OEM VW roofrack??

690 Views 9 Replies 8 Participants Last post by jae1.8T, Dec 3, 2001

jae1.8T

Discussion Starter · Nov 29, 2001

i am about to buy one but i'd like to know a couple things..
1) how does it attatch?
2) does it leave scratches on the roof of your car or the paint?
3) how is the wind noise, when traveling on highways, and other roads?
thanks..

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wuzilla

· #2 · Nov 29, 2001

Re: OEM VW roofrack?? (jae1.8T)

If I were you, I'd go with a Thule. IMO they just look cleaner. Anyways, I think the OEM ones are made by Thule but if you go to your local bike shop, it'll be much cheaper then getting something from Volkswagen (plus, I'm a manager at a bikeshop so it's just what I'm supposed to say.)
No they don't scratch the car unless you install it wrong. I know on the Golf 4's, there are little nubs underneath the seals that the roof rack attaches to. A pain in the butt, but a clean fit. I think the Jetta uses the same method.

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crawford

· #3 · Nov 29, 2001

Re: OEM VW roofrack?? (jae1.8T)

I really like the oem rack. I like the way it mounts flush with the car -- the bars don't stick out past the mounting brackets and you're not at risk of wacking your head on the bar. They were a snap to install, too.
I have the one that fits either a two door Golf or GTI. On mine, the front bars attach directly to the frame of the car, underneath the weather stripping around the front doors. The rear bars hook onto a space between the rear windows and the frame (the mounting points are actually marked right onto the glass of the car, so that you get it right).
As for how it attaches to a four door, you can see the write-up here. http://www.vwvortex.com/features/project_cars/golf_18t/part_2.shtml
It looks like the frame mounting points are under the weather stripping on both the front and the back.
After most of one season, I have not had any scratches. I left the bars on from August until last week.
As for noise, it was pretty quiet with only the bars on the car, but there was a fair amount of wind noise when driving around with one or more attachments. You can pretty much forget about opening the sunroof, though.
Hope that helps a bit.

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crawford

· #4 · Nov 29, 2001

Re: OEM VW roofrack?? (wuzilla)

quote:[HR][/HR]If I were you, I'd go with a Thule. IMO they just look cleaner. Anyways, I think the OEM ones are made by Thule but if you go to your local bike shop, it'll be much cheaper then getting something from Volkswagen (plus, I'm a manager at a bikeshop so it's just what I'm supposed to say.)[HR][/HR]

I compared the OEM rack with a comparable system from Thule & Yakima and the VW was actually cheaper. At least here in Toronto.

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2kjettaguy

· #5 · Nov 29, 2001

Re: OEM VW roofrack?? (crawford)

It gives a crapload of wind noise, but i guess you can expect that with 2 huge bars on top your car. I use it to haul my snowbaords around. I need to find a suitable size fairing to kill some of that noise.

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grivit6

· #6 · Nov 29, 2001

Re: OEM VW roofrack?? (2kjettaguy)

The OEM VW rack is made by Thule. However, it does not accept common Thule attachments. The attachments are some rare old style that Thule doesn't seem to sell outside the VW world. The bike bits available from the dealer are really lame compared to normal Thule stuff.

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soundzero

· #7 · Nov 29, 2001

Re: OEM VW roofrack?? (grivit6)

OEM roofracks are high quality as I saw. I was about to order them online
but Ski/Snowboard rack is backordered so.
Anyway, I heard it is easy to install.

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tjl

· #8 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: OEM VW roofrack?? (wuzilla)

quote:[HR][/HR]Anyways, I think the OEM ones are made by Thule but if you go to your local bike shop, it'll be much cheaper then getting something from Volkswagen [HR][/HR]

Actually, isn't the VW rack quite inexpensive for the mountings and bars, compared to Thule (or Yakima) mountings and bars?
Problem is, the bars aren't the same as regular Thule (or Yakima) bars, so it would seem to be limited to the small choice of rack things that VW offers. Does Thule (or Yakima) offer adapters for the VW rack?

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VR6Style

· #9 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: OEM VW roofrack?? (jae1.8T)

Buy the OEM rack from VW. True, its a Thule product, but its a European Thule product, and if you compare the OEM rack to a comparable Thule rack, the prices are basically identical. The OEM rack comes complete, ready to install. The Thule racks come in kits as different parts and by the time you add up all the parts, the price is about the same as OEM. Here's the thing, Thule offers different quality racks, and Thule's lowest quality rack is cheaper than the OEM rack, but if you compare like with like, the price is the same. Hope that makes sense.
I don't know if you plan on buying any attachments, but the OEM mountain bike rack is very cool. Its also available from Thule but its one of Thule's nicer attachments and again the price is about the same.
Best part about the OEM rack: nice, nice finish and quality. All brushed aluminum and black plastic, and little VW emblems. And it comes with lock sets, those are another extra with the Thule racks.
Another Jetta in my neighborhood has a Thule rack and it doesn't look nearly as nice as mine.
Forgot one other thing. The oem rack comes with little clear 3M style plastic stick-on pieces that go on the four places where the rubber of the rack touches the paint. You can't see these without the rack on unless you look closely.

[Modified by VR6Style, 2:14 PM 11-30-2001]

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jae1.8T

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 3, 2001

Re: OEM VW roofrack?? (VR6Style)

wow, well i guess it is good then..
thanks for the help.

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