90210brandon

If anyone wants to buy the Mazda P5 roof racks, make sure you bargin for the price. I just bought mine and thought I was getting a 'smok'in deal!'. I checked and they (Mazda) have them for sale down in Victoria for $231 and change...'installed'. A trained monkey can install them. I did! Anyway, the service guy said "they are $309 MSRP!" I got them at $219 just cuz I asked. Just make sure you ask for a better than MSRP price. Everything is 'jacked up' in price.

They fit very securely too. I had a fit kit for my original Thule racks and they nicked my P5 and I wasn't going to take that chance again,...so....I bought the Mazda ones and I am very happy with them. I also need to mention that Thule isn't going to come out with the new '555' fairing until early next year, so don't count on someone to have one. I have checked all over western Canada! The manager's from the rack store's told me to wait if I can

wreckage

To everyone thinking of adding a roof rack to there P5 let me enlighten you. First, I own "The Rack Shack" an auto rack specialty store. Second I own "Proctor's Autopro" a 4 bay independant auto shop. So I know cars and I know racks.

Personally I say do not waste your money on the factory setup as there are too many limitations with them. The biggest being the overall width of the bar, and the front to rear bar spread. It very quickly limits what you can carry on it. The factory setup available in Canada is made by Thule so at least it is compatible with all of their accesories as well as most of Yakima's as well. If you get a good deal and all you are looking to carry is maybe 2 bikes or skis then they are fine. Besides the factory one can only fit that specific car and is not transferable ( with minor hardware purchase) to any other car. And if the rack is installed properly ther is NO SCRATCHING involved.

I chose a Yakima roof rack (which does have the fairing available), because it had a bar spread from front bar to rear bar of 32" vs. Thule at 25", and factory at less (probably about 23"), which means a more stable platform for longer loads such as sailboards, canoes, surfboards etc. I also think that they look better cosmetically than Thule (on this application). Now don't get me wrong I like Thule's stuff as well. On my Silver P5 I added Thule's Evolution 1600 box which is silver with a black base and it looks great ! (my opinion). I also added an 1 1/4" hitch, which is all but invisible, to carry my bike rack and bikes. The rack is a Swagman Twister XP and it works very well !! You can carry up to 4 bikes with ease. My fiance and I went mtn. biking this weekend at our local ski hill and what a great combo, all our gear up top locked and safe, bikes on the back, and nothing inside but us ( I hate a messy cluttered car).

I hope to get some pictures on the site and am thinking about working out a package price for the standard rack for all you Protege and Protege 5 owners so you will have an option besides the dealer. Please let me know if any are interested !! My website will be running very soon at www.rackshack.ca or www.heynicerack.com so you can check it out.

So to sum it up the factory stuff is okay, but I think that better option are available. Please don't hesitate to send any question to rackshack@telus.net or through this forum !

-rp

nramsey

How is the Thule rack you guys are talking about different from the stock rack all of us in the US have as standard? I am looking for a way to get a bike on my stock rack, and I'd rather not use the "Q towers" which go around into the door opening...

celticbass

Wreckage-
ive got 02lx sedan and i ride bmx and moutain bike- is there any sort of bike rook rasck i can install with out modifying my car?

Radiation Dave

Wreakage makes a good point about the front to rear bar spread with the factory Thule roof rack - but again, that's really only relevant for water sports. Bikes and snowboards will be fine.

I decided to purchase the factory Mazda/Thule racks for a few reasons.

1. Price - RackAttack quoted me about 400$ for the towers and crossbars (however, they may not have the best price, and I didn't shop around much).

2. Looks - personally, I hate it when the crossbars stick out the sides of the car. The factory crossbars are flush with the towers and it looks really sharp. Admittedly, the crossbars are short, but 3 bike carriers or 2 bikes and a snowboard carrier should be fine.

3. Ease of Installation - on or off in 5 minutes.

Wreakage, I did have a question - is the high-speed whistle that I get from the bike carriers or from the rack itself? Is there anything I can do about this, because it limits the use of the moonroof.

Thanks.

90210brandon

I believe the racks are the same as the US ones. I am using bike racks #889 (well they are 6 years old now, but they work just fine). Also #724 ski racks. They work with no problem too.

Like Rad. Dave points out the spread is crucial, but only if you put alot of weight up there. In my case I am not going to. So my set up works for me. Also, my rack is one piece not two like Dave was quoted at $400! I only have the front and rear racks. Also like Dave said installation time = nothing. Therefore that works for me too.

wreckage

The Canadian stock rack is different than the U.S. version. The U.S. version, from what pictures I've seen, is a more flat ovalized shape whereas the Canadian version is made by Thule and therefore has the rectangular bars. The mounting to the roof is also different. I've used the q-towers and there is no problems whatsoever. Just a cosmetic difference.

-wreckage

wreckage

---The noise is likely the wind channelling between the roof and your crossbar. Sometimes the fact that the bars are hollow can create a noise as well. The best cure is a plexiglass fairing. Now the last time I spoke with "Mr. Thule" he said that the new fairings are not likely to make it out until next spring. Something t o do with production problems. I think they just didn't get around to making them, its not like they are a tough item to design. I think it was more of a proirity problem than production. Yakima makes a "windjammer" which may help and is cheaper. The bars can be filled with that expanding foam and sometimes that works.
Unfortunately when there is anything up top creating a change in windflow the noise will be there, even with a fairing but they do help.

-wreckage

P.S. I think Rack Attack was high on their pricing unless that included tax and installation.

sandman

Any chance you can post a pic of your setup? (Rack and Hitch?) I'm not too sure I know what the heck a q-tower is.

wreckage

Yes there is !! Yakima and Thule both make a rack that will fit your car with no modifications, no drilling, and no marking of the paint.

-wreckage

wreckage

I am a relative rookie at posting pics on the net so be patient they will come. To see what a q-tower is check out www.yakima.com.

-wreckage

90210brandon

So Wreckage any idea if any other fairing works with Thule racks? The manager said the samething about the fairings here in Calgary.

wreckage

Unfortunately because the Thule Bar is rectangular and the Yakima bar is round, the Yakima fairing won't work. The older versions will probably become available in rack stores again seeing as the newer versions didn't make it to production. There really isn't any other fairings that will work. And unfortunately there aren't any that will eliminate the noise alltogether. Sorry !

-Wreckage

sandman

Ahhh - ok - i know what a q-tower is now! I dunno.. that lip that fits around the door worries me.. What's on the hardware that prevents scratching?

I want to get a box - oddly enough the same one as you, but you had no influence in that decision! Is there any mounting issues putting a thule box on a yakima rack?

wreckage

--- No problem mounting any box on any rack as the hardware is compatible with Yakima, Thule, and factory. Don't worry about scratches, the stainless steel clip has a protective "tape" between your car and the clip. Believe me if it was a concern it would not be on my car. I will show that with photos soon.
The box looks really good, it is a nice size. If you have any plans on passing through Kamloops let me know, I would love to have a "Rack Shack" decal cruising around Edmonton.

-wreckage