Roof Rack Cross bars VW geniune bars

[tiguan_hunting]

Thanks all for the info and the photos, great stuff.

I went to my local VW dealer and inspected the VW original bars. They even had a new delivered Tiguan with the VW bars on but the hopeless dealer had not only misfitted the rear bar (locating pins were not in the bar holes) but the drips had not inserted the rubber strip in the channels on each cross bar. Poor person will be upset to take delivery!

My observations of this bar is as follows:

Made in Germany
Mounts have rubber on the top but not on clamps so it might mark the roof bars, needs some further protection I feel.
Silver bar not black
Slightly ugly but practical, front edge has a curve on it.
Side plastic shrouders clip over locking mechanism
Rubber strip is nicely made and good aluminium bar quality
Uses locating holes in roof racks so easy to put on /off I guess.
MOST IMPORTANTLY it has 4 plastic guards under the front bar to guard against the sunroof hitting it I guess. It looks to higher enough to clear it though but I can't confirm.

So there you have it!

Bayman, I see that you are located in Melbourne as well. Can you tell me which dealer you went to? I would like to see them myself as well.
Thanks

[Bayman]

Bayman, I see that you are located in Melbourne as well. Can you tell me which dealer you went to? I would like to see them myself as well.
Thanks

CAMBERWELL VW (Bayford), it was a TSI with silver roof racks as well, but it was still in the showroom last night but probably be delivered today I would guess. Give them a call.

[Arctra]

VW Genuine bars

I ended up bidding on those genuine Tig bars on eBay and won them for $250.

Fitted them yesterday and have to say that although I still think they're ugly, they aren't as bad as I anticipated. Fitting them was quite quick and simple which is good, but they certainly aren't "quick release" as they require a special torque tool to make sure you tighten them on properly to carry their 100kg rated load. With practice I should be able to put them on and take them off quite quickly.

The clearance above the sunroof is ridiculously large. They could have made the bars a lot lower and sleeker looking and still had adequate clearance. They have a groove along the length of the bar for sliding in your holders. I have Rola Kayak cradles and they slot in perfectly, so the grooves must be an industry standard.

If you want pics or any further info please let me know.

[Bayman]

Looks like you got a bargain. The best price I can get them for is $370 and nearly bid for them but then they would cost me $290 with freight so I was undecided to outlay that much just yet. You must have picked them up.
I didn't notice that they were so high but I 'll admit they look a bit geriatric compared to sleeker models.
Do the clamps mark your black bars or are yours silver. I noticed they have rubber to protect the vertical load but the clamp section appeared to be bare painted metal so all there is to protect marking the bars is paint. The rubber strips on the front bar must be for the glass protection but if the bar is so high is that then over engineering Germans at work?

I would be interested to hear how they go and travelling noise. I reckon at least using geniune products, you have some comeback on VW if they fail within any prescribed load.

Thanks for the info.

[Arctra]

Looks like you got a bargain. <snip> You must have picked them up.
<snip>
Do the clamps mark your black bars or are yours silver. I noticed they have rubber to protect the vertical load but the clamp section appeared to be bare painted metal so all there is to protect marking the bars is paint. The rubber strips on the front bar must be for the glass protection but if the bar is so high is that then over engineering Germans at work?

I would be interested to hear how they go and travelling noise. I reckon at least using geniune products, you have some comeback on VW if they fail within any prescribed load.

Well, a "bargain" if you compare them to the original VW price, but compared to other bars they are about what you'd pay for new ones. I did go pick them up rather than post as Colo Vale isn't too far from Sydney and I wanted to do another decent drive

The clamps don't have any rubber protection and my rails are black, so marking is a concern. I'll be taking them off this weekend as I'm doing a long trip up north through the Thunderbolt Way and don't need the drag/noise from them. Travelling with them today I have to say I didn't notice a noise. Considering how far they are from teh roof that's probably not a surprise though!

[tiguan_hunting]

I ended up bidding on those genuine Tig bars on eBay and won them for $250.

Fitted them yesterday and have to say that although I still think they're ugly, they aren't as bad as I anticipated. Fitting them was quite quick and simple which is good, but they certainly aren't "quick release" as they require a special torque tool to make sure you tighten them on properly to carry their 100kg rated load. With practice I should be able to put them on and take them off quite quickly.

The clearance above the sunroof is ridiculously large. They could have made the bars a lot lower and sleeker looking and still had adequate clearance. They have a groove along the length of the bar for sliding in your holders. I have Rola Kayak cradles and they slot in perfectly, so the grooves must be an industry standard.

If you want pics or any further info please let me know.

Arctra,
Any chance of getting some pictures of those roof racks please? I'm thinking of getting one myself.
Has any tried the Rhino SXB3? According to Autobarn they reckon it will fit the sunroof.
Thanks!

[Arctra]

No problem. Here are the pics I took with my camera phone. Let me know if you want any other angles

From front with sunroof closed:


Front bards with key on sunroof to give you an idea of the bars clearance:


With the plastic end-cap off so you can see a bit of the assembly:


The other side with the end-cap off so you can see how the clip grips the rail. As you can see it'll be fairly difficult to put any form of protection on the rail other than a thin film of plastic/insulation tape possibly:


Front bar with the sunroof open. As you can see, there is tons of clearance!


Hope this helps!

[tiguan_hunting]

Thanks Actra. I'm gonna try some generic ones first. Failing that I might just get the genuine ones.

[tiguan_hunting]

Hi Actra,
How are you finding the cross bars? Do you get a lot of wind noise from them? I had a look at Thule and Rhino and they look like they will fit. They both look a lot lower than the genune ones. I'm just wondering how aerodynamic the genuine ones are. Like what you mentioned earlier the genuine seem quite high, more than what is required.

[Arctra]

Hi Actra,
How are you finding the cross bars? Do you get a lot of wind noise from them? I had a look at Thule and Rhino and they look like they will fit. They both look a lot lower than the genune ones. I'm just wondering how aerodynamic the genuine ones are. Like what you mentioned earlier the genuine seem quite high, more than what is required.

Hey tiguan_hunting

For the Queens Birthday weekend I took them off as I was doing about 1300km’s of driving and didn’t want the extra drag. I can say that I didn’t notice and wind noise while I had the on though. I think this is probably because they are high enough off the roof for it to be noticeable, and the bars are reasonably aerodynamic. Even if they were closer to the roof I don’t think they’d make much noticeable noise either as there are enough other noise generating items on the vehicle for it to blend into.

My biggest issue with them is that they are an eye sore. They just stick out way too much. In all other respects I am happy with them. They are quick and easy to attach and detach, strong, and allow universal attachments such as my Rola kayak cradles to be attached. If only the fitted a little closer to the roof and were in keeping with the look of the Tig.

If you had to ask me whether to go aftermarket or genuine, I’d say aftermarket, though I am satisfied with mine.

Hope that helps you.

[NZTiguan]

You certainly want to take them off when you're not using them cos they make an appreciable difference to your fuel consumption believe it or not !! So, imho the ability to remove and refit them quickly would be an absolute must.

Cheers

[tiguan_hunting]

Hi Arctra,

Since you last send me the pictures of your genuine roof racks (and thanks for them again) I've been to a couple of places to try and install some after market brands. The Thule 755 which I think you tried them on and it did fit but the rear rack had to be set back quite a bit because of the clearance for the sunroof. However I have found that Prorack S16 with fitting K328 will fit the Tig with sunroof with plenty of clearance but it does look a lot more streamline and neat compared to the genuine VW racks. It sits much lower than the genuine ones but high enough for the sunroof to open and close with ample space. This Prorack ones are the Whispbar series which Prorack argues are the quitest roof racks available. The one thing that the Thule 755 has that Prorack doesn't is the ease of installing and removing them. With the Thule you can easily tighten the rack with your hands without any tools. This is incorporated with the locking key. But the Prorack is a 2 step process. First remove the the outer casing with the key provided. Then use an allan key to undo the racks. Retail price for them is $329. The other thing about this Prorack series is that you can take it with you and use it one other cars. All you have to do is to purchase a different fitting kit. Cost about $45 rather than buying a whole different set of racks.

I've called around and it seems everyone is selling these racks for $329. But I never believe in paying full price. If anyone knows where I can get a good deal would appreciate if you could post the details. Also if anyone is using these Prorack cross bars would appreciate if you could post some feedback.
Thanks.

[JimmyGS]

Hi Arctra,

Since you last send me the pictures of your genuine roof racks (and thanks for them again) I've been to a couple of places to try and install some after market brands. The Thule 755 which I think you tried them on and it did fit but the rear rack had to be set back quite a bit because of the clearance for the sunroof. However I have found that Prorack S16 with fitting K328 will fit the Tig with sunroof with plenty of clearance but it does look a lot more streamline and neat compared to the genuine VW racks. It sits much lower than the genuine ones but high enough for the sunroof to open and close with ample space. This Prorack ones are the Whispbar series which Prorack argues are the quitest roof racks available. The one thing that the Thule 755 has that Prorack doesn't is the ease of installing and removing them. With the Thule you can easily tighten the rack with your hands without any tools. This is incorporated with the locking key. But the Prorack is a 2 step process. First remove the the outer casing with the key provided. Then use an allan key to undo the racks. Retail price for them is $329. The other thing about this Prorack series is that you can take it with you and use it one other cars. All you have to do is to purchase a different fitting kit. Cost about $45 rather than buying a whole different set of racks.

I've called around and it seems everyone is selling these racks for $329. But I never believe in paying full price. If anyone knows where I can get a good deal would appreciate if you could post the details. Also if anyone is using these Prorack cross bars would appreciate if you could post some feedback.
Thanks.

Hi Tiguan Hunting,
I have fitted the Prorack Whispbar S16 with fitting Kit. After doing a little research, I went to Roof Rack Superstore who recomended these as the Thule 755 was not suitable because of the clearance of the sunroof. The Prorack bar is far more streamlined when compared to the genuine VW racks. Infact my VW dealer asked me where I got them from! The best price I could do was $329 fitted but they did discount the Ski carrier by 30%.

[Sanman]

Funnily enough I looked up this thread just yesterday:
Summary:
Thule RT755 $329 (very close fit with sunroof, easy to fit)
Prorack whisperbar $329 (fits with sunroof, harder to fit)
Rola RBX135/RBXL135 (no sunroof)
Appears no-one discounts roofracks (what a business!)
I am tracking down the Melb roofrack manufacturer that makes the Territory racks in the hope they can provide something suitable for less cost.
Pls post if you've found a company that offers good prices AND good service.

[Ricardo]

Searching for roof racks for our Tiiguan which should be on the ship. Has anyone tried the prorack s53? Are the prorack racks as quiet as they claim? I prefer the ones that dont stick out to the side ie they fit between the rails although I guess you can carry less. Also because of the smaller boot we may need a roof pod has anyone had good or bad experiences with roof pods?

http://www.prorack-international.com/au/Find-my-car/