Bike Rack for IS300h

[Gaurav Bhandari]

On 9/8/2023 at 4:40 PM, wharfhouse said:

In what way? 

 

On 9/8/2023 at 7:47 PM, MartinH said:

Not big enough perhaps?

 

On 9/8/2023 at 7:49 PM, agent_dess said:

Never had issue with it, last year we did 1350 miles around the UK with 3 kids in tow, no bother. 

I suspect you don't like the subwoofer parcel shelf?

Sorry, was traveling for work so was not able to respond. So, I went to pickup 1 person from the airport who had 2 big suitcases and 1 small handbag. In the boot, all I was able to accommodate was just one suitcase and small bag, while the second suitcase was in the middle seat at back. Maybe IS300H is small in boot compared to the one you are driving? From a sedan I would expect that it should accommodate at least 4 passenger and at least 2 big bags and 1 small to go into the boot.... Maybe a wrong expectation 😞

[agent_dess]

Hey folks,

Was just bored one day and thought I would browse on amazon.  Turns they sell roof bars for the iS 2013 onwards at a fraction of the price official Lexus ones.

Made by MENABO

Hard to say how they will turn out but at least its an alternative 

[agent_dess]

I ended going for this:

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel3.php?emulate=roofbar&query=8124&boxpackage=50018

What's included:

• Roof Bars
• Fitting kit
• Locks
• 2 x bike Carriers

Just a note:
The package deal doesn't quite work on the website, when you select the roof bar it doesn't add the carriers, ended up phoning them and ordering over the phone.

[Bob99]

Hi Dess, have you fitted the rack to your car yet. I have been thinking of buying the Cruz rack just for occasional use carrying ladders etc. do the clamps fit ok above the doors as that is my concern they will mark the paintwork

[agent_dess]

7 hours ago, Bob99 said:

Hi Dess, have you fitted the rack to your car yet. I have been thinking of buying the Cruz rack just for occasional use carrying ladders etc. do the clamps fit ok above the doors as that is my concern they will mark the paintwork

Not yet mate, not even opened the boxes yet, been away a few days, will take a look tomorrow and report back.

[agent_dess]

I may create a separate thread to give an overview and show the roof bar attached to the car but for now i had a quick peak in the box to see what the fitting kit looked like.
I will only be showing the content of box: 935 859

 

What's in the box:
- Rubber gaskets for both front x2 and rear x2
- Vinyl stick (orange colour) x 4
- Metal attachments x 4 they have a snub which would fit into the holes on the door frame
- Packet of screws and washers
- Fitting instructions

So judging by the rubber gasket and vinyl stickers looks like the car body work will remain in good condition 👍

Also pictured is the lock & key set packet and the a the roof bar box.

[Bob99]

Thanks for the info Dess, I will look forward to seeing your video if you do it

[agent_dess]

@Bob99 Got round to installing the roof rack this morning, didn't take any pictures of the process (long story, see my other post about issue I had)

Here is the finished article :

[Bob99]

Thanks for the pictures Dess, glad to see you finally got it fitted. Amazing that the problems you encountered were from Lexus! I’ll have a look and measure the holes on mine and see if they are similar.

[agent_dess]

Small correction to this.

I fitted the aero bars back to front, the narrow end is supposed to be rear facing with the thicker bit towards the front of the car.

Noticed last night and this morning when driving at 50mph there was a annoying whistle/howling sound so when I googled it then I realised I messed up the aero dynamics.  So corrected the direction now hopefully should be quiet again at 50mph+

[LenT]

4 minutes ago, agent_dess said:

Noticed last night and this morning when driving at 50mph there was an annoying whistle/howling sound so when I googled it then I realised I messed up the aero dynamics. 

Yes, this is clearly a standard aerofoil section.  

So be particularly careful when driving into a headwind.  Combine that with a road speed of, say, 150mph and you might achieve lift off!  😊

[Mr_Groundhog]

Scary stuff all of this.... i would not dare, so kudos for that.

I think if I was in the need to carry stuff on the roof I'd just change my IS for an SUV or something like that

[agent_dess]

39 minutes ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

Scary stuff all of this.... i would not dare, so kudos for that.

I think if I was in the need to carry stuff on the roof I'd just change my IS for an SUV or something like that

Yeah but you still wouldn't put a mud laden bike inside an SUV 😆

[agent_dess]

Further updates on this, I'm sending the Cruz Airo T roof bars back and getting the Yakima S16B instead.

Despite fixing the bar direction was still getting the annoying howling sound, but this time when car is decelerating!  I spent a good 40mins on a video call with "Roof Box" company to try and diagnose the issue.  Yakima is about £80 mor expensive but the peace and quiet should be worth it.

[agent_dess]

Final Update

As per my last message, i sent Cruz Airo T back and went for the more expensive Yakima Yakima roof bars - S16B black bars with K797 kit:
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/roofbars/yakima_120cm_through_bars_2_black_no_yks16b/Qx%40w%2C6M4gNax5vN1Yv0vegd3uHKu~4Wd5iiohyCmoUdUDqZDeN2l_m9zQv0qSVwYV
There is the silver option if you want it.

Installation is similar to the Cruz Airo T, the difference is:
- Foot brackets do not have a pin, so you cannot use the pin hole in the door frame. This means you need to align it then measure the distance between the middle of the bracket to the centre of the door pillar.
I was a bit annoyed by the lack of pin, but once you follow the spacing measurement you realise those pin hole would have been useless because space is different.

• The bar sits on a rubber foot which has a notch to help you align where it sits on the roof.
• there is no silly rubber strips to cut and fit like on the Cruz Airo T, so installation is bit simpler.
• I can take bars with me to the next car i get, as the bar length can be adjusted i will just need buy the relevant smart foot for the next car.

Last but not least

• They are quiet 🙂

To the point where you can leave them on and never be bothered by them

I would like to add i went for the Throughbar option

 There is a more flush option available which can be found here:
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/roofbars/yakima_95cm_flush_bars_2_black_no_s5b/Qx%40w%2C6M4gNax5vN1Yv0vegd3uHKu~4Wd5iiohyCmoUdUmUS44pkFYtY87}A7QW1CO

[ganzoom]

On 10/26/2023 at 11:59 AM, agent_dess said:

Yeah but you still wouldn't put a mud laden bike inside an SUV 😆

I use a tow bar mounted carrier on our SUV 2-3 times a week (I cycle to work by leaving the car at the school doing the school run). The bike also fits inside boot without having to drop the rear seats, but as you say I don’t want the inside of the car as dirty as the outside. 

Our IS300H sadly cannot compare to the SUV for practicality or the pedal bike for excitement. It is however more reliable than either, but where is the fun in life without some unexpected shenanigans 🙂

[Stever750]

I feel your pain. I'm 6ft1 and a seized seat clamp bolt meant it wasn't going in. That's a real drawback for me as I used to take my bike everywhere when I travelled with work. I really don't want a roof rack, if I do I'll find the thule version hopefully. Used their aero bars on last two skodas and they worked superbly, literally. The only other option is to buy a new bike just for travelling and dry days and keep the seat post functioning! 

[CypressPhil]

I found a good solution for carrying muddy bikes inside the car… use the wife’s car 😆

[Stever750]

I've realised that the only practical way to carry a bike short distances is on the roof. The Yakima bars are out of stock at roofbox, and it seems Thule don't make a kit that fits! Lexus has their own rebranded version of presumably Thule at £300 a set which is silly. Are the bars common to any other current Lexus models, or are they unique? I've been searching for roof bars IS300 phase 3 (18 plate) any other suggestions or recommendations welcome.

[ColinBarber]

15 hours ago, Stever750 said:

I've been searching for roof bars IS300 phase 3 (18 plate) any other suggestions or recommendations welcome.

Pick up a used set on eBay. Or look at Cruz bars which get good reviews and are much cheaper than Thule.

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel3.php?emulate=roofbar&query=8124

 

[Stever750]

The Cruz bars are noisy though, so would prefer not to use them; I've owned them before for a different car....

Already have a search setup on eBay, nothing there suitable at the moment.

[ColinBarber]

Just now, Stever750 said:

The Cruz bars are noisy though, so would prefer not to use them; I've owned them before for a different car....

Even their premium aero designed ones?

[Stever750]

Yes, those were the ones I had. 

On 10/27/2023 at 6:40 PM, agent_dess said:

Further updates on this, I'm sending the Cruz Airo T roof bars back and getting the Yakima S16B instead.

Despite fixing the bar direction was still getting the annoying howling sound, but this time when car is decelerating!  I spent a good 40mins on a video call with "Roof Box" company to try and diagnose the issue.  Yakima is about £80 mor expensive but the peace and quiet should be worth it.

I'm not the only one that had a poor experience.

[Cotswold Pete]

1 hour ago, ColinBarber said:

Even their premium aero designed ones?

How about these, I have seen them on quite few high performance cars.  Not cheap, but have less surface area to create noise and drag.

https://seasucker.eu/

I use a Saris Bones for carrying bikes, but rear mounted bikes totally kill dynamics, so fuel consumption on my LS went from 34+ to 24 on a motorway run, a roof mount would have been better

[Stever750]

5 minutes ago, Cotswold Pete said:

How about these, I have seen them on quite few high performance cars.  Not cheap, but have less surface area to create noise and drag.

https://seasucker.eu/

I use a Saris Bones for carrying bikes, but rear mounted bikes totally kill dynamics, so fuel consumption on my LS went from 34+ to 24 on a motorway run, a roof mount would have been better

That's an interesting concept, I can see that removing them is really simple too, unlike conventional roof bars. The price is a bit steep though, more than the roof bars from lexus....