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BOY, OH BOY DO I KNOW THE ANSWER!!! Posted by Saabpilot [Email]  (#134) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Saabpilot) on Mon, 1 Jun 2009 18:55:11
In Reply to: Re: thule roof racks questions...can i use old bars...?, sswartwout, Mon, 1 Jun 2009 10:06:07 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Good timing on your question and I know the answer. You won't like it.
When I bought my 2008 9-3 Aero, I ordered the OEM roof rack system that uses the old style square Thule bars.
Those bars are VERY custom. They are 43" long and they have a long slot cut into the underside of them. The OEM / Thule feet that screw into the hatches on your roof are also custom. They have a mechanism that screws into the slot on the bottom of the load bars, and they only work with these specific custom 43" bars OR the Thule Rapid Aero bar system. Notice in the Saab accessories brochure you see both the square bars and the silver oval bars? Those oval ones are the Rapid Aero series.
I started out with ski carriers and then 2 bike carriers on my square bars. I recently bought a canoe and wanted wider bars so I could carry both bike carriers and the canoe holder. Silly me - I went ahead and ordered Thule LB50 load bars without realizing the Saab / Thule OEM bars were custom.
I happen to already own a set of 47" Rapid Aero bars that were installed on my 9-5 Aero. I have put these bars on my 9-3 now, so I can carry one bike carrier and the canoe at the same time. The drawbacks to the Rapid Aero series are these:
1) Every type of carrier requires a custom adapter kit from Thule. The attachment mechanism is square shaped bolts that slide into the track on the top of the Rapid Aero bars. The kits are not terribly expensive but you have to order a new kit for practically everything. There are different kits for different types of Thule carriers. Take my advice and when you order one, order two so that you'll have some spare components...drop and lose one of the custom little attachment nuts and you'll be sorry you didn't!
2) Although these bars are the latest and greatest, they are extremely noisy. ALOT more noisy than the old square bars (hence the reason I ordered my 9-3 with the old square bars in the first place). You absolutely must buy from Thule a big bunch of the rubber extruded gasket that goes inside the slot in the top of the Rapid Aero racks, or you will get a permanent, loud whistling sound at every speed above 15 MPH. This is not an exaggeration. You have to trim this stuff to fit every open area of that slot. And when you change your carriers from bike to ski, for example you have to have more gasket material to fill the open channel without leaving gaps. ANY gap will create that whistling noise. It's not hard to do, but it's a pain in the neck. Trust me...just yesterday after I finally figured out my bike carrier / canoe carrier configuration I put the rubber gasket material in my Rapid Aero bars after driving without it for the last month, listening to the whistling every day.
I hope this has been helpful. Feel free to send a direct email if you need more info or want pictures of anything.
, Mon, 1 Jun 2009 18:55:11 <-- Viewing This Message
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