catalogue and online shop for accessories, performance parts, service plans and extended warranties, with free shipping to selected locations or optional fitment by a Ford-trained technician at a Ford Dealer of your choice.

shop.ford.co.uk

Grab some EU bits for your RS from ebay.co.uk as well, I just grabbed an armrest for cheap to compete my Euro interior look.

 

[Northish]

Here's a project literally hundreds of people didn't ask for...
With the down time I took a shot at increasing the aero efficiency of the roof box I have for the RS. We're making plans for a ~4,500mi road trip with the RS again to see some new Nat'l Parks in the SW around Sept. this year if things get back to some kind of normal, and will be taking the roof box.
I read this interesting article on how a subtle change in the roof box position can make a significant difference in drag.

Article: Examining influence of a rooftop cargo carrier position on automobile aerodynamics
Radosław Mikołaj Janicki1,b) and Adam Piechna1,a)

Biggest takeaway from the article was that having sufficient air flow under the box can reduce drag by allowing two counter-rotating swirls behind the car and box.

So I decided to see if I could smooth out the bottom of my roof box to smooth the air flow. If nothing else it should quiet down the wind noise. Seemed like a good activity to do while work is dead and materials were crazy cheap: Spray foam, styrofoam, Bondo, stainless hardware, and matte car wrap. I had most on-hand. I'll paste some pics below of what I did to smooth it out. I smoothed out the whole underside of the box since the rack placement wouldn't change. The new underside profile of the box now keeps a constant gap between the box and the roof of the car between the bars. Also made a nose cone to fill a huge void in the underside of the box's nose.

Results - Took a 180 mile drive at 70 mph and wind noise was down significantly. Huge improvement here. My RS has the sun roof so noise was my biggest complaint on the roof box before. We didn't have to turn the music up to compensate any more. I can't tell if there was much of a bump in mileage. It certainly wasn't any worse than before the areo mods. I calculated I got 21 mpg after filling up after the trip, but there was also a ~10mph headwind. That's about what I got before the areo mods. Need to get more data on the mileage piece on a less windy day. Noise reduction alone was worth the effort, though.

 

[BigFatFlip]

Results - Took a 180 mile drive at 70 mph and wind noise was down significantly. Huge improvement here. My RS has the sun roof so noise was my biggest complaint on the roof box before. We didn't have to turn the music up to compensate any more. I can't tell if there was much of a bump in mileage. It certainly wasn't any worse than before the areo mods. I calculated I got 21 mpg after filling up after the trip, but there was also a ~10mph headwind. That's about what I got before the areo mods. Need to get more data on the mileage piece on a less windy day. Noise reduction alone was worth the effort, though.

Fun! I have the exact same Inno roof box and had it on my BRZ for a while and have contemplated doing something similar back then. Having such a box on such an aerodynamic and small car with a tiny engine definitely affected the mpgs. Unfortunately, I no longer have the car and the box gets very seldomly used since the RS has much more room and my wife has a crossover with plenty of space for family stuff.

Was the reasoning for smoothing/flattening the bottom to accelerate the air going between the roof box and the car's roof? Are you planning on playing with moving it rearwards, raising it or angling it too?

 

[Northish]

Was the reasoning for smoothing/flattening the bottom to accelerate the air going between the roof box and the car's roof? Are you planning on playing with moving it rearwards, raising it or angling it too?

Yes, exactly; hoping to create a strong, smooth jet of air between the roof and the box to get the two counter-rotating swirls. As much as I'd like to, I don't think I'll be trying to move the box up. I would definitely try that if I had a 3D printer as I could make several secure fitting stand-offs and iterate.

Would be really fun to make a desk-top wind tunnel with a 3D printed RS model I have and iterate that way like this:

The box is already back as far as I can go and still open the hatch a use-able amount. I've got a limiter on the opening height already since I've moved the box back beyond where it would hit the spoiler without the limiters.
I think the fact that the airflow quieted down so much now with the flat bottom says that the air is happier, which I hope means less drag. I opened the sun roof to make sure the air wasn't stalled out for some reason and it was ripping through there!

 

[BigFatFlip]

Yes, exactly; hoping to create a strong, smooth jet of air between the roof and the box to get the two counter-rotating swirls. As much as I'd like to, I don't think I'll be trying to move the box up. I would definitely try that if I had a 3D printer as I could make several secure fitting stand-offs and iterate.

Would be really fun to make a desk-top wind tunnel with a 3D printed RS model I have and iterate that way like this:

The box is already back as far as I can go and still open the hatch a use-able amount. I've got a limiter on the opening height already since I've moved the box back beyond where it would hit the spoiler without the limiters.
I think the fact that the airflow quieted down so much now with the flat bottom says that the air is happier, which I hope means less drag. I opened the sun roof to make sure the air wasn't stalled out for some reason and it was ripping through there!

Armchair aero engineering but I wonder if you added some ducting or a scoop on the leading edge/forward of the box or add some skirting along the sizes of the box, you'd be able to keep that airflow velocity from bleeding out and keeping that "double swirl" effect?

Funny enough, I remember building a similar benchtop wind tunnel back in highschool: PC fans similar to the ones on the video, stack of straws to create the laminar air flow and dry ice for visualization. Played with different wing profiles and angles of attack on a spoiler for an engineering club. I guess I was a ricer even way back then lol.

 

[Northish]

Armchair aero engineering but I wonder if you added some ducting or a scoop on the leading edge/forward of the box or add some skirting along the sizes of the box, you'd be able to keep that airflow velocity from bleeding out and keeping that "double swirl" effect?

Funny enough, I remember building a similar benchtop wind tunnel back in highschool: PC fans similar to the ones on the video, stack of straws to create the laminar air flow and dry ice for visualization. Played with different wing profiles and angles of attack on a spoiler for an engineering club. I guess I was a ricer even way back then lol.

I actually did try to add some ducting to the front of the box for fun. It exits at the rear of the box in sort of a diffuser profile. No idea if it's functional. Perhaps near the 4th of July I'll tape some smoke-bombs to the car to see what's up with the airflow
Currently adding remote controlled lights inside the box for night time camping and winter skiing.

 

[Sulley_RS]

Bass opened this weekend and finally got an opportunity to transport the yak. Love the utility of this car combined with its other qualities.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

What size Kayak you running?

 

[stayfocusedRS]

Anyone have the part # or know where I can get the plastic roof rack inserts/grommets (or whatever they're called)?

 

[Looftwaffel]

Was on vacation for two weeks. Camping, kayaking, roof top tent etc. Car see’s a lot of use lol

View attachment 335552
View attachment 335554 View attachment 335555

Out of curiosity. I am looking to do some rooftop camping with my RS. Is there anything in particular you’d recommend to get that setup going? Which tent did you use? I’ve got a buddy in England who can help me with the OEM roof rack if that’s the same you used.

 

[320icar]

@Looftwaffel The OEM roof rack works great and I’d 100% recommend it. Super secure and never had a worry.

I used the ‘smittybilt 2783” tent. I had a friend who worked at 4wheelparts so I got a deal. Not much to say about the setup really, it worked fantastic. Only thing I’d say is the ladder has preset “stops” for certain heights. The length the ladder wants for the focus falls between two of the presets so you can just use a drill in the ladder and make new holes at the correct height.

this is not RS specific, but to the tent. wind can really whip the tent around. It is very waterproof and wouldn’t have any worry sleeping in a rainstorm but the wind can sure whip the sides around something good. More than a normal tent since the sides are usually stretched pretty tight.

I recently moved and lost some storage space so I sold the RTT. If I get rid of some motorcycles I’ll be tempted to buy another one and built it on top of a mini-trailer to bring camping and for road trips.

 

[Awacchi]

Can I know what size of wheels you have it?