Cross Turismo Roof Bars Pictures?

[Rusk]

Hi All,

I've been searching here and online but cannot find any pictures or videos of how the bars actually fit the rails. Does anyone have any pictures or ideas how they work? Are they easy to fit or do you have to use little tools to adjust them to get them on and off so not very quick release/fit?

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[Rusk]

To add I've seen a video that shows how to fit on the normal Taycan. You lift the flaps and drop in and tighten so nice and easy. How does the bar for the raised rails compare?

 

[tutis]

I have the Porsche roof rails. they are made by Thule, and very high quality. They fit with a Porsche tool which is basically an oversized hex key. They take about 5 minutes all in to fit or remove. One thing though; there's a front and rear for the bar. If you get it wrong and tighten then they will mark your Taycan rails, so pay attention!

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

To add I've seen a video that shows how to fit on the normal Taycan. You lift the flaps and drop in and tighten so nice and easy. How does the bar for the raised rails compare?

OH! A thread to which I can actually contribute! This will take a while, please hang tight.

I ordered the OEM bars from my dealer - fairly decent price, marginally more expensive than the only alternative, made by Thule and which doesn't seem as sleek. I'm fairly certain that the OEM towers aren't made by Thule (there is a brand name somewhere in there, don't recall it), but the bars do appear to be identical to the Thule Whispbar model.

The towers have a plastic cover, locked into the base with a plastic 'tooth', and linked to the base with a 2-point articulated metal clip. (I don't have a picture of this, I may update this post later.) This makes it convenient to open the cover and get it out of the way, but also allows removal (if you need to tighten the bars). I'm getting ahead of myself, though.

The bars have 2 holes on the inner side at each corner, which you use to align with the corresponding protrusions in the tower's back clamp. I chose to tape the outer part of the bar to prevent marring, but it didn't look like it was necessary - the front clamp fits perfectly with the profile of the bar.

And here's the inner view to the mounting holes:

I didn't take pictures of the intermediate steps - inserting the rubber gasket into the cross bars, securing the feet etc. The kit does come with a handy torque wrench with a visual indicator of the correct torque. As mentioned earlier, I found it easier to remove the outer cover of the towers to do the tightening.

One of the feet/towers had the wrong cover - I had 2 rear right covers, and was just about to stop right there. It definitely made contact with the paint - only just, but enough to mar the finish eventually. I ended up dremeling off the excess, using the rough shape/dimension of the cover from the opposite side.

This is a detail view of one of the towers - the fit of the shut lines is generally ok but not perfect.

Here is a view of the bad foot/tower cover:

and the corresponding good one on the opposite side:

Another annoyance was the locking mechanism - worked ok for 3 out of 4, but one of them was just not locking: the key/locking mechanism would spin, but did not protrude inside far enough to engage the lip of the base to lock. It took a lot of swearing and pressing into the cover, but it eventually locked as intended. I'm not looking forward to making this a frequent activity.

Here are a couple of (gratuitous) shots of the finished/installed product. Let me know if you have any questions.

All in all, this took me about an hour, which included the trimming of the wrong cover, and in general moving slowly/deliberately with tools around the glass roof and the shiny bars.

 

[Rusk]

this is amazing info, thank you!

Once you line up the holes is it just a case of tightening or are there more adjustments to do? My bars for the last car were really annoying where I had to loosen them off a lot to get them on and off and that meant the sizing changed each time and made it a really long and painful process of fitment.

 

[W1NGE]

Hi All,

I've been searching here and online but cannot find any pictures or videos of how the bars actually fit the rails. Does anyone have any pictures or ideas how they work? Are they easy to fit or do you have to use little tools to adjust them to get them on and off so not very quick release/fit?

Roof rails (longitudinal) can only be factory fitted and not after market

Cross bars attach to the rails with the relevant foot pack if using Thule or are supplied with the Porsche Roof Transport System.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

Once you line up the holes is it just a case of tightening or are there more adjustments to do? My bars for the last car were really annoying where I had to loosen them off a lot to get them on and off and that meant the sizing changed each time and made it a really long and painful process of fitment.

There is a fair bit of walking around the car as you line up the towers on both sides, tightening them just a bit, and then proceeding to torque them down. Took a bit of fiddling for me, since i was taping the roof bars as well.

Here is a pic of an opened tower; the tower comes off that metal clip, too. There's an elastic band that helps keeping the front and back clamps together for alignment. You can also see the hole which helps secure the lock (plastic bit above the tightening bolt). Looks a bit flimsy to me, I was worried it'd break if I tried to bend it.

Also check out this thread by @McgR for an alternative. It's a sleeker/lower-profile Thule system.

 

[Rusk]

I think after looking at both I'm tempted more by the Thule ones as they sit lower. I wonder why the Porsche ones sit so much higher? Do we think the aero is better with a larger gap from roof to the bottom of the box or a smaller gap?

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

I think after looking at both I'm tempted more by the Thule ones as they sit lower. I wonder why the Porsche ones sit so much higher? Do we think the aero is better with a larger gap from roof to the bottom of the box or a smaller gap?

Indeed the Thule system positions the bar lower (not sure why I remember it differently), but the most important decision factor remains your intended usage. A ski carrier, for instance, would not rise enough to clear some burly bindings from touching the roof (or it’d be very close). The claws of a roof box may also touch as you closed them (which would make installation awkward).

(edit) the OEM system has a clearance of ~9cm/3.5” at the edge/end of the bars, slightly less at the center. Seems to be the same front and rear.

 

[W1NGE]

I think after looking at both I'm tempted more by the Thule ones as they sit lower. I wonder why the Porsche ones sit so much higher? Do we think the aero is better with a larger gap from roof to the bottom of the box or a smaller gap?

Yep, Thule is the gold standard. I suspect they also make the ones for Porsche too!

Lower profile would be better in my view. Kind of a moot point given what you place on top of the bars won't be that aerodynamic!

 

[Rusk]

The current plan is to only place a roof box up top. I'm hoping my current one will work well as it is an aero box (as much as they can be!). It doesn't use the claws it uses the T fitting system so no issues with clearance. I might end up with a bike rack up there but haven't bought one yet.

 

[ARTAL EV]

OH! A thread to which I can actually contribute! This will take a while, please hang tight.

I ordered the OEM bars from my dealer - fairly decent price, marginally more expensive than the only alternative, made by Thule and which doesn't seem as sleek. I'm fairly certain that the OEM towers aren't made by Thule (there is a brand name somewhere in there, don't recall it), but the bars do appear to be identical to the Thule Whispbar model.

The towers have a plastic cover, locked into the base with a plastic 'tooth', and linked to the base with a 2-point articulated metal clip. (I don't have a picture of this, I may update this post later.) This makes it convenient to open the cover and get it out of the way, but also allows removal (if you need to tighten the bars). I'm getting ahead of myself, though.

The bars have 2 holes on the inner side at each corner, which you use to align with the corresponding protrusions in the tower's back clamp. I chose to tape the outer part of the bar to prevent marring, but it didn't look like it was necessary - the front clamp fits perfectly with the profile of the bar.

And here's the inner view to the mounting holes:

I didn't take pictures of the intermediate steps - inserting the rubber gasket into the cross bars, securing the feet etc. The kit does come with a handy torque wrench with a visual indicator of the correct torque. As mentioned earlier, I found it easier to remove the outer cover of the towers to do the tightening.

One of the feet/towers had the wrong cover - I had 2 rear right covers, and was just about to stop right there. It definitely made contact with the paint - only just, but enough to mar the finish eventually. I ended up dremeling off the excess, using the rough shape/dimension of the cover from the opposite side.

This is a detail view of one of the towers - the fit of the shut lines is generally ok but not perfect.

Here is a view of the bad foot/tower cover:

and the corresponding good one on the opposite side:

Another annoyance was the locking mechanism - worked ok for 3 out of 4, but one of them was just not locking: the key/locking mechanism would spin, but did not protrude inside far enough to engage the lip of the base to lock. It took a lot of swearing and pressing into the cover, but it eventually locked as intended. I'm not looking forward to making this a frequent activity.

Here are a couple of (gratuitous) shots of the finished/installed product. Let me know if you have any questions.

All in all, this took me about an hour, which included the trimming of the wrong cover, and in general moving slowly/deliberately with tools around the glass roof and the shiny bars.

I would like to get the same set up on my Cross Turismo. Which model Inno box did you get? Does it interfere which the hatch opening?

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

I would like to get the same set up on my Cross Turismo. Which model Inno box did you get? Does it interfere which the hatch opening?

Mine’s the Wedge 660, and it has enough travel for the feet to not interfere with the hatch opening at max height. I don’t see it through the windshield either - this longroof is pretty long.

Lmk if you’d like more info or pics - either here or via DM.

 

[philbur]

I have the thule bars and its very nice and flush with the roof rails. I mainly use our thule roof box with the claws that grab them - there is enough clearance and im just careful when i install - they can just touch the glass when fully open. They are covered in a rubber finish and as long as they are clean shouldnt scratch the glass. I didnt like the height of the OEM bars.

 

[Rusk]

@WasserGKuehlt - would you mind measuring the actual bar width of the rear bar? The space between the boots, I'm trying to work out if my box will fit. I think my box is too wide for the actual width of the Thule bar. It seems the advantage of the Porsche system is that the feet are smaller horizontally so you have more bar to play with.

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