Derek, can't help with your specific question, but I've been researching a roof rack for my TX SC. It looks like the traditional rack is preferred over the aero. According to owner reviews, the aero rack appears to be great in concept, but is more complicated, limits your range of accessories and the noise reduction can be easily nullified. Sounded like to me that the way to go is with the traditional rack...
Makes a lot of sense because the aero bars aren't symmetrical and basically limit you to Thule products.
I'm just a little hesitant to get the traditional square bars because they look a little dated and feel that the aero bars give a more modern feel to the whole system.
The square ones do look dated but when you are looking for accessories to fit them they are the best to have imo. I just threw a thule fairing on the front of my car to lower the wind noise.
A bit late to this thread, but I bought the Thule WingBars and 4 cycle racks for my NG and our recent holiday.
They all worked perfectly, although assembling the lot took a good 5 or 6 hours work as there is a fair bit of fitting/measuring/removing/trimming of the various rubber protective strips.
I had the Thule aerobars on my previous car (a BMW 7) and they were not long enough to fit on the 9-5, hence needing to purchase the WingBars. The Wings seem quieter than the Aeros, but the cycle carriers make so much noise as to make the difference irrelevant.
I have a couple pictures I can share if you still want them.
Also, do you know what length your bars are? I was considering 53" Aero Bars, as that is what is recommended. I have never looked into the wingbars. Was just hoping for something that looks aesthetically pleasing in that regard.
As far as everything else in regards to fitting. I'm assuming you have the following?
- 480R Rapid Traverse
- Traverse Fit Kit 1575
?
Was there a great deal of trimming and removal?
Lastly, is there any visual difference between the aerobar and wingbar? I can't really see much.
EDIT: I know the top two longest aerobars are 53" and 60", hoping 53" is sufficient.
I bought:
- 969 Wingbars, 127cm which is 50"
- 754 footpack, Thule could not guarantee that the Wingbars would work with my 'old' 750 footpack, so I bought new.
- 1575 NG9-5 specific fitting kit.
There is a visual difference between the Wings and Aeros. The aeros are oval in cross section, the wings (as you would expect) are wing/teardrop shaped in cross section. I do think the wings are quieter, but to be honest, anything you actually fit to the bars will make far more noise than any of the bars anyway.
There is a long rubber sleeve that fits on the top of each bar, and that needed to be trimmed around each of the 4 cycle racks. This took the longest time during fitting.
Will get you some pics tomorrow once I have had a chance to host them, and link to them.
A few pictures for you. Overall, I have been very happy with the Thule stuff, works well, thoughtfully designed, and most importantly for me - does not damage the car at all even with 4 bikes on the roof.
Martin.
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