will a yakima roof rack on 2005 wrx sedan damage the windows and/or weather stripping? i plan on getting the q-towers, the respective clips, and the snowboard clamps.

if anyone has opinions on a thule rack, please chime in.

i did some searching through the forum but no one mentioned anything about the weather stripping. so i'm assuming there won't be a problem but it never hurts to ask.

thanks in advance

 

no there won't be a problem, i used to run one on my wrx sedan and never had any issues

 

i just put one on and it fits great just wax the area around and i put some painters tape just in case, and the weather stripping will seem to be ok

brandon -

 

yeah i just put mine on this season. it should be alright. just be gentle when you put it on.

-brandon also! =)

 

no i'm the original brandon lol

 

The weather stripping is ok. I have been using the Yakima for the last three years for my ski rack. The only thing I noticed was some paint scuffing where its feet press on the roof. The road grit and dirt gets in and scuffs the paint. I tried waxing it more, but that didn't give enough protection, so I got some of the clear bug strip stuff and stuck that down where the feet go. It is almost unnoticeable and is also useful for lining up the rack when I install it. I believe the Thule (or any other rack that touches the paint) will have the same issue.

 

make sure you don't over tighten...

 

wagons rule! That is all.

 

awesome. thanks for the replies guys. i got some clear bra scraps which i'll be using under the q-towers to prevent scuffing.

i just got back from kirkwood today. great weather and the snow was good too. fyi, next weekend all of kirkwood will be open.

 

We went to Sugarbowl on Sunday and it was crunchy morning, slushy afternoon. I would think the same conditions were present over the whole Tahoe area - it was a very warm weekend. As you say, it is still very early in the season.

On a side note, I can't believe the snow conditions that the resorts are claiming. Sugarbowl claims 4-6 feet although it looked less than that. Kirkwood claims 7 - 9 feet! I was up there a couple of weeks ago and there were rocks and grass poking through everywhere. Unless they got 8 feet from the storm last week I don't understand how they get these figures. Maybe they pile up as much snow as they can and then stuff a measure into it?

 

i was talking to a guy on the lift and he said that saturday was horrible for kirkwood as well due to the warmer weather.