Roof Rack Rail Bars | Whispbar

Lifetime Warranty. Can't get any better than that, no?

 

Thule wing bar and the new wing bar edge are very good.

 

I have my eye on these: Vortex SX Roof Rack | Rhino-Rack

They have a lifetime warranty as well.

 

Yea, whispbar are the way to go, had mine on for a year. very quiet.

 

For owners of Thule aeros or OEM, it looks like these are literally identical racks. If so, why would you not choose oem for significantly cheaper? $360 vs. $515, not including any discounts or other factors. From what I hear, oem's are rebadged thules. I must be missing something here? Btw, I have whispbars on other car and they are as advertised. But again, the oem Thules seem like a much smarter choice in this case, no?

 

You are right. The OEM Roof Rack is by Thule and I bought them before getting the Whispbars. At about 50 or 60+ mph you start hearing a whistling, howling noise from top of you. Nothing really loud but enough to annoy you. It is also more OEM looking than the real OEM, IMO.

 

Thanks for the info. I can't see the pic you posted btw. I have whispbars on my other car. I like them, but I don't know if they're $200 better than the OEM's. I can see if the wind noise is annoying, that it might be worth it to some. I have heard that the Thules NEED to have the black rubber in place in order to minimize the noise. Not sure if you did that. That's the nice thing about the whispbars. You don't need to remove/cut the rubber to mount attachments. I'd love to see how they look on your Outlander (if you can get the pic to show). Thanks.

 

Here's a link to the album. Let me know if you can access the pic.

https://goo.gl/photos/qzav319gwj111QYm7

BTW, how much are the OEM Roof racks? Because I paid $378 for the whispbars. I'm pretty sure the Thule's Bars and Foot are just about the same price, if not more.

 

Who has the best warranty/support?

 

I see the pic, thanks. You have the Railbar variant, unlike the OEM style. I have the Throughbars on my other car. I want/need a little more clearance underneath. The Thule Aeros with the feet and adapters cost over $500, as do the Whispbar Throughbars, which are the most like the OEM's. If only looking at the Throughbar style, OEM is $360 vs. $500+ MSRP.

As far as warranty, the Thules and Yakima/Whispbars are both lifetime. The OEM say 5 year or match the vehicle warranty I believe. Warranty and support aren't really issues with these base roof racks from my experience. These aren't highly sensitive products. They are pretty rugged, mechanical designs.