Anyone have the roof rack and snowboard carrier for the sedan? I see that the snowboard carrier is $100, while the roof rack is $300. I am assuming that you need the rack in order to use the snowboard carrier. Is this correct? Any opinions, ie: is it worth it, is it nice? I CAN'T FIT MY BOARD IN THE TRUNK!!! WTF!

'03.5 Brilliant Silver AT Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Z pipe, Clear Corners, Alum. Pedals
Polk Tweeters, Clifford RSX 3.5 two-way alarm

 

I think that's correct...I haven't replaced my boards yet, so I haven't even really thought about it...Either way, if this is your only ride, I guess you don't have much of a choice, other than shopping around and finding a good deal...

"All the Power in the World resides in the Eyes..."

 

Not sure which racks you're looking at, but I believe Yakima now makes one for the sedan. Not sure about a coupe version yet. I've always liked Yakima racks over most of the others including Thule, etc. They have a great range of accessories as well.

<font color=green>GG</font color=green>

 

Sorry, I was referring to the Infiniti rack. Do you think it is worth going with the factory one, or an aftermarket (Yakima/Thule) rack?

'03.5 Brilliant Silver AT Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Z pipe, Clear Corners, Alum. Pedals
Polk Tweeters, Clifford RSX 3.5 two-way alarm

 

The dealer bars are $299, pretty darn pricey if you ask me. Unless you want to strap your skis or board directly to the bars, your gonna need a carrier accessory to attach to the bars. Unfortunately, most ski carriers hold ski pairs flat, bottom-to-bottom. When mounted on the crossbars, these carriers may have insufficient height above the roof to accomodate skis with "rail" or other raised binding types. There are a few tall enough but it's gonna cost you $150-$250 vs $100. So...$500 min. for an open rack ski carrier based on the dealer bars. Ughh!

Of course, there are stand alone ski racks that hold skis on an angle for only $99 HERE, but you lose the functionality of the crossbars and rack "systems". Hey, I WILL need to move lumber, a ladder or kayak someday. I read recently that Yakima DOES have proper clips to fit the G35 sedan. If the clips fit this, I might get this model 1C SST Yakima crossbar pkg . Only $99 for 4 towers, 2 roundbars, Y-clips and 4 roundbar end caps. Looks like the towers are far enough outboard to the clear the sunroof. You can add an enclosed ski box and a few other accessories for less that the dealer bar setup. A real cheap alternative is brackets that attach to the crossbars and hold skis on edge, but I haven't found any brackets that lock.

For the bargain hunters:

20% off Yakima Products December 1st - 14th and 10% off & Free Shipping on Thule Products December 1st - 14th at: http://www.rackwarehouse.com

Cheapo ($59.95), easy-to-store snowboard carrier from Dick's Sporting Goods or Dunhams...


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2004 | 6MTs | Diamond Graphite/Graphite

 

i actually went w/ the thule system on my sedan last year. they fit fine. i'm glad i finally went w/ a modular system, because this year i'm putting the thule rack on a wrx. all i needed to do was purchase an additional fit kit.

$400 may seem like alot, but if i had spent that $400 2 racks ago, i'd be $400 richer now. my last 2 *dedicated* racks cost me ~ $200 each.

 

Yeah, I'd definitely go with an aftermarket rack. I've had a couple of Thule racks before, and I found that over the long run, they'd start to bend, especially with a heavier load. Also rust was a problem under the plastic coating. This was many years ago (>20) so they may have made some changes since then. I've never had problems with my Yakima racks. All I need now are the new brackets to mount my old ones to the G if I decide to use them.

<font color=green>GG</font color=green>

 

Thanks guys. How do they mount? Are they gonna scratch up my roof? I would only use it in the winter, and I don't want an unsightly rack on my roof in the summer when I my car gets Zaino'd every weekend. He he. Do you have to put on some 3M clear adhesive to stop them from scratching? I don't really want to do that either.

'03.5 Brilliant Silver AT Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Z pipe, Clear Corners, Alum. Pedals
Polk Tweeters, Clifford RSX 3.5 two-way alarm

 

i'd be more concerned about rockchips than the rack scratching the car

 

umm...thanks

'03.5 Brilliant Silver AT Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Z pipe, Clear Corners, Alum. Pedals
Polk Tweeters, Clifford RSX 3.5 two-way alarm

 

hehe, sorry

the likelyhood of the rack scratching the car is minimal, as long as you follow the instructions when assembling it. as long as you secure it well to the car, it will be fine.

 

"Do you have to put on some 3M clear adhesive to stop them from scratching? I don't really want to do that either."

The important thing is to make absolutely sure that the paint surface where the rack rest is spotlessly clean! I thought about cutting a few pieces of that thin silicone mat material that they sell in Medical supply stores and using that to protect the paint-rack interface. It's similar to 'Platter Matter' (the high-end turntable mat for those of you that were/are into analog records) that ppl with physical disabilities can use under their plates, cups, etc to keep things from sliding around.

<font color=green>GG</font color=green>