I got the Through Bar version... similar to what Subaru supplies, just better in a number of important respects... design, fit, cost, looks, noise...Dikman wrote:Agreed. They look pretty neat. Which version did you get?
In the meantime, I've sent off an email to Thule Sweden (cc to Thule Aust) voicing my concerns about what I consider to be poor design and fit, amongst other things. (For instance, they specify a tightening torque of 4 Nm, but they use a non-standard fastener - a spline-headed bolt - and do not provide any adaptor to fit a torque wrench. There is nothing in my pile of tools that comes even close to fitting it! So how am I supposed to know if it's tight enough? Or too tight?).
I'm not expecting a positive outcome.
XV test drive
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Grant_Adelaide
- Junior Member
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:25 pm
- Location: SA
Whispbar racks
So, I spoke to the Subaru parts guy today, and he said he'd been in contact with head office and, it would appear, this isn't the first complaint they've had about these bars .
Anyhow, I asked if I could return them for a refund and he said yes, no problems, as they didn't want an unhappy customer.
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I then did the rounds, looking for a suitable replacement. The Pro-Rack Whispbars looked nice, but I didn't like the fact that they don't have a decent thick rubbing strip down the centre. The first time I strap on a ladder will cause gouges in the metal bars! I ended up ordering a set of Rhino bars. They're a through-rail type (which I prefer), aero-shape, in silver and with a decent centre rubber strip (similar to the ROLAs on my Forester). Autobarn have a sale at the moment, and even though they have to order them in they gave me the sale price (normal price $289, sale price $260.10 + $5 shipping).
I'm pretty happy with that.
.Anyhow, I asked if I could return them for a refund and he said yes, no problems, as they didn't want an unhappy customer.
.I then did the rounds, looking for a suitable replacement. The Pro-Rack Whispbars looked nice, but I didn't like the fact that they don't have a decent thick rubbing strip down the centre. The first time I strap on a ladder will cause gouges in the metal bars! I ended up ordering a set of Rhino bars. They're a through-rail type (which I prefer), aero-shape, in silver and with a decent centre rubber strip (similar to the ROLAs on my Forester). Autobarn have a sale at the moment, and even though they have to order them in they gave me the sale price (normal price $289, sale price $260.10 + $5 shipping).
I'm pretty happy with that.