Yakima/Thule or other roof racks.

[atvman29]

That is the same photo of the Thule bars they had before only without the Thule logo. Those look like the rapid aero bars with the channel that Thule replaced with the new aero wing looking thing (same as what I have on my factory VW bars). Instead of clamping around a square or round bar like the normal Thule or Yakima bars, there is a channel in the bar that you slide a square head bolt thing in. Works well but you need to make sure whatever carrier(s) you get are aero compatible or that there is an aero retrofit kit for it.

Hmm, so do you think its similar to the one on the Carmichael concept from SEMA? I just don't want to get the rack and not be able to put kayak carriers on it. No returns on accessories...

 

[Alan]

It looks identical to me but don't hold me to that in case something changed.

Think it is interesting Chevy recently blacked out the "Thule" logo on the feet in the catalog. It was on there originally.

Whatever kayak accessories you get make sure they are compatible with that bar type. Not all of Thule's accessories have the kit to work with those type. Best bet is to call or email Thule to verify if you aren't sure what works.

 

[bob67]

Hey guys , i saw this car in person at the Boston World of Wheels show where Chevy had a display . here are some pics i took with my phone and the guy actually openned the car for me when i said i owned a Sonic and let me feel the custom seasts , lol ... he did admit the rack was from a different car and still fits this car but they had to drill and screw it to the car untill they finish the real prototype ....

 

[BlackOps]

Just put the GM Accessory rack on my Sonic, this is NOT the rack that is showng on the GM Accessory website. I like it but don't love it. Sending it back and will wait for the one as advertised on the site or Thule or Yakima...

What do you think????

 

[Alan]

The rack looks good BlackOps. Somewhat similar to the VW accessory one that has been on the top of my Rabbit for five years now.

Do the Chevy bars lock in any way? The VW bars have a bit of security to them with the bolt (needs a special key wrench) plus you can't get the front bars off without opening the doors on our Rabbit.

 

[BlackOps]

quite a bit of wind noise above 50mph. I did not put the little rubber slide peice in the top so it may have been part of the problem.... I thought is sat up too high..

 

[BlackOps]

The Chevy bars do not lock, they also use the special key.

 

[ctoohy]

Just put my factory bars on and a 38" wind fairing from Thule on. It cut down all the wind noise above 50mph so you dont even know they are up there anymore.

What do you all think?

 

[mister2d]

ctoohy, I like it. Can you let me know what you had to buy? After I saw your first pics, I told the dealer not to install the factory racks since I didn't like the look. Now I do.

Still haven't received my Sonic. lol.

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

 

[ctoohy]

All I ended up using is a thule 871xt and four quarter inch bolts and nuts, with twelve washers. Had to modify the thule mounting arms some but it worked well in the end and looks good too.

 

[mister2d]

All I ended up using is a thule 871xt and four quarter inch bolts and nuts, with twelve washers. Had to modify the thule mounting arms some but it worked well in the end and looks good too.

Thanks. I'll keep this in mind.

 

[Javiero]

All I ended up using is a thule 871xt and four quarter inch bolts and nuts, with twelve washers. Had to modify the thule mounting arms some but it worked well in the end and looks good too.

Looks good! I'm getting my Sonic soon. Did you have any trouble mounting the tray to the cross bars? Would you be able to post some close up pics of your work with the fairing clamps?

 

[sonic hotness]

Any one using the GM rack?

If so who makes the bike holder

 

[Javiero]

Good question. After talking to my stores Thule rep, they have tried 4 out of 5 rack solutions, and haven't found one that will safely work. I may have to buy the GM rack, but I want to be sure my Thule Sidearm tray will fit on the GM crossbars.

 

[ctoohy]

Looks good! I'm getting my Sonic soon. Did you have any trouble mounting the tray to the cross bars? Would you be able to post some close up pics of your work with the fairing clamps?

I will post some pics up close of the tray and fairing when I get home. I am just running a yakima universal forklift, it has solid contact all around the bar, and tightens well.

Have had it for a couple weeks now and had no issues. I would suspect any "universal mount" whether it be yakima or thule will work.
I worked as a manager of a specialty sporting goods store all through college and have fitted racks on hundreds of cars in my years, and I feel more then comfortable with the rack/tray combo I am running currently. Have used it to haul my kayak and paddleboard with no issues either.

Fairing cut all the noise down, though I have noticed about a 1 mpg drop in fuel economy. I will take that no problem rather then squeezing my bike in the back.

 

[ctoohy]

Here are a couple pictures of my rack/fairing currently. I used the T-bolts they providing with the fairing to slide in the channel of the rack to hold the fairing down. Required me to put a hole in top part of the mount to allow the T-bolt to go through. I then used a 1/4 inch nut and bolt to tighten the fairing mount arms around the fairing.

I did have to cut the parts that go around the bar some to fit around it, because the factory bars are a bit bigger than thule aero bars. It took me 1 run to hardware store and about 15-20 mins and has worked really well so far.
Trimmed the black seal that slides into the bar channel to fill in gaps and all is good.

 

[sonic hotness]

roof racks look awesome

 

[Javiero]

Thank you ctoohy!! This have been very helpful. I'm on my way to the dealer to order the roof rack.

 

[Alan]

So the universal bar clamp works with the GM bars...good to know. That opens up the owner to pretty much anything out there. The VW roof bars are way too thick and won't accept anything but the t-bolt type mounts which limits what I can put up there. Glad GM's bars aren't like that.

 

[ctoohy]

My yakima mount has plenty of room left for a thicker bar. I cant be positive as far as Thule goes, but based on past expierence, I would think that a Thule universal mount would work as well.