Roof Rack Photos

[scotskier]

Eggy, I have an OEM one available for sale. PM me for details. I am getting rid of it because it sits too high to get into my garage with a ski box mounted

[krick]

Originally Posted by eggyacid

I'm in the market to buy a rack for our 2011 Q7

we just got a Kayak and looking for a good way to carry it with us...
i'm leaning towards the Whispbar ($450) or Thule 460 ($480)

anyone selling theirs? which one do you recommend? what about the factory, i know they sits higher but I always like to go with OEM rather than third party.

anyone using them with a kayak? please post pictures if you have them (i found pictures with boxes)

Thanks

Just as there's no reason for the OEM racks to be so high, I don't think there's any reason to go with the Thule's over the Whispbars. The Whispbars are much quieter than the Thule's and are the same price. They also look much better in my opinion than the Thule's, but that's purely subjective.

[AudiQ5sleeper]

i thought all Q series come with roof racks

[Sherblatz]

Originally Posted by AudiQ5sleeper

i thought all Q series come with roof racks

Rails only. No cross-bars.

[Sherblatz]

Originally Posted by krick

Just as there's no reason for the OEM racks to be so high, I don't think there's any reason to go with the Thule's over the Whispbars. The Whispbars are much quieter than the Thule's and are the same price. They also look much better in my opinion than the Thule's, but that's purely subjective.

Actually, your entire post is purely subjective. Have you recorded wind noise of Whispbars vs. Thule? Have you compared pricing to the UK Thule setup (P/N 4902+869+4917)?

The Thule's quoted in the above post are for the US version and many here know you can get the UK version shipped to the US for much cheaper than both of the above options. I got my UK setup a few years back from http://www.roofrackshop.co.uk for 160 GBP delivered which is ~$260 with today's exchange rate. I think Thule has improved the setup since I bought, but I bet it is still quite a bit cheaper to go this route.

The bottom line is either one is a good option, but don't ignore the Thule UK setup.

Jimbo

[AudiQ5sleeper]

Originally Posted by Sherblatz

Rails only. No cross-bars.

ooh. mine came with it. so i thought it would be standard

[ManWIthAPlan]

Originally Posted by AudiQ5sleeper

ooh. mine came with it. so i thought it would be standard

The Q5's come with the cross-bars, the Q7's do NOT. I've now owned both.

[krick]

Originally Posted by Sherblatz

Actually, your entire post is purely subjective.

Uh, no. Both wind noise and pricing are objective - i.e. they are verifiable facts that are not dependent upon my observations or opinions. Whether or not I have independently verified the facts has no bearing whatsoever on the distinction between objectivity and subjectivity. Now that being said, it is possible that my statements regarding wind noise and pricing are incorrect, but even if that were the case (which I don't believe), that would merely make my statements false - not subjective.

Now as to the veracity of my statements. The wind noise of the Whispbars and Thules has been scientifically measured and compared. It's possible that those reports were flawed, erroneous or falsified, but given that the results have been backed up by every single anecdotal account I've heard as well as my own personal observations, I have no reason to doubt the veracity of those reports. The pricing is a bit more difficult in that it fluctuates based on any number of factors. Generally speaking, however, the pricing of the two systems is roughly the same. Is it possible to find one of the systems for less from one or two retailers somewhere in the world? Probably, but statistically those are aberrations. Moreover, by your own flawed logic, how do you know that there isn't a retailer somewhere in the world who will sell Whispbars to a US customer for a shipped price that is less than the price you quoted for the Thule UK system? I will readily admit that I have not recently done an exhaustive survey of the pricing of these two systems, but I do know that when I purchased my Whispbars, the cost was within $10 of the cost of the Thule UK system once shipping was factored in. Perhaps $10 is worth years of irritating and distracting wind noise to you (now THAT's subjective), but it's not to me.

[Sherblatz]

Originally Posted by krick

Uh, no. Both wind noise and pricing are objective - i.e. they are verifiable facts that are not dependent upon my observations or opinions. Whether or not I have independently verified the facts has no bearing whatsoever on the distinction between objectivity and subjectivity. Now that being said, it is possible that my statements regarding wind noise and pricing are incorrect, but even if that were the case (which I don't believe), that would merely make my statements false - not subjective.

Now as to the veracity of my statements. The wind noise of the Whispbars and Thules has been scientifically measured and compared. It's possible that those reports were flawed, erroneous or falsified, but given that the results have been backed up by every single anecdotal account I've heard as well as my own personal observations, I have no reason to doubt the veracity of those reports. The pricing is a bit more difficult in that it fluctuates based on any number of factors. Generally speaking, however, the pricing of the two systems is roughly the same. Is it possible to find one of the systems for less from one or two retailers somewhere in the world? Probably, but statistically those are aberrations. Moreover, by your own flawed logic, how do you know that there isn't a retailer somewhere in the world who will sell Whispbars to a US customer for a shipped price that is less than the price you quoted for the Thule UK system? I will readily admit that I have not recently done an exhaustive survey of the pricing of these two systems, but I do know that when I purchased my Whispbars, the cost was within $10 of the cost of the Thule UK system once shipping was factored in. Perhaps $10 is worth years of irritating and distracting wind noise to you (now THAT's subjective), but it's not to me.

LOL. Easy with the big words lawyer Bob. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. All I am saying is they are both good systems and both should be considered. To dismiss either based solely on one person's opinion would never be a good decision. I am happy with my UK Thule setup as you seem to be happy with your Whispbar setup. If I had to do it over again, I would get the exact same setup as I saved about $200 over either the Whispbar and US Thule setups and wind noise is minimal despite the FUD you keep trying to spread.

Moral of the story: Do your homework and make an informed decision based on criteria that is important to you.

Jimbo

[krick]

Originally Posted by Sherblatz

LOL. Easy with the big words lawyer Bob. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. All I am saying is they are both good systems and both should be considered. To dismiss either based solely on one person's opinion would never be a good decision. I am happy with my UK Thule setup as you seem to be happy with your Whispbar setup. If I had to do it over again, I would get the exact same setup as I saved about $200 over either the Whispbar and US Thule setups and wind noise is minimal despite the FUD you keep trying to spread.

Moral of the story: Do your homework and make an informed decision based on criteria that is important to you.

Jimbo

Not ruffled - I was just, ironically given your FUD reference, trying to clear things up because you had mis-characterized my earlier statements. And while I agree wholeheartedly with your statement that it isn't wise to make a decision based solely on one person's opinion, it's worth reiterating that my statements about the wind noise and pricing weren't opinions. I would appreciate it if you would stop mischaracterizing my statements and motives (I keep trying to spread FUD?), but I can't say I'm particularly optimistic of that happening.