Roof Rack Suggestions for R36

[Ben R36]

Hi all,

Has anyone done any research or shopping around for a roof rack for an R36. If so what are the recommendations - do I need to get a VW one from the dealer or are there better options out there?

Looking for practicality as well as looks....obviously!

Any help appreciated.

Cheers,

Ben

[ur85q]

Hi - I'm also interested in this ... particularly to carry the family bikes on roadtrips. Am looking forward to roadtrips once the R36 arrives!

[Burkey]

I've got a set of the Thule roof racks on my R36 and they work fine. A bit of wind noise but what do you do?

I got them from our local guy at Gladesville and have had no problems.

Cheers,
Brett

[Ralph]

Try the Whispbar from prorack with the in-line roof rail connectors. Product code is S53 I think.

Take a look on www.prorack.com.au and use "Find My Car".

They look nice and work fine for me.

Hope that helps.

[Ben R36]

Thanks Gents,

Quite like the look of the Prorack ones. Nice and clean looking. But I'll go and have a look at the Thule ones also.

Cheers,

Ben

[Rthirsty6]

Hi all,

Has anyone done any research or shopping around for a roof rack for an R36. If so what are the recommendations - do I need to get a VW one from the dealer or are there better options out there?

Looking for practicality as well as looks....obviously!

I have a set of Thule that I had on my Audi and will adapt to my wagon (once it arrives). They were great (apart from the usual wind noise) and I left the bars slightly longer so they were wider than the roof racks. This enabled me to fit a roofbasket and a bike carrier next to it on camping trips. Doesn't look as good, but is very practical. I only fitted the bars when required, so drove without most of the time.
Something to keep in mind though is to check the sunroof (if you have one), make sure that you have sufficient clearance to open it. Generally OEM racks will have sufficient clearance, but look ugly as they have fairly high mountings.
Good luck!

[Ben R36]

Thanks for the info Finalcut,

I don't have a sunroof so no worries there. After living in the Middle East for a few years and baking in the sun through the sun roof I decided against it on the R36...

[natwsmith]

I would also recommend the Thule roof racks and the Thule bike carrier. I inherited a set from my father in law and the local thule dealership were very helpful in fitting them to my passat wagon. only cost $30 to get all the racks and carriers key aliked as well as getting the rails remilled to fit my car. they were for a 4wd so were slightly large for the passat but the benefit now is that i have a set of roof racks that will fit any car with rails - bloody brilliant!

locking mechanisms all work really well and it only takes a couple of minutes to fit once you have done the initial mucking around.

i also had the whistling noise when i first installed the racks but i spoke to the Thule dealer and they gave me some rubbers to fit in the guide rail - whistling has now gone and I could not be happier.

Highly recommend the Thule dealership in Artarmon Sydney - they could not have been any more helpful if they tried.

[seangti]

with regards to the thule bike rack, depending on the model of rack you go for, the one that doesn't keep the front wheel on doesn't allow all bikes with disc brakes to fit without undoing the brake caliper (e.g mine), i.e. not enough clearance as the alloy bar is thick. The rolarack does, though doesn't have a lock.

I've also got a rack from torpedo7, it's bulkier than the rolarack, which has actually stopped the wind noice. only issue with that rack is some bike movement/wiggle - it's however fixed pretty well to the bar so is not going anywhere.

hope that help regarding bike racks if you're going down that path.

[oileoi]

Thule x2: The Sweedish have done a bloddy good work with these roof rack. The Alu ones are pretty nice and light and they offer a wide variety of accesories to suit your needs.

[richdave]

FWIW I priced the WV ones yesterday and they are over $400 so the Prorack onesd are a good alternative... Going to chase them up for myself

[Ben R36]

Typical,

I went round to BCF at lunchtime to check out the Prorack S53. Turns out it's the only one that they don't have in stock in Perth!

They could order it for me but it will take a few weeks!

That's WA for you!

[bennobee]

i must admit i got the VW ones when i got my car and they look kick ass. They where a lot less than 400 bucks from memory and inline for an after market price so i got the real deal ones.

[Ben R36]

I don't suppose you have any pics bennobee?

[ope126]

My only concern is that for sedans the roof rack clips over the door openings and is hard pressed against the door seal / rubber. Does this effect the wind noise and maybe get worse over time? And what about when they are removed, does it leave indentations from where they were located.
Now, for the feet on the roof, on a sedna would you put a clear 3M type tape to stop scratches on the roof.

Open to thoughts, experiences and suggestions!