Thule 400XTR Aero Rapid Roof Rack Foot Pack (Set of 4) Review

Had to struggle a little bit to put it on my car (Honda Accord 2005, 4dr, LX).

My system:

400XTR Aero Rapid :

47" Aluminium Aero Bars : I feel these bars look better than the square and round black coated bars.

Thule set of 4 locks :



While the front side installed without much fight, the back side there was some struggle. With the help of a friend we were able to mount the whole rack system in 2 hours. However, before that I had spent 2 hours by myself and gave up. It fits too tight to the car, which is required and good. However, during the installation I felt there was no leeway in the spacing of rubber pads or the base (even a few millimeters). This means everything needs to be in right spots before you start to tighten the screws; otherwise one or other thing will not align later on and you will have to start again.

ex: if you tighten one of the 4 bases first thinking you will adjust the other end, it might not work; or probably later on the locks won't align.



I would recommend a 2 person installation rather than installing alone.





In the end, however the Aluminium bars look good on the car compared to the square or round coated bars.
Ordered the Thule Fit Kit for my 2000 Mercedes E430 Sport. Had a little trouble getting the kit installed w/ the Thule RB47 Rapid Aero Aluminum Roof Rack Load Bars and Thule 400XTR Aero Rapid Roof Rack Foot Pack, it was a bit of a struggle getting the screws locked in, since I was performing the install directly on the car roof. Once I took all the pieces off, connected the fit kit to the load bars and fit kit off of the car and then loaded all the pieces together it worked. I need to buy the Thule skirt so that it blocks out the wind noise while driving. While driving there are no issues - at around 75-80mph I had no issues.
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