cgfen

here are two options
Porsche Tquipment
and
a cool one made by Seasucker

Alfnado

Sorry to bump this thread but I just ordered a factory roof rack from Suncoast (they should have three more in stock for anyone looking). I wanted to go with the factory given that it's not much more than the generic Yakima or Thule and appears to resolve the slanted roof issue. For those of you running the factory rack, do you know what the cross bars are? Specifically, I'm looking at bike racks on Thule and am wondering what style of crossbar the bike rack needs to be compatible with. Thanks!

Henrik964

its compatible with Thule, they are "wingbars" with a track for T-screws. Its actually Thule that makes them. I can post a pic of my Thule bike rack so you can see model.

Alfnado

This is exactly the information I needed. Thank you so much!

Henrik964

Its the bike rack below. The above is old but on its way to be rebuilt to fit wing bar.

Alfnado

Awesome. That Outride rack is exactly what I am looking at online. Thanks again!

Alfnado

FWIW, I ordered the Yakima and Inno fairing for my rack, since it was whistling like crazy. The Yakima is a nice piece (34") and fits pretty well with the Porsche OEM rack. Returned the Inno (looked cheap).

If I cared enough, I'd spend time fabricating a little rubber adapter for the Yakima. But I don't think it's necessary. So dumb Thule doesn't make a fairing compatible for our racks.

Edgy01

Actually, not quite right. I'm sure that you read that in the brochure. The commonality was the hardtop roof--the removable one.

winnibago

1Up & oem RTS

mdosu

I'm guessing this part is called "Komodo", it's nice that for certain size bikes you don't have to put the suction cup on the paint. I noticed the base Talon forces you to put a suction cup on the paint, which is not preferred.

But man, this is a $1400 mount!

​​​

mdosu

So I've researched this a bit to try to find the most cost-effective solution. I've arrived at the following options:

1. Seasucker Talon
Pros:
-cheapest option $300
-fewest parts
-compact storage

Cons:
-For most adult size bikes, it requires you to mount one suction cup on the painted parts of the car. Probably ok?
-Just for 1 bike (there are Seasucker cross bars for universal attachments and two bike setups, but pricing gets into the $400s)
-must store front wheel inside the car.

2. Yakima/Thule "fit kit" + universal packs and bars.

Pros:
-Excluding the specific fit kit, the foot packs and the bars are generally universal within the brand, which means you can keep it and transfer to a different car.

-Slightly cheaper than Tequipment at around $460-$480

Cons:
-Some fit kits (Thule?) still touch the paint, consider removing the roof mount every time not in use, or consider applying 3M clear bra vinyl where the fit kit touches the roof.

-Requires assembly, and the most complex, with numerous parts to put together every time, though in my previous experience, I believe you can keep the bars and foot packs bolted together when you dismount it and not completely disassemble it.

3. Tequipment OE RTS
Pros:
-Out of the box solution.
-Does not touch the paint.
-Appears to be perfectly angled.
-Appears to be Thule aerobar, a premium aerodynamic design.
-decent resale value

Cons: $540

Does anyone have additional suggestions for recommendations for options that could be cheaper than RTS?

EMC2

A nice example from a customer:

jm1stpcar

OEM wasn’t an option for me because I needed room for 4 bikes, and I didn’t want to find out the hard way that the OEM bars aren’t wide enough. I was never able to confirm that the OEM bars were too narrow, but I couldn’t find any evidence to the contrary. Given my experience with the wider setup described below, I think I made the right choice. My 997.1 can now carry four people and four bikes.

It was a real pain to figure out what I needed, so I want to post the parts here to help others avoid to the sourcing headache.

Parts:
Thule Wingbar Evo 118 (47”)
Thule Fit Kit 3100
Thule 7551 Rapid System Feet 2 Units Black
Thule Rapid System 7531 (2 Units)
4 lock cores if the feet don’t come with them. EU feet appear to ship with cores, but you won’t be able to use 1-key for all of the feet. Buy a set of cores if you want to use 1 key for all feet.
I don’t mention fairing because I haven’t gotten to it yet. This setup does whistle a tiny bit. I am buying fairing.

You need the taller feet in the back to make the rack level. The feet packs need to be ordered from Europe because they don’t sell them in the US. Only certain retailers will export to the US, most likely due to Thule-imposed geographic restrictions in their reseller agreements stemming from a likely white label deal with Porsche to supply the OEM 997 rack. It’s not too hard to find a retailer that does, however. I had mine in less than a week. Just keep in mind that you might not have a warranty on the EU-sourced feet even though you’re buying them new from an authorized reseller because of the territory issues. I have no idea whether Thule would honor a warranty claim on the feet, and I don’t care because I had no other option.

As for the bike holders, I have 1x Inno TireHold, 2x Yakima high road, and a Rocky Mounts TieRod. I carry the front wheel for the bike on the TieRod in the frunk. I don’t think I could fit a wheel holder on the roof, but I could probably swap out the TieRod for another Inno or high road. I’d get the Inno over a Yakima product. For now, I’m probably just going to pick up a SeaSucker Hogg.

If you don’t need 4 bikes, you might want to save yourself the hassle and just get the OEM rack. You won’t save any money with the above option unless you buy used, but I’m not into strapping used products onto the roof of a car.

One last thing, I fat fingered the rack when installing it the first time. The screws that go into the roof are easier to strip than IKEA parts.

BLU997

Suction cup type not sure of the brand, but borrowed from a friend, worked perfectly.

RyanH.

Anyone have any idea what rear glass mount they're using on this car? I'm guessing it's probably custom but figured I'd ask.