whispbar s17 GTI project
First, thanks @Jason3d for the great write-up… it's the best I could find on the subject. Second, it was really tough to find photos of GTI's with the whispbar through bars. Everyone has gone flush mount, which does indeed look nice, but what if you want to carry two bikes and a short box? 'Hatchback-friendly" Thule Force (formerly Ascent) and the equivalent Yakima box are 34-35 inches wide. Maybe you can squeeze a bike on the flush-mount rack with a 34-inch box, but I haven't seen pictures of it. But I didn't stop at the still-elegant s16 through bar system, I bumped up to the smash-your-forehead 53 inches of the s17. Since I don't intend to leave the bars on all the time, I was less concerned about streamlining and more concerned with carrying a lot of stuff on the roof. THIRTEEN notches in the front and EIGHT in the rear, ya heard right.
I haven't picked up the box yet but did get two Thule Paceline fork-mount bike trays and matching keys to pair with futurebox. They're pretty slick… it's no longer a gutter at all. I chose this model to keep the width to a minimum, intending to mount a tray outside the feet on one side and the outer attachments of the box on the other side.
In summation, for the google bots: 2010 Mk6 VW GTI with Yakima Whispbar s17 through bar system and Thule Paceline trays.
Rack from rackattack and trays from local bike shop. Photos are not great. Bars are set up in asymmetry as an experiment.
FWIW: with one bike on the roof, windows and moonroof and shade closed, I didn't notice any additional noise. With windows up and moonroof open at high speed, you hear some whoosh around the bars but no whistle.
