gallagher wrote

Thule Aeroblade with ski rack. Aeroblades were making huge amounts of wind noise at all positions so I was forced to cover bottom edge of front blade with blade vinyl tape. Pretty ghetto solution and frankly unacceptable for a piece of equipment at this price point, much less one that claims to be whisper quiet. Otherwise pleased with the functionality. No interference with the panoramic roof operation and surprisingly not excessively loud with it open. Crushed fuel economy though.

Looks great gallagher ! Thule offers the AirScreen fairing or deflector. I use it and the wind noise is acceptable to my wife and I. We have done thousands of miles with our racks+bikes attached and it’s quite nice.

Wind noise will be present with any roof rack system. Placing the crossbars as rearward as possible while preserving liftgate function has helped our install. Plus the use of a fairing. The Thule fairing is just visible in the photos I posted above.

Can anyone with the Thule bars share a pic of the markings on the gloss black rails?

I like how low the Thule sits... but if it marks the rails then I might reluctantly have to get the taller BMW bars

azf100 wrote

Here's my setup.

Can you kindly share what parts I would need to duplicate your setup ? Much appreciated

UB wrote

Can anyone with the Thule bars share a pic of the markings on the gloss black rails?

I like how low the Thule sits... but if it marks the rails then I might reluctantly have to get the taller BMW bars

I expect any hardware ("feet" or "towers") that grips the factory roof rails will leave a mark, no matter how slight. From 1 meter away the mark can't be seen on my M-B. Likely the same on any vehicle, including a BMW with gloss black rails. But you as the owner will see the mark every time you enter the vehicle. It is what it is.

chassis wrote

I expect any hardware ("feet" or "towers") that grips the factory roof rails will leave a mark, no matter how slight.

Yeah, I did wonder how BMW bars wouldn't leave a mark, given they all clamp onto the rails in a similar way...

Anyone have issues with the OEM racks leaving marks on the gloss black rails? Mine were on for about 2 weeks and when I removed them they appear discolored. Tried a number of safe cleaners and nothing with remove it.

Bam226 wrote

Anyone have issues with the OEM racks leaving marks on the gloss black rails? Mine were on for about 2 weeks and when I removed them they appear discolored. Tried a number of safe cleaners and nothing with remove it.

is it in the paint? can you feel a roughness when you run your finger over the areas? I installed the OEM ones on my x5 a month ago and when I installed them the clamps had a rubber type seal I didn't think they would leave any sort of damage however I can see if you had something on there that tight there bound to be some sort of impact over time.

Roof rack hardware will leave a mark on the rails. It’s part of the user experience. It is not objectionable to me. Others may have different views.

Marks are normal, check. Thanks

Hi all, hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I think i'll pick up the oem bmw crossbars. Can someone advise me on attachements for the following. Bikes, surfboard, snowboards. Thanks.

easiest way to get around leaving marks is to apply 3m clear vinyl PPF on just the spots it attaches. I recommend doing that for a fairing as well on the roof.

I ended up getting the BMW OEM roof rack and took everyone’s advice on 3M film plus I Plastidipped the rack to give it a black look of aftermarket (ie Thule) without the expense. Overall, I am pleased with the outcome and price.

Does anyone have any experience with both the BMW cross bars AND those from Yakima or Thule? I use my BMW racks from my F25 that mostly fit, but kind of howl on the freeway at 70 or 75 mph. Has anyone gone from the BMW racks to an aftermarket solution and noticed a significant reduction of wind noise?

Initially, I had the BMW OEM racks made by Thule. They're well made and look ok but, I had some usability issues with them. First, they're pretty tall and they caused my roof box to vibrate quite a bit, no matter where I had them set. I think they pushed the box up too high and out of the aero-bubble created by the front of the car. The other issue was that I couldn't get my kayak rack out to the edge of the roofline. This made it really hard to load my 16.5' sea kayak.

So, I sold them and bought the aftermarket Thule Aero Wing bars. I am much happier with it than the OEMs. The ends of the bar extend all the way to the edge of the roof. So, I can attach the kayak rack all the way outboard which makes it easy to lift the boat onto the rack. The TAW bars sit much closer to the roof and, the box no longer gets buffeted. I like the way they look much better... I can post pics if anyone wants them.

We have our 2021 X3 being delivered in a couple of weeks and need a roof rack. In the past we used Thule and the Areoblade setup with the longer bar which can go up to or past the side of the car. I know when we bought our last set up 10 yrs ago I paid about $250 for the roof mounts and the bars, and got it through e-trailer. I went for look for the same setup today for the X3 and Thule price is now $565 for what they now call the EVO Wingbar. I already have a various Thule attachments items like ski and snow board clamps and do not want to reinvest. It also look like Thule change the design of the bar and mounts so I can not reuse the bars I already have and just get new mounts.

I was surprised to see BMW rack is less then Thule, but they do not have the over hanging bars.

I did find this on Amazon, not 100% sure it will mount to the X3 rails looking at the clamping method and the other thing that scares me is the cost, these are way cheap, since everything is made in China these look to be the Thule knockoff

https://www.amazon.com/COWVIE-Aluminum-Universal-Cross-keyed/dp/B08GQTSYN9/ref=psdc_347985011_t3_B07WFCN5R4

Has anyone attempt to use these or something similar.

I'll be getting my X3 M40i in a few months and will be getting the OEM roof rack. I currently have the Jay Low Yakima kayak carrier. Does anyone know if that fits on the OEM BMW rack? I'm pretty sure it does.

Any pics of that set up?
Also any pics of a 12 foot kayak on an X3? I would love to see that.
Currently I haul my 12' kayak on my '07 530xi wagon

Wind noise can be mitigated by installing crossbars as far rearward as possible, and through the use of a fairing or deflector.

A “no wind noise” solution does not exist when using roof mounted equipment.

Just wanted to post some pictures of what a '21 X3 30e looks like with Thule Evo crossbars, a large Thule Motion XT, and a couple of kayaks.

I'm pleased with the X3s capabilities with crossbars added. It also makes hauling lumber and other things fairly easy.

I personally also like the look of the crossbars with the standard xline trim!

Has anyone used the Thule aeroblade edge with the panoramic sunroof option? Thule says no good, but I wanted to make sure before I ordered the taller ones because the aeroblades are a little more to my liking.

Sorry if this was posted somewhere in the thread. I looked a bit, but 7 pages is a lot to read through.

Thanks for the help!

xylodan wrote

Has anyone used the Thule aeroblade edge with the panoramic sunroof option? Thule says no good, but I wanted to make sure before I ordered the taller ones because the aeroblades are a little more to my liking.

Sorry if this was posted somewhere in the thread. I looked a bit, but 7 pages is a lot to read through.

Thanks for the help!

You could try youtube -- etrailers does videos with specific vehicles, and in these videos they always open the sunroof -- if the car has one. I found one with the x3 and the evos.

I haven't opened the sunroof with the bars, but according to these videos it should work for the evo.

fndrplayer13 wrote

You could try youtube -- etrailers does videos with specific vehicles, and in these videos they always open the sunroof -- if the car has one. I found one with the x3 and the evos.

I haven't opened the sunroof with the bars, but according to these videos it should work for the evo.

Thanks - I'm not concerned about the evo model. Thule documentation says it works properly so I trust that there's no problem there. That is a good "second best option" for me.
I'm most curious about the lower sitting Edge series - https://www.thule.com/en-us/roof-rack/car-roof-racks/thule-aeroblade-edge-_-750x_760x?car=bmw-x3-5dr-suv-_-PM2Euc3VFa

I found a youtube video in Italian that looks promising, but they call it the "wingbar edge" instead of Thule'ls "aeroblade edge" which makes it a little confusing. It seems like the same product though.

xylodan wrote

Thanks - I'm not concerned about the evo model. Thule documentation says it works properly so I trust that there's no problem there. That is a good "second best option" for me.
I'm most curious about the lower sitting Edge series - https://www.thule.com/en-us/roof-rack/car-roof-racks/thule-aeroblade-edge-_-750x_760x?car=bmw-x3-5dr-suv-_-PM2Euc3VFa

I found a youtube video in Italian that looks promising, but they call it the "wingbar edge" instead of Thule'ls "aeroblade edge" which makes it a little confusing. It seems like the same product though.

Im not sure what you're planning on putting on your rack, or if you already have accessories, but I like the Evo more than the aeroblade if you're starting fresh. It has a channel where you can slide screw-in accessories down, which makes adding and removing the thule accessories very easy.