Thule roof rack on a G8?!

[captain spaulding]

Aight this might not be that amazing for most of you, but when I was looking for bike carrying options for the g8 I was a bit confused as to why Thule didn't offer anything for the g8.. My ultimate setup would be the class 3 hitch and thule t2 rack, but importing the hitch was gonna ruin my bank account. Did some research thule Australia has a fit kit for the commodore ve. Quick message to crazy Paul and the fit kit was in the mail(thanks again cp). Fit kit 1432 for those that are interested. Ordered the towers, cross bars, fairing and bike attachments from backcountry.com(10% off deal), I'll post the towers/crossbars/fairing part numbers I used later. Got everything installed using the Aussie instructions and it all went on great.. Fairing fits alittle funky, but you can't tell unless u get up close to it. Anyways attached pics..

[-Ray-]

Thanks for posting. This may help out another member who bikes.

[swimman]

Nice. I'm going to order one up. I keep checking the Thule site but it always says nothing is compatible. Please provide the other information as I only need the feet/towers. Thanks.

[StandFast85]

What was the total price for this setup?

[dandragonrage]

Nice. Gonna hurt the gas mileage, though, even when unloaded. Over 5%, even up to 10%... and that is unloaded.

[captain spaulding]

Aight here's the list of what I got:
Crossbars/feet/fairing:
FK1432 fit kit from crazy Paul(check with him on pricing/availability) $113.50 x 1
480R rapid traverse foot pack $139 x 1
RB53 rapid aero load bar $103 x 1
873xt fairing 52 inch $67 x 1
Attachments:
10-pack of locking cylinders $85 x 1
Criterium bike mount $127 x 2
Xadapt adapters(need this if you run aero crossbars and criterium bike mount) $7 x 2

$783.06 total

You can get away cheaper if you buy cheaper bike mounts, square bars(use 480 feet instead of 480r) and exclude the fairing. But the aero bars look nice and are a lot easier to get your attachments on an off. Fairing does make a noticeable difference in quieting it down, and I'm sure helps mpg. Any other questions feel Free to ask.

[Napalm]

nice. Curious, how long does it take to mount and unmount?

[captain spaulding]

Took me about 2 hours the first time being super anal about measuring the crossbars and distances between the feet. Now that it's all together I imagine I could have the whole rack off in 15 mins with the help of a buddy.. I could probably have both bike attachments off or on in the same amount of time. I think as long as you mark where you mount the feet(maybe some shoe polish on the rain gutter moulding?) you could probably have it back on in 30 mins or so.. Not that bad really, I wish I had a garage or storage to take the rack on or off or else I'd probably do it

[JoshHefnerX]

It may be impossible to get now, but Pontiac had a rack kit as an accessory that bolted into the plugged bolt holes in the roof w/ attachements for bikes, kayak and some other crap....

[TurboMike]

Damn for that price you could have gotten a class 1 hitch for $150 and a 3 bike hitch rack for $250. No strain to load and unload the bikes, less aero drag,

[captain spaulding]

If the class 1 hitch wasn't so hideous I would have went that route. Like i said it's cheaper than importing a class 3 hitch so it worked out for me.

[68rustang]

It may be impossible to get now, but Pontiac had a rack kit as an accessory that bolted into the plugged bolt holes in the roof w/ attachements for bikes, kayak and some other crap....

I have Pontiac rack kit and it is great. Simple to set up and less than $200. I have used it a couple of time to carry a Thule cargo box for road trips and even some lumber.

[swimman]

Is there a way the Pontiac rack can accept Thule accessories like bike trays and kayak mounts?

[68rustang]

The Pontiac rack is just two airfoil shaped cross bars that lock into the achor points already on the roof of the G8. Thule and Yakima should have generic feet that will latch onto any factory crossbar.

[pokey]

Looks good, I was curious to the options available on the G8. I just got done putting a hitch on my truck tonight so I can finally use again my Yakima rack and get some exercise!

[captain spaulding]

Sometimes I get a spot in front of the cake boss, figured I'd take a pic and use it as an excuse to post pics of my rack: http://tapatalk.com/mu/cff2a0f0-9f90-15d5.jpg

[Struggle]

I am assuming you carry more than one bike at a time? I can get a 56cm road frame in the trunk with the wheels off and same frame has been in the car as well back seat with wheels off.

Rack set up is nice though, but dang that is expensive. You must have a pretty sweet bike to rack on top if you spent that much coin on the rack.

[Doug Hilliard]

I got a rack online for the car that fit fine with a 1 inch receiver; it's not too visible under the rear diffuser and the Thule works great. On/off in about 2 minutes and carries two bikes.

[TurboMike]

$100 class 1 hitch
$100 3 bike carrier

You get 3 bikes carried for less than $250 without losing truck room or having to mount them on the roof. Cheap and 3 bikes. Only problem is the class 1 hitch look like poop IMO (they come up from under the diffuser).

[Doug Hilliard]

12609Here's what mine looks like (sorry for the dirty car, raining lots lately and no time for a wash!).