I finally bought my Thule roof rack (just the Fit Kit 2180 w/locks, 400XT Aero Foot Kit, LB50 bars, and the 38" Fairing). Pretty well engineered system, although I think that the threaded bolts on the "Handles" should be 1/4" (6mm) longer than they are.

For CA, OR and WA Fit owners, Rack 'N Road is a family owned chain of 10 stores selling racks, trailer supplies, etc. They carry Yakima & Thule and guarantee to beat any price.

Suggestion for new rack buyers--- Unless you intend to leave the rack on your car for extended periods, save your money and don't buy the fairing.

There are four heavy duty plastic braces that have little feet that rest on your roof. They supply protective clear tape to stick on your roof to protect the paint from vibratory wear from the ends of the braces. You don't want pieces of tape on your roof if the rack/fairing is only occasionally used. Without the tape, the fairing will mess up your paint, and the fairing is not necessary, just cuts down wind resistance (and wind noise) of the crossbars.

 

The bikes stay cleaner, easier to load, you don't have to have a silly "Bikes on top" sign on the dash and you avoid the $1500 of body damage and $2000 of bike damage if you forget about the sign. I can't understand how 75lbs (50 bikes, 25 rack) can upset the handling of a 2500lb car. Sticking 2 frikken weather vanes on top? That I could see. Of course if I were Durace/Record type of guy I'd want everybody to see how I spent my money.

 

I want a rack for things that won't fit inside, my bikes go inside with little effort. My kayak on the other hand, wont fit inside or on a hitch rack. I think that the roof is my only option (no I don't want the trailer thing that gets suggested in every thread that discusses roof racks)

Eric

 

thats funny, i just came from a wrx as well.

i currently have the exact thule setup for my fit, except i have the crossbars and surf towers (some of my boards fit inside, but i have both short and longboards). one thing i noticed though between the fit and all the other cars ive owned, is that there was an excessive amount of noise coming from the rack, even when you werent going so fast, so the fit was the first car i needed fairings on. 60 bucks and me and my buddy installed it ourselves.

i had a yakima setup once, but i like thule a lot better because it just seems more reliable.

my friend said that my car is definitely a girl because it has a nice rack. it was strange coming from a girl, but then again, she has a point.

 

It's funny how motivated people are to go into a post and express how much they don't like something just for the sake of...well...saying how much they don't like it.

I see posts from people about floor mats, body kits, "systems" and such and I've never felt compelled to open the threads specifically to let everyone know that I don't care or don't like whatever it is they are talking about.....it just seems weird?!?!

At any rate, bikes go on top for me because I can't fit them inside and have more than one passenger. I don't mind the idea of a hitch mounted rack other than the fact they are not quite as versatile as a roof rack. I can carry a much larger variety of things on the roof.

Also, it's certainly not an effort to show off my 4 year old Trek mountain bikes!!

 

Do you guys think that this rack could be used to carry home a sheet of plywood or a couple of 2x4s? I'm not a bike rider but I do have stuff to carry that won't go inside the car too well.

 

Yes, it can. Just remember that there is a weight limit for roof loads, and plywood will act like a sail. Vibration may be severe as the plywood sheet tries to fly off from air pressure at higher speeds, and your strapping technique will be very important for stability.

 

It shouldn't be a concern for me. Lowes is two blocks away from my house and the speed limit is 35 on the road there. I figure the roof rack will pay for itself in short order by saving me from having to incur delivery fees on some larger items. Thanks for the reply.

 

jimbob,
That's exactly the same reason that I bought my Thule rack. Will be carrying home a 100 lb. steel security door from Home Depot next week.
Dave

 

I've got a Thule rack on order that should be arriving this week. I have a couple of fork blocks that I can put in the cargo area, and I can put two bikes in the back of the vehicle. I use this when I take my bike to work and plan to ride afterwards (and don't want folks to be attracted to a $2,000 bike on the roof). But, it's a rather inconvenient setup when I just want to load up and go ride. So, I got the Thule rack and a couple of sidearm mounts for the bikes.

I also plan on purchasing a boat (or possibly two) this summer...and a hitch rack doesn't work for boats.

 

Don't attempt to carry anything like a sheet of plywood without tying it down front to back with rope not home depot string. Finding good tye down points other than the tow point on the pas side bumper is a puzzel. Off topic has anyone been told not to leave their roof racks on due to soft weatherstripping on the Fit. For that reason I mounted my Yaks on Q mounts right on the roof. FITDC

 

I use something like this: TopTie Standard - Rack-It

as a tie down point on the front of my Fit. I made mine myself, though, since I had some webbing lying around the house. Heat up a nail with a torch and melt a hole in the webbing big enough for the screw. Works great, no scuffing of the paint job anywhere, and it's secure. I'm carrying a 16' canoe, btw.

For the rear, I just use the tow loop under the rear bumper. I attach a loop of webbing to it so the rope doesn't scuff the paint (webbing is a little kinder), and then I tie the rope to the stern of the canoe and the webbing loop. I'm using neon orange rope, too, since the canoe hangs a couple feet off the back.

 

And to what do you attach the webbing?

 

Pop the hood, and you'll see a couple of options. There's a very solid bolt attaching the fender to the body fairly close to the windshield. I chose a bolt that attaches the headlight assembly to the body. At first, it looked like it only attached plastic to plastic, but after I removed it, I realized that it attaches plastic to metal, so it is secure enough for bow tie downs for a canoe. If you're unsure, choose the bolt closer to the windshield.

 

Hi, i'm new to the site and just got my Fit a couple weeks ago. I installed my Thule rack this morning and was wondering if those of you that have this rack, if you installed the bars 24" apart as recommended in the fit kit or 28" min. apart as shown in the foot installation directions?

 

I mounted my front bar the recommended distance back from the edge of the windshield, but since I use the rack to carry lumber, doors, ladders, other long items, I mount the rear bar at the back edge of the rear doorways. I want the broadest support for long items. As long as the clamps have a good grip on the edges of the roof, I don't think that the distance between the front and rear bars makes any difference.

 

I installed mine about the same way as manxman. I installed the front bar according to directions, but installed the rear bar as far back as possible. I considered putting the rear bar even farther back, above the cargo area windows, but I was not comfortable with jamming the clips between the window and the body panel.

I carry a 16' canoe up there, and have had no problems, even on a 200+mile trip at interstate speeds. Also no problems with 2 bicycles on the roof for over 300 miles.

 

Thanks for the tip on your webbing tie town point. I used the bolt closer to the windshield on the pax side. I used a Stanley steel corner brace bent to fit in the gap btw the fender and hood and drilled out a hole to attach a metal tie down hook.

 

almost got a thule rack off my friend for 200 just cause i like the look of them. but he decided he was going to use it a lil bit longer

 

Has anyone thought of using the Thule short roof adapter kit, kit 477? They are designed to be using for coupes and allow you to put the towers up to 30" apart, instead of the 24" like the Thule fit kit recommends.