'10 JSW roof rail removal/mpg

[Victor-Whiskey]

I thought factory rails on my JSW looked ugly and SUV-ish. I would probably never use them; and, they play a negative role in aerodynamics, so I removed them. I fabricated some aluminum plugs and gaskets at work to cover the holes and painted them with Duplicolor CW matched spray paint.
Under the same conditions and ~2k miles without them, my average has improved 1.4 mpg. There are other factors that could account for the improvement, but I think it has played a notable part.

 

[phillypino215]

easy enough to put back on?

 

[Victor-Whiskey]

easy enough to put back on?

The plugs/caps screw on hand tight and are sealed by thin gasket material used on aircraft (scrap from work). So, they can be easily removed and the rails reinstalled. Easily a 10 minute job.
You WILL break a tab on the front and rear covers for the rail bolts when removing them the first time, but they seem firmly mounted without the one tab.

 

[NewTdi]

I just removed the roof rack off my Jetta MKIV sedan and 2.5mpg is the toll I got with the rack on. Also this rack is not as aerodynamic as the one on your sportwagen! The nice thing is that when I remove the rack, the car becomes quiet again!

 

[Victor-Whiskey]

... The nice thing is that when I remove the rack, the car becomes quiet again!

I also noticed slightly lower wind noise

 

[JSWTDI09]

You WILL break a tab on the front and rear covers for the rail bolts when removing them the first time, but they seem firmly mounted without the one tab.

Would it be possible to post a picture of these covers and their tabs? It might be easier to avoid breaking these tabs if we knew exactly where they are and how they work.

I, too, have no need for the roof racks. I would love it if someone sold a "kit" with all of the plugs necessary to seal up the holes left after removing the racks. Good instructions and a plug kit would be pretty popular, I would think. I'm sure we aren't the only ones with no need for the roof rails, especially if they can be re-installed if necessary.

Have Fun!

Don

 

[Derrel H Green]

Try Here

Would it be possible to post a picture of these covers and their tabs? It might be easier to avoid breaking these tabs if we knew exactly where they are and how they work.

I, too, have no need for the roof racks. I would love it if someone sold a "kit" with all of the plugs necessary to seal up the holes left after removing the racks. Good instructions and a plug kit would be pretty popular, I would think. I'm sure we aren't the only ones with no need for the roof rails, especially if they can be re-installed if necessary.

Have Fun!

Don

Perhaps you may find what you want here:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=233578&highlight=remove+roof+rails

As you may see from an earlier post of mine there, I was interested in removing 'em from mine.
Wife did not like the idea, so I did not go through with that plan, but I still might?



D