What Roof Bars for 997.1?

[Gixer968CS]

Hi, I've been using the Porsche Roof Transport System to haul my bikes around on my 997 C2S for c6 years. However, the bars aren't great quality as the black finish very quickly oxidised (they stay on the car for months at a time) and just recently the key snapped off in one of the locks meaning I can't lock them on the car any longer. The bars are easy to get on and off and (crucially) stand proud of the bodywork so there is no risk of marking the paint. So, good fit but not great quality. And at nearly £500, very expensive.

Due to the quality issues I'm thinking of using something else - maybe Thule?? Anyone had any experience of using other roof bars on a 997 and have any thoughts/guidance??

[dibblecorse]

My cycling 911 friends and my mate with an F Type swear by these https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/sea-sucker

[Rich_AR]

I ran Thule bars on my 997.2. Solid as and of course you can use the bars on other cars (with the correct fitting kit). I sold my 997 a few years ago, moved country twice and still have the same roof bars and feet which I've used on two other cars since!

With the 997 and Thule bar setup, you need the higher feet/foot pack for the rear fixing points

2 x 118cm bars
2 x Thule 753 feet
2 x Thule 751 XT feet
1 x Thule 3100 fitting fit

There might be newer versions of feet etc now however.

Edited by Rich_AR on Tuesday 15th March 16:01

[Gixer968CS]

Rich_AR said:

I ran Thule bars on my 997.2. Solid as and of course you can use the bars on other cars (with the correct fitting kit). I sold my 997 a few years ago, moved country twice and still have the same roof bars and feet which I've used on two other cars since!

With the 997 and Thule bar setup, you need the higher feet/foot pack for the rear fixing points

2 x 118cm bars
2 x Thule 753 feet
2 x Thule 751 XT feet
1 x Thule 3100 fitting fit

There might be newer versions of feet etc now however.

Edited by Rich_AR on Tuesday 15th March 16:01

Thanks for that. Design911 selling a Thule kit but it says it uses only 753 Feet. Same if you spec it on the Thule website. This seems odd, as like you say, the rear feet will need to be taller than the front feet (as per my existing Porsche system)??

[Rich_AR]

Gixer968CS said:

Rich_AR said:

I ran Thule bars on my 997.2. Solid as and of course you can use the bars on other cars (with the correct fitting kit). I sold my 997 a few years ago, moved country twice and still have the same roof bars and feet which I've used on two other cars since!

With the 997 and Thule bar setup, you need the higher feet/foot pack for the rear fixing points

2 x 118cm bars
2 x Thule 753 feet
2 x Thule 751 XT feet
1 x Thule 3100 fitting fit

There might be newer versions of feet etc now however.

Edited by Rich_AR on Tuesday 15th March 16:01

Thanks for that. Design911 selling a Thule kit but it says it uses only 753 Feet. Same if you spec it on the Thule website. This seems odd, as like you say, the rear feet will need to be taller than the front feet (as per my existing Porsche system)??

technically the kit fits and works, but the rear feet are lower, so it does't really create a 'flat surface' between the bars , if that makes sense. I recall i bought the feet used from eBay.

edit, just found some old pics of my old car:

Edited by Rich_AR on Tuesday 15th March 17:18

[shalmaneser]

It's the same setup on the 996 as the 997 - makes sense as the shells are very similar.

I've got the same (lower) feet on front and rear.



Not a great photo but you can see bars clearly not quite at the same angle of attack but everything works just fine.

EDIT: Just occurred to be if you fancied buying the taller feet then I'd be very happy to swap one pair for some of my shorter ones.

[Imissmybmw]

Rich_AR said:

1 x Thule 3100 fitting fit

Edited by Rich_AR on Tuesday 15th March 16:01

Thank you very much for this list.

I'm finding it near impossible to find the fitting kit. Do you know if there are substitutes or where I might learn more about fitting kits?