I gave up on finding oem bars at a decent price. Ended up getting some new whispbars on ebay for $200. Im probably going to either dip them or wrap them in matte black.

 

I've got the Thule Aeroblade and am pretty happy with them. They're pretty quiet on the highway. Curious to hear your experience with these. Can you get different widths with yours? Looks like a one piece system (base and bar). The Thule has a base, then you can pick different width bars to go on it.

 

For the Whispbars, is it the S45 set? are both bars same length? Just curious, I have been wanting to get those or the Aeroblades. Any issues with the Whispbars? are they adjustable as far as where they can be placed along the rails?

 

L99:
Mine are dead quiet. I dont notice any extra noise.
They are adjustable. As for different bars i think the attacments are the same and all the variations are different bar lengths.

B:
I got the S44 and both are same length. The S44 is more low profile when compared to the s45
THey can be moved up and down the stock rails



http://www.etrailer.com/question-54576.html
The difference between the Whispbar Roof Rack # WB-S44 and the Whispbar Roof Rack # WB-S45 is that the # WB-S45 is slightly larger. Its crossbar dimensions are 35-3/4 inches long by 3-5/8 inches wide by 1 inch tall with a usable crossbar space of 31-35 inches.

The # WB-S44 rack on the other hand has crossbar dimensions of 33-1/2 inches long by 3-5/8 inches by 1 inch tall and a usable crossbar space of 28-3/4 inches to 32-3/4 inches.

 

Interesting. Looks like the BMW system, where the bars don't go past the feet. I wonder then how you can get different length bars? Thule's version is called Aeroblade Edge.

Whereas with the CrossRoad feet, your bar can extend past them, so you get more usable space. I needed to fit 3 bikes and a roof box up top, so went this route. And my bars don't stick out a crazy amount. Not much past the door edges, and I've not had issues bonking my head when getting in the car.

The 47" is the default bar length for this car, and I went with the 53". Here's what they look like (stock photo):
.
.

 

I really wanted the flush look . I just need to fit my snowboard box. Unfortunately, my whispbars are too low profile and the box doesnt clear the shark fin so i need to get some spacers.