Thule Roof Rack - Review and pictures
 

This is kinda a random post but it's been far too long since I've contributed to this forum. The most recent thing I've done for my W203 is get a roof rack last summer. Next to my Renntech tune and exhaust, it's by far my favorite thing.

When I looked for a rack i found that there weren't many pictures of racks on the W203 other than one or two of Roland's or Phister's.
Well I hope this posting helps.

I went w/ a complete Thule kit.
The kit consists:
480 Traverse Foot Pack
Fit kit 1204
LB50 - 50 inch load bar (pair)
872xt Fairing - 44 inch
and a lock kit.

For my bikes, I use two 518 Echelon carriers
For my snowboards, I use two 92724 Flat top carriers

I've actually noticed that gas mileage isn't that bad either. In most situations, it may drop maybe 2-3 miles per gallon depending on the weight. I ran w/ 3 bikes this weekend from LA to Santa Barbara and still managed decent mileage.
The noise is noticeable but not unbearable. The fairing actually helps quite a bit. I actually drive without the radio often and it's really still comfy with the rack on. The loudest I've heard it be was when I had the snow carriers on without snowboards in. The wind pretty much came right down on the sunroof.

Just in case it's been that long and no one is familiar with my car, I drive a 05 C320 Sport (yes, they exist, so don't start a witch hunt and start saying I swapped my 2 and 3 badges :D)

poser!!!...you swapped the badges! :D



welcome back Mike...lol on topic of rare w203s...I saw a C350 luxury the other day.

Nice... I'm about to buy the load warrior for my car now. Has extensions to still use my bike racks.

Where did you get the Thule parts? When I put my rack on a few years back I had to bring parts back from the UK.

Their website, bike shops, sun ski & sports, dick's sporting goods. Their site will list all authorized dealers

Thule stuff is easy to find usually, but when I put mine on 4 years ago they didn
t have a listing for the w203 in the states.

I found the Thule rack very expensive and overpriced, it was much cheaper to go with the MB OEM rack which is very well made, sturdy and stood up to the test of time as 6 years of usage in salty winter driving the racks looks as good as the day I bought it

HAHA! Thanks Frank! are you talking about the silver one that drives around near Grand and the 60? I've seen that once or twice...

I got the kit from RackNRoad. They're a local shop here in Southern California and they were able to order the fit kit and have it within a two days.
My friend got a very similar kit from REI through amazon and saved a little compared to my final price out the door but had to wait longer.

The OEM basic carrier is cheaper but I actually chose to go w/ the Thule system because the load bars, foot pack and everything else would transfer over to my girlfriend's VW Golf/Rabbit MKV (all we do is swap the fit-kit). Plus my system has matching keys for all of the locks. I didn't want another key on my keychain. lol

I wouldn't be surprised if the Thule Aero load bars have the same mounting slot profile as the OEM bars, which means that Thule racks would fit an OEM bar and visa-versa.

The Thule carriers do fit on the OEM bars. The profile is very similar to the Aero bar provided by Thule. What I did find is that the Aero bar howls because wind gets trapped in the channels and actually makes more noise than the square bar or the OEM bar. I think the OEM bar does better because of the design where the legs meet the end of the bars.

Nice, I have been considering purchasing a roof rack, however at this point I doubt it'll get much use.

Hi what were screws used for your roof rack connecting to the mounting points? is it M7 with 1mm pitch or M6 with 1.25 pitch?

Sorry RiversideMB, I'm not quite sure what you're talking about. The hardware was Thule specific so you may want to contact them if you're looking for replacement hardware for a carrier or a foot pack.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...7efc06b96a.jpg
M6 X 1.25 SS is what fits in roof mount inserts, it takes approximately 13 full 360 degree rotations of threads to bottom out completely. OP has door clamp style foot mounts I think, looking at his pictures. My Yakimas originally came with door clamp style feet too but I modified them to work in factory roof mount locations. The polyeurethane spacers at bottom of rack feet had to be stacked up at both ends to match contour of roof in front so rack won't wiggle when tested front to back.