Thule/Audi Roof-rack System for Snowboard/Ski attatchment

[keepsix]

Hey guys, ive been looking to purchase a roof rack for my b7 with the Thule snowboard/ski attachment and am having a hard time lining up all the parts for compatibility. I was able to get most of the setup though the Thule Fit Guide but have come to realize i can install the Thule Aero blade rack OR the OEM Audi Aero rack and the Thule Ski/board attachment should fit both, but the Fairing is not directly compatible with either of these! I was hoping someone could tell me which one has the better fitment as a whole and what my options are to get the front fairing to fit nice. Thanks

[funky_snowman]

square bars will be the mosts compatible with any add-ons you want to toss on later. no point in a fairing if you have the aero blades. i have the rapid aero load bars (the previous model aeros) and pretty much everything i want to add to them requires an adaptor. kind of annoying. Yakima round bars would probably be my choice if i had it to do over again, square bars would be my second choice.

the only real advantages that i have found with the rapid aeros is that they flex less than the round or square bars, and they look cooler.

[keepsix]

Yea i know what your saying, but visually i prefer the Aero bars and the fairing, i will sacrifice direct compatibility with "style" im just looking to see what others have done, on google ive seen plenty of aero bars with fairings

[Adub-Drew]

I have the OEM Audi bars (there basically taller thule aero bars) and they are great! I however dont trust the plastic clips that come with most thule/yakima products so I retrofit everything to my needs. Almost everything I have it bolted down, so no risk of anything going anywhere. And I have many things on my bars I generally could not have. Older thule fork mount designed for square bars, that I notched out and bolted down, and some yakima ski racks bolted down as well. After a while the noise really got to me so I drilled a thule fairing in place too. IMO the aero bars/ oem rack's look the best and work the best too.

[Charles.waite]

:cough: whispbar :cough:

[keepsix]

Ive noticed most people just buy the Audi OEM rack, how come people rather retrofit the Thule snowboard attachment and fairing RATHER than buying the Thule rack and deal with less issues?

[m3fuz]

I couldn't get past the look of the Thule aero bars without a fairing, so I went with the square load bars and e 44" fairing. There are some great write ups here - just search.

[Charles.waite]

Ive noticed most people just buy the Audi OEM rack, how come people rather retrofit the Thule snowboard attachment and fairing RATHER than buying the Thule rack and deal with less issues?

Huh? The oem bar is basically the same. Not sure what issues you're talking about. Almost all bar systems are cross compatible these days. The exception is the airfoil type bars like the thule AeroBlade and the Whispbar (bought by Yakima and now sold through them). Having said that the universal mounting systems often still work as long as they're wide enough to clamp around the bar itself. I'm using a Yakima Aero ski rack on my flush mount whispbar system and it works great. The only hiccup was I needed to buy 1.5" bolts because the included 1" we're too short and the 2" contacted the roof and would have scratched my paint all to hell.

I've yet to try to use the channel mounting system, it would be the most ideal but I've been too lazy to try to get the proper hardware (some square washers and bolts basically.

[keepsix]

On the Thule website the AeroBlades and the square black ones are the only ones available. I havent seen too many people rocking them, i kno the dimentions are a little different and the fairing will need to be modified with the AeroBlades via being bolted down but since its less common i think i may just get the OEM rack and hopefully the thule snowboard addon fits, ive read somehwere that you need a kit or something and its discontinued? Ive already checked out the DIY's on the 44" fairing mod on the OEM base, theres lots of resources here