I just noticed that the Yakima website is now (again) showing a fit for the sedan. It lists that the Q35 clips are appropriate for the system.
Wondering if anyone has tried this? As I already own the Yakima bars, towers, etc (which I use on wife's SUV), I'm not interested in investing in the Thule.

 

I've had a set for carrying a couple of bikes for about 3 years. Used some Protective Strip from Griot's Garage (griotsgarage.com) under each mounting pad and no paint damage. Before you buy check the model number of the Q Tower, you may be able to just buy the new clips ( around $25/4) instead of the towers ($229/4). Your cross bars might be the right length also. Don't know about the paint on the new Nissan/Infniti though other than what I read here and on the 350Zforum.com site.

 

Yeah, guess I'm in the same boat. Have the Q40 clips from my Contour SVT, and have yet to get the Q35 clips. Good to hear it should be a simple change to be able to keep using the Yakima. All the rest of the parts seem to be the same from looking at the Yakima configurator.

 

Doh! I just recently tried the Q35 clips on my Yakima rack (with the latest Q Towers) and it didn't seem very stable to me (I probably didn't have it adjusted properly). I wrote to Yakima asking if the Q35 clips would fit the '05 G35 sedan and they said "no" -- I ended up returning the clips and buying Thule towers, crossbars, clips, and fairing (luckily I can reuse all my accessories, except for the lock cores).

Here's my assessment of Yakima vs. Thule.

>Fit: Thule seems to fit better.
While the Yakima towers sit on the roof towards the edges of the roof, the Thule towers sit further to the inside of the roof and their pads actually fit into the grooves on the roof of the car. Seems much more stable.

I also should add that the Thule clips are coated in a rubber-like material to prevent slipping and scratching. The Yakima clips are raw metal that you wrap vinyl pads around...those pads fall off after about 6 months.

>Ease of setup: Thule's easier to setup.
The Yakima towers are a pain to set onto the crossbars due to the round crossbars, but also the way that the towers lock onto the bars. It was hard getting the towers to be completely level to each other and the tightening mechanism causes the towers to move inward when you're making your adjustments.

>Eash of on/off: Yakima's easier to put on and take off.
Yakima has this cool cam action that locks the towers into place...you just flip the levers and the towers lock into place. The Thule's have Yakima's old-style method of locking where you need to turn the bolts to loosen/tighten. Not a big deal, but not as easy as Yakima's.

>Build Quality: Yakima feels sturdier.
Thule feels like cheaper plastic to me. The levers used to fasten the towers to the car almost feel like they'll break if you go too far. I'm sure it'll hold up, but it doesn't feel as solid as the Yakima parts. Even the tape measure Yakima provides is higher quality than Thule's!

Also, as an aside, I get my rack stuff from agee's bikes (www.agees.com) since they seem to have the best prices/service. Been using them for years now (I don't have any affiliation with them, just passing on a tip).

Thomas