# Roof Rack (Thule)



## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

After searching the forum to see if this has already been posted, I found a single thread with images that didn't show up, and just some general info about the Thule roof rack offered through gm. So, I figured I'd write a review.

Anyways, seeing as winter is already here and the snowboarding season has started, I needed a carrier other than my trunk. I looked around a little and had my dealership order the removable roof rack off the gm web-site for me. Cost me a total of $300 (330 online, but my dealer comped me 10%) and after 5 business days of shipping I installed it myself in 30 minutes (its really easy and simple). After the roof rack I went to REI and picked up a Universal Flat Top ski/snowboard carrier and 44" Fairing ($160 for carrier, $100 for the fairing ... although my friend works at REI so I managed to get both for 200 through his employee discount).

*Roof Rack Install/Specs:*
For the install, use the booklet to determine where to place the feet for the front and rear bar. However, for the rear bar in the booklet, it says that for 11+ year cruze's in the US to put the feet at the 28 1/2 marker, but when installing it I found that they need to be at the 34 marker instead. Also, the feet have a rubber piece that rests on the top of the roof to protect the paint, and the metal clamp that secures the feet to the frame is coated in a hard rubber so that you wont damage your paint whatsoever. But you still need to be a little careful as the corner could probably still ding your car if you drop it. Once the feet are installed onto the bars, it only takes 5-10 minutes depending on if you have someone to help remove/install them on your car. And on my Cruze there are indents on the frame that help you place the metal clamp to keep it even on both sides without having to measure.

*Fairing choice:*
I'm pretty sure that the suggested fairing for our car is the 38" fairing, which I originally got, but when I installed it there was still a gap between the edges of the fairing and the inside of the feet, and I just prefer the uniform look from the 44" that covers the entire front of the car without being too wide for the car at the same time. Its literally the exact width of our roof at the front (from rubber edge to rubber edge I believe its actually 45").

*Roof Rack with Fairing:*









*Close Up:*









With just the rack and fairing installed there is no noticeable drag whatsoever until you reach ~75 mph, so it is viable to leave on year round if you want to. I have yet to do a complete tank vs. tank mpg comparison, but I doubt I will lose more than 1-2 mpg at most.

*Roof Rack with Carrier:*









*Close Up:*









With the carrier and boards loaded there is noticeable drag above 55-60mph, and I expect a decent 4-5 mpg loss depending on how fast you go. Lucky for me I don't need the carrier until I'm 30-40 miles from the slopes when I leave my friends house with her sisters so I wont get hurt too much on the drag.

I'm planning on possibly getting a bike and/or basket/box on the side of the flat top carrier for other towing uses, but for now this is all I can shed light on. If I do eventually get the extra add-ons I will update this thread, or post a small write up thread.

I hope this helps anyone that is contemplating getting the roof rack due to mpg impact make a choice, no matter which way this thread sways their thoughts on getting the rack.

**Edit: Sorry for the picture quality, I grabbed the pictures during a quick break between rain.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks for the writeup. My roof rack is on order.


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

obermd said:


> Thanks for the writeup. My roof rack is on order.


I will say it looks pretty nice with the fairing to clean it up.


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## rmass09 (Apr 17, 2011)

Good write up, I'll be ording one of these in the spring for kayaking.


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

I went for a good 150 mile trip today and was able to get a couple better highway mpg reads on how the roof rack is with just the fairing and no carrier:

50-60 = 0-1mpg loss
65-70 = 1-2mpg loss
75-80 = 2-3mpg loss
85+ = 5+ mpg loss

*numbers are in mph of course.7

The mpg loss is pretty much what I expected, and the wind becomes an audible nuisance above 70-75 until it eventually becomes background noise after 5-10 minutes. I wont try the snowboard carrier until I go to the slopes later this month, at which point I'll update the thread with the mpg loss/changes.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks. Those losses aren't' too bad at legal speeds. Good to know.


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## Greasemonkey2012 (Jul 8, 2012)

Wow that looks good I want one now 


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Mine's in. Now to pick it up and go get a christmas tree.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

OK - I'm impressed. GM did this one right. The GM Roof Rack comes with the Thule AeroBlades, Foot Pack, Kit for the Foot Pack, and the 4 Pack Lock Cylinder for about $100 less than Thule.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Finished. Assembling and installing this rack reminded me of









I had to put almost every piece on twice and some of them five or six times to get it correct.

Smurfenstein, thank you for mentioning the notches in the roof line. They were invaluable to getting my rack on.


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

obermd said:


> Thanks. Those losses aren't' too bad at legal speeds. Good to know.


I was cautious, besides, at 11pm there aren't many people on I-5.



obermd said:


> OK - I'm impressed. GM did this one right. The GM Roof Rack comes with the Thule AeroBlades, Foot Pack, Kit for the Foot Pack, and the 4 Pack Lock Cylinder for about $100 less than Thule.


We don't get the AeroBlade, and I'm glad we don't because nearly half, if not all attachments from Thule aren't compatible with the AeroBlade because they're not meant to haul, simply to use as a tie down with as little drag as possible. We have the Thule Rapid/Rapid Aero bars which is a compromise between the square and AeroBlade bars so you can haul, an still have a slight drag benefit.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I didn't realize there was a difference between the full aeroblade and the Rapid Aero bars. Thanks for clearing that up for me. One question - did you have enough of the black trim to fill the gaps under the bars?  The black trim I got only had about a quarter inch of excess length.


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

obermd said:


> I didn't realize there was a difference between the full aeroblade and the Rapid Aero bars. Thanks for clearing that up for me. One question - did you have enough of the black trim to fill the gaps under the bars? The black trim I got only had about a quarter inch of excess length.


Same, I only have the black rubber on the top of the bars, and I trimmed it to the end caps.


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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

Awesome thread Smurf. I was just asking around in a thread I started about slopes opening up around me, about a decent roof rack for transporting boards to the slopes.

Thumbs up on the write-up man. :goodjob:


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Put a Christmas tree on my roof rack this evening. I had to take the antenna mast off first. The tree is almost as big as my Cruze. Held like a champ, but the car definitely didn't like the additional wind resistance and I had to stay one gear lower than normal if I wanted any acceleration ability.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

obermd said:


> Put a Christmas tree on my roof rack this evening. I had to take the antenna mast off first. The tree is almost as big as my Cruze. Held like a champ, but the car definitely didn't like the additional wind resistance and I had to stay one gear lower than normal if I wanted any acceleration ability.


I need to find a way to break my car and get a rental again next year. It was perfect!










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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

Got my rack installed today. Man does it look sharp with it on. Contributes to the 'rally' look of it!

Thanks to Smurf and Obermd for their advice!









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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

That does look sharp with your paint job. How'd you like the "instructions" that come with the rack?


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## dreamsrpainful (Jun 8, 2011)

I have the black bars on mine, i love em, i didnt know whether to get the aluminum or steel, so i just got the murdered out thule setup. I use it for bikes and have the snowboard slide out setup on in the winter. I love it. 
im trying to post a pic but i cant insert urls yet so flickr.com/photos/stayxbrutal


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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

obermd said:


> That does look sharp with your paint job. How'd you like the "instructions" that come with the rack?


Thanks. I thought it was rather easy. I read a little, then mainly used the page that show corners and part numbers of the clip brackets and the rubber rack shoes. It was smooth sailing from there, and I even installed it alone.

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## Greasemonkey2012 (Jul 8, 2012)

are you getting the shield that goes at the front ?




OnlyTaurus said:


> Got my rack installed today. Man does it look sharp with it on. Contributes to the 'rally' look of it!
> 
> Thanks to Smurf and Obermd for their advice!
> 
> ...


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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

Greasemonkey2012 said:


> are you getting the shield that goes at the front ?


I'm considering it, yeah. If I do, it'd be for looks. I didn't really get bothered by the wind noise, which only became noticeable once I got to 50-55mph. Even then, the noise was faint. With my exhaust and music I play on a volume level of 20, I don't hear it. 

I do like the fairing though, I'll see if I can find it at a decent price.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

My old boss used to say the scariest thing he ever saw was me with a screwdriver. And I'm not talking about the drink. When I regapped my spark plugs my son was taking bets on whether or not my car would even start afterwords. Needless to say, I'm somewhat mechanically challenged which may have been part of the reason I felt the instructions with the roof rack were done by the same guy who does IKEA instructions.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

If I start using my roof rack on a more routine basis, I'll get the fairing. It's $95 at REI.


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

I will say that the Fairing does a lot in terms of looks, however in terms of mpg, It probably doesn't do much unless you have other things added on.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

That's what I suspected. Does it cut down on the whistling/humming you get at speed? Thanks.


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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

I'm sure it does Mike. I think he may have stated it already, not sure.

I did find one for $84.95. Thule Fairings at Rack Attack

We do want the 44" for our cars.


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

I used the search and found this link. Obermd and smurf are regulars so I' m hoping for your input. There's a local seller who is selling their cruze and has a never used GM Accessories rack. I'm not sure what to offer as a price if it's complete. 

My question is, what is required to mount bikes to this rack? Do I have to buy the bike and snowboard accessories to go onto these "car specific" rails?

I currently have a hitch/bike rack, and a cargo hauling container for the back hitch. I'm not sure how much I would use just the rails. Possibly to carry long loads that I can't put in the cargo basket. 

Idea's of what's required to get this rack to work with a bike? I can't see spending another few hundred dollars for the roof rack, but if I could get the top rack for $50, and add maybe another $50 with it to have the option of carrying a kayak I'd be in for that.

Thanks guys-

Carbon02


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Any newer Thule accessory will work with this GM rack. The GM rack is a modified aero bar configuration. Thule uses compression mounts to deal with the fact that they have three different rail designs. The rack is just the bars, however, so the attachments are separate cost items.


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## paras99 (Jan 15, 2014)

Hello Everyone, 

I have had a roof rack on my 2012 Curze Eco (manual) for around 8 Months now. Ever since I got it I have struggled to get hit 30 mpg's which is extremely low. But since I thought winter was coming around (live in MI) it was combination of the cold and roof rack that caused my mpg's to drop. I injured my self snowboarding so ended up not needing the rack anymore and was removed early Feb where it was still freezing. After removal of the roof rack I instantly started getting back to my old mpg values of around 40. 

Now I know its ridiculous to have a 10-12 mpg hit just by installation of a roof rack. But I cant think of any other explanation. 
I have the GM Thule Aero roofrack with a fairing. 

Any thoughts?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I'd keep the rack for the odd time when you need to carry something up there (unless you have a truck of course). As for the fuel economy hit I see the same type of hit when I put my roof rack on.


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## Asheridan (Jul 23, 2013)

So you guys would recommend the 44 inch fairing over the 38 inch one? Which one works better vs. which one looks better?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

44 covers the entire front of the rack. Looks better.


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## carid (Jul 20, 2011)

The 38" Fairing is more narrow and features less drag. 

By the way guys, we are running a promo on all Thule products, it is valid till May 25, 2015. 










If you need more details or any other information, let me know, I will be more than glad to help you out.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

carid said:


> The 38" Fairing is more narrow and features less drag.


There would also be more drag with the smaller faring as the air would not flow around the bar and mounts as well. Plus it looks a bit ridiculous with the smaller faring, like a guy wearing a hat made for a baby.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

OK - I popped over and all I see are Rhino Racks. I didn't find any Thule parts. Granted, most of the parts are interchangeable but the fairings have the manufacturer logos on them so from a cosmetic standpoint they aren't interchangeable.


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## carid (Jul 20, 2011)

@ *obermd* 

Actually we do have fairing manufactured by Thule for 2012 Chevy Cruze. It comes with Thule manufacturer logo and is good in stock. We sell it as an additional part, so you can choose it in the select product options here: http://www.carid.com/2012-chevy-cruze-bike-racks/thule-sprint-roof-bike-rack-17649958.html


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## 1rsbrsb1 (Jul 7, 2015)

This thread has been very informative. I have been scouring the internet looking for the Diameter of the Rapid Areo bar that comes with the GM kit. Could anyone shed some light on that?


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

WTB- Roof Rack Fit Kit for GEN 1 Thule or Yakima. I think some of you have moved on from the cruze, and maybe still have these parts in the garage. Need towers and bars, if it's something your willing to ship. Thinking someone on the forum may have the vehicle specific clips. 

Thanks-

Carbon02


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