[Gaviatrix]

Originally Posted by Silvergt

In the same state of indecision! Do the Thule connect/disconnect as quick and easy as the oem? Looking for something to toss on&off when needing to haul my road bike 1-2x a wk. love the look of the Thule and love some real world intel!

Thanks
Justin

Yes, they do. Once they're set up the first time, they can be put on and taken off just as easily as OEM based on my prior experience of OEM bars on an earlier car and Thule on the G20.

[Calamari]

Originally Posted by Gaviatrix

Yes, they do. Once they're set up the first time, they can be put on and taken off just as easily as OEM based on my prior experience of OEM bars on an earlier car and Thule on the G20.

Same experience here. I can mount or unmount Thule aero bars in less than 5 minutes.
Mounting concept on Thule is pretty much the same as the one on OEM BMW bars.

[Silvergt]

Thank you both- make the decision harder. Such minimal use but the oem are so ugly….

[Gaviatrix]

Originally Posted by Silvergt

Thank you both- make the decision harder. Such minimal use but the oem are so ugly….

I bought the Thule partly for aesthetics, and because they are excellent quality based on prior experience of their products, and have a great range of available accessories.

[Mamut999]

Doesn't Thule feet damage the paint(or ppf)? Whereas the OEM ones seem to not touch the paint at all.
Any feedback on this?

[Calamari]

Originally Posted by Mamut999

Doesn't Thule feet damage the paint(or ppf)? Whereas the OEM ones seem to not touch the paint at all.
Any feedback on this?

I've been using Thule systems on my cars for at least 15 years.

Paint damage is minimal and if you don't specifically look for it you will not notice it. If it bothers you - it can be buffed out in 10 minutes.

The key is to always make sure that the contact surface of the rubber base is clean before mounting.

[jsilvaaa]

I went with Thule as well, looks way better and sits lower. I have the Wingbar Evos and I like that I don't have to unmount the rack to add an attachment through their T-rail system.

[Jacopo79]

Hello guys. If I buy the Thule wing bar, then can I mount the OEM roof box by BMW?
Thank you!

[Calamari]

Originally Posted by Jacopo79

Hello guys. If I buy the Thule wing bar, then can I mount the OEM roof box by BMW?
Thank you!

It should work.

Thule WingBar should have a slot that can fit the block screw used for attaching BMW roof bar. So, everything should work with Thule wing bar.

In the worst case, you will have to trim down the block of the block screw a bit so it fits the slot in the thule wing bar.

See block screw in the video below:

[Jacopo79]

Originally Posted by Calamari

It should work.

Thule WingBar should have a slot that can fit the block screw used for attaching BMW roof bar. So, everything should work with Thule wing bar.

In the worst case, you will have to trim down the block of the block screw a bit so it fits the slot in the thule wing bar.

See block screw in the video below:

Thank you friend!!
This is the thule bar that I will buy...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nov...w?usp=drivesdk

[Calamari]

Originally Posted by Jacopo79

Thank you friend!!
This is the thule bar that I will buy...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nov...w?usp=drivesdk

You are welcome mi amico.

Yes. This is standard thule "T track". And I believe that the BMW roof box (which is also produced by Thule) uses this T-rail screw system that you can see here:
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/T-track-a...001CODRXU&th=1

These systems should be compatible because, as I said, BMW box is actually a thule box with the previous generation of thule attachment systems. Newer Thule boxes have clamps instead of T-rail screws. But everything should be cross-compatible.

[Rawhide]

Got the BMW setup. I'm happy with it, works fine and I like the roundels on the side.

[Calamari]

Just mounted Thule Wingbar Edge roof bars with the Thule Motion 3 XL LOW box (new model from June 2024) on my 330d touring.

This box is much lower than my previous Motion XT XL box that I had on my 2019 G20. New box design also has better aero do decrease drag and noise, and improve mpg.

Gave it a spin on the highway today and I can confirm that it is indeed quieter on 150km/h (93mph) than the previous Motion XT box. At 100km/h(62mph) you almost can't even hear that the box is on the car. At 130km/h(80mph) it's just in the background but low-volume music masks it completely. Overall, a good upgrade compared to the previous generation of Motion boxes.











The older version Motion XT box that I had previously on my G20.

[wratha]

Originally Posted by Calamari

Just mounted Thule Wingbar Edge roof bars with the Thule Motion 3 XL LOW box (new model from June 2024) on my 330d touring.

I am in the market for a similar setup. Priced quite crazy over here in Central Europe - Wingbar Edge setup in black for my 4 series is about 380 euro, although I guess it's worth the quality & looks. That has been pretty much decided.

The question is about the box. Do you think I could fit 4 snowboards and 1 pair of skis in that low version? It looks much better then the standard one, but well, it's for nothing if I can't pack what I need.

Eventually I found quite a good deal on Thule Vector M (1000e, which is still more then 800 fror XL low), but that seems even smaller Inside, although the volume should be the same (360l).

Thule Motion 3 XL Low:
Outside: 216 x 89 x 35 cm
Inside: 202 x 74 x 30 cm

Thule Vector M:
Outside: 212 x 88 x 33 cm
Inside: 186 x 78 x 29,5 cm

Just thinking out loud here. I guess at the end of the day I will have to find some store where they physically have it and go take a look personally.

[Calamari]

Originally Posted by wratha

I am in the market for a similar setup. Priced quite crazy over here in Central Europe - Wingbar Edge setup in black for my 4 series is about 380 euro, although I guess it's worth the quality & looks. That has been pretty much decided.

The question is about the box. Do you think I could fit 4 snowboards and 1 pair of skis in that low version? It looks much better then the standard one, but well, it's for nothing if I can't pack what I need.

Eventually I found quite a good deal on Thule Vector M (1000e, which is still more then 800 fror XL low), but that seems even smaller Inside, although the volume should be the same (360l).

Thule Motion 3 XL Low:
Outside: 216 x 89 x 35 cm
Inside: 202 x 74 x 30 cm

Thule Vector M:
Outside: 212 x 88 x 33 cm
Inside: 186 x 78 x 29,5 cm

Just thinking out loud here. I guess at the end of the day I will have to find some store where they physically have it and go take a look personally.

The pricing of the Wingbar Edge in Black is the same in Croatia. It is what it is. Thule bumped their prices around 25% compared to pre-Covid times.

In terms of space, I'm not really sure if 4 boards and 1 pair of skis could fit inside. In terms of length, there should be no problems since Vector XL low is 2 meters long internally. I guess it depends on how large are your board bindings. One pair of skis and 4 boards without bindings will fit without problems. With the bindings, I believe if you stack them inside the box at an angle (like this \\\\) they should fit.

As you said, in the end of the day the definite solution is to take your gear with you and try to load the box in the store.

P.S. One trick to stop your gear from sliding and thumping inside the box is to lay down the spongy bathroom mat to the bottom of the box. This cheap trick will cushion all gear and prevent it from sliding around the box.

[wratha]

I went to a local store today and was able to see how would the boxes look on my car. I have never realized how small the roof is. They put some testing roofracks on, but it won't be much different with the real ones.

Thule Motion XL Low is just too long (the same applies for Vector), I can't move it back due to the fifth door, although I decreased the opening to 3. With anything less it would extremely unconfortable to put anything in or out. So the front end is way too over the front windshield and at higher speeds it would generate a lot of noise.

The other one I tried is Thule Motion L. However, they don't make it in the low version and although it fits well, it quite chubby and I really don't like how it looks.

Basically what I am looking for is a box that is as long as the Motion L, but slimmer. Thule doesn't seem to offer anything like that, so I looked elswhere and found Yakima SkyTour 310, which should have the correct parameters. Will call the store tomorrow whether they can arrange it for a test. The downside is that the box is quite small. Will have to check whether I can fit all the equipment I need.

Regarding the roofracks - Yakima Aero Flush Bar should be lower, less noisier and cheeper then Thule Wingbar edge. At least that what they told be in the store. The only downside is that teh side part are made completly of plastic, while Thule has metal components in it. By any chance does anyone have experience with this Yakima product?

[Calamari]

The trunk door is killing you here. The roof on the 4er is not significantly shorter than on the 3er, it's just that the trunk doors are a problem.

Also, note that these roof bars that you used for testing dont work because they are angled from front to back. Roof bars have to be leveled otherwise the box will create uplift or downlift which is very dangerous as it can decrease stability of the whole vehicle at high speeds, and even cause damage the the box and roof bars.