I just sold my old Mazda 6 and got a Mazda CX-5. Unfortunately my Saris roof rack no longer works on the new car. Saris no longer supports roof racks so I don’t know what the proper fit clip is for my new car.
The thing I loved about my old Saris roof rack was how easy it was to put on and off. I would install and remove as needed since it only took me 5 minutes. The rack attached to the car simply by twisting the ends so the rack tightened onto the roof. Very simple. What would be a good replacement rack that operates in the same manner? Trying to keep the cost down but not sure that is going to happen.
OR if anyone has attached the Saris to a Mazda CX-5 and knows the proper fit clip # that would also help!
I’ve got a Thule setup on my Mazda 3. It’s both good & not so good.
I’ve got fixed mounting points under my rain gutters. Unfortunately, Mazda decided not to spec the US-based cars with the little trap doors on the gutters to access the mounting points. So instead of paying for Canadian or Euro gutters, I just drilled through the gutters on mine. Minor inconvenience.
Once you get through to the mounting points, you just pop a dual-threaded post in there, and then you put the feet over the post & tighten down. The fit kit matches the feet to my roofline fairly well. I used the 460r feet & Aeroblade cross bars. They now have flush-mounted Aeroblades that are even cleaner.
Noise at highway speed is pretty low, and I see no changes in gas mileage. You have to be good about mounting the rubber strips on the cross bars to cover any open t-slot, as that would cause noise.
Unfortunately, the 518 Echelon trays that I got, which were the highest-end ones they made, are a pain in the ass. The idea is great, the actual usability kind of sucks. I have to take them off the roof regularly to lube & grease them, and even still, one side of the fork mount usually wants to stick.
On the upside for you though, they now have better trays with different mechanisms, and I’ve used them on other peoples cars & they are much nicer than my Echelons. That or just pick up some Rocky Mounts trays & pair them with Aeroblade crossbars.
You might think about a SeaSucker rack. Easy on/off, super secure (I couldn’t get it to blow off the roof at 110-115 mph it with 3 bikes on the roof).
https://www.seasucker.com/
Iirc there are a few threads on them.