New Car & Thule Roof Rack
 

Hi,

So I took ownership in January 2018 of a XC90 R Design MY2017, first registered January 2017 .

I'd previously owned a Audi Q3 but had been lucky enough to have a baby daughter with my wife recently, with the baby "travel system" we take around plus the dog we needed something bigger hence the new car. After test driving a few comparable cars we settled on the Volvo XC90.

I paid £42,500 as a cash buyer from Mashalls in Bishop Stortford, this included xenium pack, winter pack, family pack, 2 years free servicing and a full tank of diesel. The dealership were great to work with and I really got to know the car on the 500 mile journey back to Aberdeen :car-smiley-003:

I've already fitted a set of mud flaps which I saw recommended on the forum from ebay and have since fitted a Thule WingBar. I previously had a Thule SquareBar on the Audi Q3 and had modified a larger square bar to fit. The recommended WingBar for the XC90 is just 127cm long, which I was a little surprised at considering the car is 200.8cm wide (including mirrors). The next size and largest WingBar is 150cm, I believed I could get this to fit with some minor modifications without it having a dangerous overhang.

When I tried to fit the WingBar unmodified it was sitting correctly on one roof rail but over hanging the other ever so slightly:

https://imgur.com/q5NqSjN

https://imgur.com/EuiU0tX

https://imgur.com/q5NqSjN

I estimated this overhang to be 10cm approx, so decided to cut 55mm into each bottom channel so the WingBar could sit on each roof rail:

https://imgur.com/GyFRF1A

https://imgur.com/ACEOrAQ

The WingBar now sits central and the outside edges don't overhang the car doors:

https://imgur.com/zoXZoef

https://imgur.com/zoXZoef

I'm now able to fit my double snowboard roof rack mount and have room for my large roof box in time for going away to France, albeit I could have stayed in Scotland and had a pretty decent ski holiday :kilt:.

In hindsight I could have probably just shaved off 35mm off each end of the lower channel, I don't think the extra 20mm extra I have done will severly weaken it, the WingBar is quite a complex cross section (compared to the square bar) and I'm sure the bending modulus is quite high.

Due to me making the underside channel longer I bought an additional genuine rubber filler strip (Thule part number 52105) for £4.99 from ebay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-T...53.m2749.l2649

Thule part numbers for the kit I fitted are:

Thule WingBar 963
Thule Rapid System 753
Kit 4058

As a back to back comparison I can say I don't hear or notice the WingBar when fitted compared to the old hum I used to get from square bar, so I'm very happy.

I had hoped to get a way with just a pair of snow socks for the front wheels for the drive to resort in France, but have since opted for a full set of winter wheels due to the on going Beast from the East. I'll add to the post once I've had a chance to test them out.

Thanks for looking :thumbs_up:

I've had a wingbar edge on my old V60 and picked up the same for my new XC60- I like how it sits lower and is flush with the roof edges :thumbs_up:

As for snow chains- from my experience snowsocks are a waste of money.. the only way to go is propper winter tires. Additionally, for extreme stuff I carry a set of these: https://fr.michelin-lifestyle.com/en...grip-evolution Cheaper than good set of snow chains, super easy to fit and quiet/no vibrations whatsoever.

Is there a risk of knocking the sharks fin aerial using the low wingbar. The higher bars keep the load clear the sharks fin.

No, the fin is safe :) Don't have any pics of my car with the bars on but this is the wingbar edge on a V90- you get the idea.. The cargo box is about 1in above the fin..

https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram...90524416_n.jpg

Thule low wing bars are fine on an XC90.

Just an update on this post.

The winter tyre & wheel combo I ordered earlier in the year never materialised and eventually I had to claim the costs back via my credit card. Needless to say I wouldn't recommend Performance Alloys based on my experience :angry_smile:.

In preparation for this winter I'd started looking around online recently. I was tempted with some very nice looking alloys on ebay but was a little skeptical about them not being CE or TUV stamped. For piece of mind I set my sights on a set of wolfrace alloys, as they are light weight and made in the UK.

Demon Tweaks were offering interest free credit whilst being very competitive on price. I had planned to order my tyres separately as they didn't list them on their website but they contacted me and offered a good price and interest free credit again.

The wheels and tyres arrived approximately 7 days after placing the order. With the temperatures already dropping in Aberdeen and frequently below 10 degrees when I'm making my way to and from work I thought I may as well fit them, photo links below:

Side view: https://imgur.com/a/FGBEZ3h
Front wheel: https://imgur.com/a/VMNNZUl
Close up: https://imgur.com/a/HH2z0du

Note the 18" wheels are very very close to clashing with the front brake calipers :eek:. I've driven the car a couple of times and there are no scuffs on the alloys so I think I'm alright but will keep an eye on them.

Tyres are the new for this year Nokian WR SUV4 235/60R18 107 V XL. I'll let people know how I get on once the temperatures drop.

8x18 ET42.5 is an approved wheel size for all versions of XC90- so you should be fine.

Haldrex. Do you know what is the similar approved wheel size is for the MY19 XC60's?

Are you sure? My 6 spoke 19s on my 2016 XC90 T8 are incredibly close to the front calipers and my XC90 Volvo spacesaver spare does not even fit on the front. The calipers are closer than the 12.5mm which you would lose from dropping to 18inch wheels - unless of course the 18 inch wheels are considerably thinner....

The Volvo winter wheel/tyre brochure says that the 18" wheels cannot be fitted to a T8 XC90.