roof bars
 

I need to purchase roof bars for my 2008 X5; Any aftermarket options that are feasible in price and not $300+? any good experiences or recommendations?

thanks,

I like flat, or rectangular bars as they are easier to mount attachments to. I use Thule and like them. Yakima get good reviews as well. Both make standard and aero load bars, your preference.

+1 for Thule bars.

I use Thule Aero Bars here. No problems, easy to install. 450R foot packs.

Try one by ROLA : http://www.rolaproducts.com/content/...atid=2030&part=

I bought the cheapie eBay specials because I like the way they look. Definetly not Thule quality but they work just fine.

I have contacted Rola to see if they have a fitment. I have not heard back.

Denalio, I just got Rola crossbars delivered and installed them when I got home from work tonight. I was in the garage with my 2 yr old yelling for me from inside the whole time - "Daaaannn!"

I mention my 2 yr old yelling because the install took about 10 minutes. You use one tool only, a star-shaped hex type wrench which is supplied.

I opened the panaramic roof and went for a spin to check for any humming like I had on my last car with square Thule racks. None. I was also concerned about my board clearing the shark fin antenna. The bars have a slight camber so no clearance issues.

I'll be strapping my surfboard to it and driving about 40 mins on a highway to the beach soon. Will report back with any issues.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Sweet info guys.. this is already off to a good start then.
X548i20 - can you send me what model you bought from Rola?

thanks
Hamza

Whispbar by Yakima. Quality product and in my opinion looks the best out of all options.

I went with whispbars as well, but might have been more than 3 bills. Worlds quieter than my former standard Yakima round bars - but still far from silent. I find myself closing the sunroof blind to quiet the car when the bars are installed.

There are a few alternatives foe the e70; I went with the version that mount up a few inches from the roof rails. I think my Yakima case would have bumped the shark fin had I opted for the "straight across" version...

I'm super picky about noise, and I don't want to misrepresent. They aren't horrible - I left them on the car for a few weeks after their last use. But still I eventually tire of them. Ymmv.


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Hey guys, jumping in late here but I just installed standard Yakima cross bars and had a question. Did any of y'all put the wind fairing on the front of the rack? When I do that, it looks like my sunroof won't open. The bottom of the fairing is resting on the sunroof and I'm afraid that it will damage the sunroof if I try to open it. Any suggestions? I really like the way the fairing looks, but I also like having a functional sunroof

I :dunno: what to do!

I bought the fairing for standard Yakima bars on previous car. Never installed, as it came with little transparent adhesive ovals to mount on car to avoid paint wear at contact points. I'm pretty finicky about my car so I decided to go w/o fairing.


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I can get the BMW roof rails for $213.00 but not sure if I want it now that I have seen the whispbar option and even the rola RBXL option too. I have the race bike racks for the BMW bars on my M5 so I assume they would fit on the t-shape fittings on either rack.

I like the flush look of of the rola and the whispbar. On the whispbar it says that the s46 bar or the rail bar is not suitable with sunroofs. Anyone have this and had no problems? Otherwise I can go with the rola RBXL which seems to be better priced and sold sits pretty flush.

I got a chance to play around this weekend and realized that the sunroof doesn't push up at all when it goes back. That being said, there's no problem with the fairing. I did notice though that when I was doing around 50 mph, the fairing started to bend downward INTO the sunroof. This made for a heck of a tornado inside the car haha.

Found this company. Anyone deal with them?

It was between the RBXL or the Whispbar Roof Rail

Rola Roof Rack :: Roof Racks :: Hitch Anything

Any thoughts before I pull the trigger? They will fit with my BMW Race Bike Carrier. They look like they would be pretty quiet with the low profile.

Anyone with experience with the RBXL's if you could chime in it would be great.

Thank you.