# Snowboard Roof Rack for Naked Car



## readimag (Aug 10, 2011)

One seat down in the back slide those suckers in - FREE


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Both Thule and Yakima make racks that will work with your Audi. They don't give that shit away, but it works. Otherwise readimag's advice is about as good as it's going to get for you.


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## jhowell09 (Sep 28, 2013)

readimag said:


> One seat down in the back slide those suckers in - FREE


That is the contingency plan if I can't find a cost effective solution. Just wanted to save some space inside the car+trunk area.


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## tekniq33 (Mar 18, 2009)

Check out Inno racks. I had these on my Infiniti G35. I am sure they make one for the A4. Much cheaper than Thule and Yakima but good quality. 

Still have mine sitting around in the garage. If you are in the NYC area, I am looking to sell it.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

craigslist.


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## sheepstealer (Aug 19, 2009)

I think you're looking at around minimum $400 for the entire setup. And that's just for your basic rack. More $ for aerodynamics, bigger racks, coffins, etc.

I'm looking into this now for my Impreza. Shit's expensive, but think of it this way - you'll never have to buy a rack again. 

I'd look around craigslist too, I bet you could find a used rack for less, just gotta make sure its compatible with your car.


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## jhowell09 (Sep 28, 2013)

tekniq33 said:


> Still have mine sitting around in the garage. If you are in the NYC area, I am looking to sell it.


I am from Ohio :thumbsdown: but I'll definitely look into your suggestion.


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## Mystery2many (Aug 14, 2013)

If you end up laying the seat down you will wanna put some plastic down or set them in a board bag for your ride back. Usually after a long day of riding snow will pack all around your bindings and areas that you can't wipe off and will melt in your car. Just a little heads up. You might already know that tho.

That was the main reason I invested in roof racks. No wiping, just slap in and click. End of story.


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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

Look on craigslist for used Thule or Yakima setups. Then purchase an appropriate kit fit.


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## handsomehwang (Apr 3, 2013)

I bought the rack but would honestly fold seats down if I could. My 2001 subaru impreza doesn't have folding rear seats. The roof rack exposes the boards to the elements and makes a significant amount of wind noise. Of course you can get the carrier but that is mucho mula. I'm paranoid a rock will take a chunk out of my board out on my exposed roof rack though.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

Get the dealer OEM one for your car it is built way better than Thule or Yakima and believe it or not it's cheaper than both those systems
Getting OEM for my kids GTI. Basically poormans Audi A4


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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

slyder said:


> Get the dealer OEM one for your car it is built way better than Thule or Yakima
> Getting OEM for my kids GTI. Basically poormans Audi A4


the poorman's audi A4 was the 1998 to 2005 VW Passat


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

GTI is on same chassis and motor
Wasnt Jetta off the A4 not the Passat


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

handsomehwang said:


> I bought the rack but would honestly fold seats down if I could. My 2001 subaru impreza doesn't have folding rear seats. The roof rack exposes the boards to the elements and makes a significant amount of wind noise. Of course you can get the carrier but that is mucho mula. I'm paranoid a rock will take a chunk out of my board out on my exposed roof rack though.


I have been doing open racks for 10 years on my little Volvo v40 (abt the same size as A4)...the old bigger ones (free) will fit 4 boards and 2 sets of skies...bring the quiver..absolutely no problems.


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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

slyder said:


> GTI is on same chassis and motor
> Wasnt Jetta off the A4 not the Passat


In the VW terms, A4 = MK4 chassis, which is a PQ34 chassis.

which..
P = passenger
Q = transverse
3 = platform size
4 = generation 

The Audi A4 is a PL4# chassis, where
L = longitudinal
4= platform size
so, the 02 Audi A4 would be a PL46
but, the 1998-2005 Passat was a PL45


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## stan_darsh (Mar 10, 2013)

Search which feet fit your car and buy those on eBay. Then purchase the appropriate bars and attachments. If you are patient and piece together a kit you can do it under $250


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## surfinsnow (Feb 4, 2010)

We bought our Thule set-up from Rackattack.com. Wicked pissa cheap (they're based near Boston)...four boards or two boards and four sets of skis...for just $99. Included everything, including the clamps. Of course, we already had the crossbars on the SUV, so you'll pay some more for those, but still their prices can't be beat.

As for folding down the seats...do it if you can. We stopped putting the boards on the roof because the loaded racks caused so much drag that we'd literally lose like 4 mpg on the average trip to Vermont. When you're traveling a 3-400 miles, that adds up. Even if we bring a passenger (or two) in the back seat, the 60/40 split seats fold down to accommodate all our gear.


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## jhowell09 (Sep 28, 2013)

Yeah, not a whole lot of people selling them on craigslist here in Ohio 

Maybe I will just take peoples suggestion of just throwing them in the trunk/backseat...


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## stan_darsh (Mar 10, 2013)

try the trunk thing for a while. i got a super cheap dakine board bag at the end of the season that keeps all the water IN when i'm going home. it's not padded or fancy or anything, and my boards don't melt onto the seats after a day's riding. then i just shake out any water when i get home.

aside from now living where i can take the shuttle to the mountain, when using my car - the bag kicks ass, and i've pretty much stopped wanting a roof rack. i think they are kind of a pain in the ass. but when i was researching them, i found all the individual components, new, on ebay for less than half the cost of a kit.


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## Deacon (Mar 2, 2013)

Watch geartrade.com too.


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## ScoobyDoobieDoo (Oct 22, 2013)

I have the racks for the top of my car, but after 7+ years of using the same (Thule) rack on all of my cars, I've since switched over to just folding the rear seat and throwing them in the trunk for a couple of reason that otherss have mentioned but I'll echo/summarize:

MPG on the highway suffers with the roof racks
Protect your boards from salt, dirt, water, general road grime
It's easy to buy a cheap ($20-$30) unpadded bag to protect your car from your board
One less thing to do when getting ready to hit the road and shred
Don't advertise to other drivers and LEO that you're some "punk" snowboarder


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## tony10 (Jun 15, 2013)

just get a tarp and put it in the trunk and the backs of the seats when you fold them down, or buy a board bag.. 

a roof rack is nice but by no means neccessary..

definitely enough room too as i have a mk4 jetta and fit them (multiple boards) fine


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## KansasNoob (Feb 24, 2013)

tony10 said:


> just get a tarp and put it in the trunk and the backs of the seats when you fold them down, or buy a board bag..
> 
> a roof rack is nice but by no means neccessary..
> 
> definitely enough room too as i have a mk4 jetta and fit them (multiple boards) fine


Only thing with a jetta is you have to angle them and/or scoot the seat a little if you want to put them thru the 40(drivers side).


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## jhowell09 (Sep 28, 2013)

Yeah, I think everyone has convinced me to just go with the trunk. I already have a board bag too so I should be good to go. 

Thanks for the advice everyone!


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## Deacon (Mar 2, 2013)

My problem is fitting five people with gear. Can't do it with the gear inside. Not too worried about road grime since the gear is 6+ feet off the ground.


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## tony10 (Jun 15, 2013)

KansasNoob said:


> Only thing with a jetta is you have to angle them and/or scoot the seat a little if you want to put them thru the 40(drivers side).


I dont .. what size board do you ride?


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## jhowell09 (Sep 28, 2013)

tony10 said:


> I dont .. what size board do you ride?


I've had my board (a 156) in my car on the 40 side as well and didn't have a problem. Maybe you sit a lot further back than me. I'm only 5'8".

Another problem I run into is having subwoofers and an amp in the trunk. It all fits but it takes some maneuvering (not to mention making sure water doesn't touch any of the electronics).


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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

KansasNoob said:


> Only thing with a jetta is you have to angle them and/or scoot the seat a little if you want to put them thru the 40(drivers side).


YOu should try the MK4 Golf.... when I had one... it went up on the roof.


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## ekb18c (Mar 11, 2013)

Buy a roof rack and a box. Less drag and you can protect the boards in case you are worried about the elements.


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## tony10 (Jun 15, 2013)

Yea i ride a 150 and almost have too much room. I find that it slides around


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## Lamps (Sep 3, 2011)

tanscrazydaisy said:


> the poorman's audi A4 was the 1998 to 2005 VW Passat


Yah, I agree, GTI much sportier and fun than a4


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## Oldman (Mar 7, 2012)

And the best version of that Passat is the 1.8L 5 speed 4Motion. ( no longer an available drive train option) :sad:

I would not compare it to the A4 as it has the interior room of an A6.

Best A6 ever built !!!!!! :thumbsup:


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## KansasNoob (Feb 24, 2013)

tony10 said:


> I dont .. what size board do you ride?


I have a 154. It's my buddy's car, we were test fitting to see if it would work. I do have a wheeled bag which adds some length. I had the seat wayyy back and reclined, for most people it'd be fine.


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## Triple8Sol (Nov 24, 2008)

Here's the setup I had on my B5 S4 sedan, which is the same B5 bodystyle as your A4. It was an all Yakima setup: Q clips, Q towers and round bars. A Thule square bar setup would also be relatively more economical than a Whispbar or Thule Aero setup. I ran the Yakima Fat Cat 6 ski rack in Winter and Thule Sidearm bike racks in Summer.


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## VanillaEps (Sep 17, 2013)

Triple8Sol said:


> Here's the setup I had on my B5 S4 sedan, which is the same B5 bodystyle as your A4. It was an all Yakima setup: Q clips, Q towers and round bars. A Thule square bar setup would also be relatively more economical than a Whispbar or Thule Aero setup. I ran the Yakima Fat Cat 6 ski rack in Winter and Thule Sidearm bike racks in Summer.


I use the same rack for my mountain bike. But I use the Snowboard Carrier for the snowboard.


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## MikeCL (Oct 13, 2012)

sheepstealer said:


> I think you're looking at around minimum $400 for the entire setup. And that's just for your basic rack. More $ for aerodynamics, bigger racks, coffins, etc.
> 
> I'm looking into this now for my Impreza. Shit's expensive, but think of it this way - you'll never have to buy a rack again.
> 
> I'd look around craigslist too, I bet you could find a used rack for less, just gotta make sure its compatible with your car.


I want a cargo box for my Outback but geez man the prices :-/ I know people said to check online at craigslist and the like but it always ends up being something that wont fit my car.


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## aiidoneus (Apr 7, 2011)

Lamps said:


> Yah, I agree, GTI much sportier and fun than a4


The new a4's are too big. GTI is the identical engine, with the exception that they tweak the a4 for an extra 7 hp. Very fun car, although the Golf R is what I want next.


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## aiidoneus (Apr 7, 2011)

I ordered a Thule Force Aplin for this year. But I will only have it on when we have 3 or more people.


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

MikeCL said:


> I want a cargo box for my Outback but geez man the prices :-/ I know people said to check online at craigslist and the like but it always ends up being something that wont fit my car.


Join REI? You get a coupon when you join, get to pick exact size/color. The new adjustments and adaptability to different bars make 'em pretty nice. Now that I have one.....can't imagine not.


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## MikeCL (Oct 13, 2012)

mojo maestro said:


> Join REI? You get a coupon when you join, get to pick exact size/color. The new adjustments and adaptability to different bars make 'em pretty nice. Now that I have one.....can't imagine not.


Been a member for a year.. I was just in the store 3 days ago but I was looking for jackets at the time. what I meant was if the used box is too long my hatch will hit it.


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

I got what you meant.........go to REI and buy a short one. Use your dividends in March.


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