Mitisbishi Evo Yakima Rack, Car Rack

We have outfitted this Evo with a Yakima Track System. We used mostly Yakima Parts. This particular customer wants to use his base rack system for Ski’s and snowboards. This rack happens to be a quick release tower and by that I mean the towers can be clicked off of the roof and stored, leaving behind the Landing Pad 1s and the track (tp54). We first start by installing the track to the sheet metal. We then silicon down the hardware we install into the roof, this prevents leaks and rust. We then attach the Landing Pads which holds the control towers onto the the rack. With this rack we also used 48″ cross bars. Our next step is adding lock cylinders to prevent theft. Our last step is adding the ski carrier, the fat cat 6. This particular ski rack only stand 4.5″ tall off of the bar. This rack also has a wind fairing. By adding a fairing your base rack system will be noticeably quiet on your car.  

2008 Subaru Impreza WRX Yakima Ski Rack

Subaru’s are very popular vehicles, and quite a few Subaru owners are avid outdoors people, who love to kayak, bike, ski and board.  So having a roof rack almost goes hand in hand with these cars.  One downfall, most Subaru’s do not have a metal frame around the door where the glass window touches the frame of the car.  Which means with the clip into the door options, the fit has to be precise so that not to have wind noise through the door or possible damage to weather striping.  Plus the clip options are very tedious to remove and re-install.  Don’t fret Rack Attack has your solution.  What you see above is a very popular option for all subaru owners.  We install Yakima Landing Pad 7′s permanently to the roof, then we use Yakima control towers that are quick release.  With this option you avoid any contact with your windows and door seals, so no possibility of wind noise through the door or damage to the weather striping.  You can also remove the whole rack system from the car in seconds for saving on fuel economy or going through the car wash, you will just be left with 4 little mounts.

Once the base system is installed you get a carrying capacity of 100lbs, and the possibility to add accessories to carry everything from water-sport products, to bikes, to skis and boards and more.  On this particular system our customer went with a 44″ yakima fairing to reduce wind noise, and a Yakima Fat Cat 6 ski rack / 4 board. The fat cat line is yakima’s newest and best ski carrier on the market.  The 6 pair carrier has 5″ more space than any other 6 pair ski rack on the market to accommodate the newer fat skis, also in the closed position it only sits 3 3/4″ off the top of the crossbar, making it the lowest profile ski rack on the market as well.  Lower profile = Less wind resistant = Better fuel economy.  These base systems can be professionally installed at any of our locations, or we do sell the kits for do it your selfers.  Many body shops will also do the installation for you if you are not up for it and are too far away from one of our stores.

BMW 335Xi Roof Rack from Thule

Thule and Twin Turbos

The BMW 335Xi is one of the best all-around performers on the road.  The xDrive AWD system makes it an enthusiast’s favorite for ski trips and year round fun.  A unique feature of the BMW 3 series is its integrated roof rack mounts hidden under four small access panels in the roof .  Thule has developed a new foot pack to utilize these mounts for a very clean appearance.  The Thule 460R Podium Aero Fixpoint Foot is designed to work in conjunction with the Thule Podium Fit Kit 3028 to create a solid connection with your BMW’s factory mounting points.  Thule offers an aerodynamically shaped bar to span the width of the roof called the Thule RB47 47 Inch Rapid Load Bars.  These bars are made of gorgeous, light-weight aluminum that will never rust for years of reliable use.  Of course the system wouldn’t be complete without a set of Thule 544 4-pack Lock Cores to keep everything secured to your roof.  This system is very clean in appearance and makes very little noise if equipped with the highly recommended Thule 871XT Fairing.  The fairing will divert air over the rack bars to keep your ride quiet and comfortable.  With this rack in place, you can carry a wide variety of gear from skis and snowboards to a canoe.  With this roof rack, you can lend even more practicality to an already great car.  Visit us at Rackattack.com for store locations and more product information.

Porsche Cayman Ski Rack by Yakima

We might be bragging a little when we say we can rack almost any car on the road.   We’re serious.  If you drive it, we have a rack for it.  Case in point; the Porsche Cayman we put a Yakima ski rack on at the end of last year.  This rack features quick-diconnect towers that mate with a base mounting kit applied in the same way a factory rack attaches to a Subaru Outback.  You can have your cake and eat it too.  With a rack that can go on and off the car in one minute, you keep your vehicle’s stock appearance and still carry massive amounts of gear.  The system pictured on the Cayman features the Yakima Landing Pad 6 as the base, the Yakima Control Tower, Yakima 48 inch Cross Bars which were cut to fit the car’s narrow roof, Yakima 6 Pack SKS cores, a Yakima 32 Inch Fairing and the Yakima FatCat 4.  The system will carry up to four pair of skis or couple snowboards and a pair of skis.  The fairng keeps this rack very quiet. It can be configured to carry skis, bikes or a small cargo box.  This system can add a lot of practicality to a compact sports car.  The next time the wife puts the brakes on the purchase of a fine sporting automobile, show her this article.  At Rack Attack, we are here to help make your car do more for you.

Roof Rack Fairings, What For?

A lot of people ask, what is that wind shield thing? what’s it for?   Well fairings are added to your Yakima or Thule rack mainly to quiet up the wind noise you may get by adding a roof rack to your car.   Fairings make a noticeable difference in any noise coming from the rack when they are added.  They also can sometimes help fuel efficiency when the rack is on the vehicle.  Both Yakima and Thule make various size fairings for different vehicles, be sure to check our automated fit guide to find the correct size for your car.  Fairings are recommended to be added to any Thule or Yakima rack when any or all accessories are attached to the bars with the exception of cargo boxes.  Fairings also help the car keep that sporty look when using your roof rack.  They just make it look cool.

Custom Thule Rack on a 2008 Lexus IS 250

One Of A Kind

Some people think you can’t rack a car because it will take away from the sporty look, we disagree. You can still have the sporty look on your vehicle and still have a top of the line roof rack. In the picture we went ahead and custom racked this Lexus IS 250. We set this customer with Thule 430R Rapid Tracker Foot Pack, Thule TK1 Tracker Kit 1, Thule RB43 43 Inch Rapid Load Bars, Thule 871XT Fairing, 2 Thule 517 Peloton, Thule 596 6-pack Lock Cores, and Thule TP42 42 inch Top-Track with Flare-Nuts .

When it comes to custom instalations, we did have to permanently install the tracks to the roof and apply all the other roof rack accessories. The Thule 430R Rapid Tracker Foot Pack conects to the Thule TK1 Tracker Kit 1 and then connected to the track. Here at Rack Attack, we like to give the customer some options when it comes to custom instalations.

Side Profile

Either we can do landing pads or lay tracks down. Tracks are similar to factory rack channels and they also possess the fact of having a multi-sport rack system. You can change the bar spread to different settings for whatever sport you into. Whether its biking or kayaking. You are more than welcome to do so.

As you can see in the photo, we put 2 fork mount bicycle trays. The Thule 517 Peloton fits most disc brake and suspension combinations with standard 9mm axles and carries bicycles with wheelbase up to 48 inches. After the bike trays are in position we put on the Thule 871XT Fairing. The fairing drastically reduces noise and resistance created by your rack. Highly recommended. Then we put in the locks on the rack and the bike trays for complete security. The customer at this point is good to go and have some fun with his new rack set up.

Usually, the install time on custom projects take us about 1hr to 2hrs. We guarantee our work here and we guarantee that you will enjoy it as well.