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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..
Customer Satisfaction Score:
99% were satisfied with this product
1% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
Nicely built, looks great. Wouldn’t recommend this on a truck roof with the snowboard rack. It’s very noisy, unfortunately. I can’t leave them on for too long. I should have gone with a different product. Not worth the vibrating noise when the rack isn’t loaded with snowboards/skis. I hope I can use it with my canoe this summer at least.
I recently ordered and added to my vehicle a rhino roof rack. I love it! Looks good on the car and can easily be removed if necessary.
I ordered more rubber pieces for the top so when I'm not transporting something I won't hear the wind whistling through the opening. The pieces I ordered came quick and I'm overall very happy with the Rhino Roof Rack. Customer service was great as well!
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!
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.
Removed almost all of the Tesla roof rack whistling noise!
Firstly, this fixes the whistle!! Thank you so much!!
Secondly, shipping was EXTREMELY FAST!
Thirdly, I wish this was a bit more tight in places. It was very easy to put on but there are some places where it looks like it’s “peeling” of sorts off the bars.
Overall very excited and happy about this purchase!
Bought for a Tesla Model Y and needed 6 of them to fit! Got 7 incase (cause that’s who I am lol) but only used 6!!
Did a good job on our 2025 Mazda CX-50 with the Mazda rack. It reduced wind noise by a hug amount. It’s only down side is they’re not a perfect length. It takes multiple to fit one rack and the last one has to be cut to fit.
Very easy to install and quieted my Tesla OEM cross bars significantly. This product snaps in and pulls out easily making installing and removing my bike carrier much easier, yet it’s very secure.
Bananas that Rhino Rack doesn’t include the minimum number of vortex strips needed for full coverage with the crossbars themselves… but eTrailer to the rescue.
These worked perfectly to stop our Model Y roof racks from whistling. Great product. Thank you for the fast shipping.
#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.
It fitted my Mazda CX50 cross bars as a dvertised.
Just what I was looking for. Got rid of the annoying whistle sound on the Tesla roof racks. Just pull the center rubber piece out of your current Tesla roof racks with some needle nose pliers and replace with the vortex strips. You can slide them in or push them on if you can manage it. You will need 6 of the 15 3/4” pieces, 3 for each crossbar. Just insert and line up your center piece, then place the two on the sides and cut off the excess with some scissors. Great product so far! Gives it a nice look too.
Bought 6 of these to reduce whistling noise from an EVBase Tesla Model Y roof rack, and it worked wonderfully!
Had alot of air noise being generated by the crossbars on my 2025 cx50. Replaced the factory rubber inserts with the rhino straps and my wind noise went away. Was not sure it would work but it made things much better.
Solved the loud whistling noise that came from my new EVBase crossbars for Tesla Model Y. The inserts that came with them were pretty cheap and disfigured. These vortex strips we're a perfect fit. And the crossbars are barely noticable at any speed now. I needed six of these to fit both bars.
This is my set up
The strip fits the Tesla roof rack perfectly and noticeably cuts down wind noise at highway speeds, making driving much quieter
Easy to cut to size. Fit really well into my Tesla cross bars and stopped the wind noise.
I used it on a cx50 cross bar. I ordered 3. Didn’t realize, to do both bars you need 6. So I will be ordering more later if it worked on the noise problem. Fit fine. Shipment arrived quickly.
Completely eliminated any whistling sound from my Tesla Model Y factory crossbars.
Bought these to help bring down the wind noise from the crossbars on my CX-50, and they live up to the hype. Far less noise at highway speeds than before.
The vortex strips made a noticeable reduction in wind noise compared to the factory strips.
Fits OEM tesla roof racks. I have a 2023 model Y. You will need 6 and then just use scissors to cut off the extra at the end. Use needlenose pliers to pull out the original rubber liner on the roof racks and then the rhino strips just pop in. Do not try sliding the rhino straps, just push them down into place. If you want to slide them, use dawn soap and water to make it easier. They fit perfect and eliminate the whistling.
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Brian
1/24/2026
1 year later, the rubber strip is still holding up, no issues! I live in the pacific northwest so these battle a LOT of rain.