I have some Thule Aero bars but need the correct foot pack and fitting kit for the 07 Santa Fe with integrated roof rails.

I've been searching around and there appears to be a lot of erronous information around. The Thule site and numerous retailers in the UK either quote the fixed point fitting kit or the old style roof rail fitting kit (755) as being suitable for the 07' Santa Fe.

However, the Hyundai UK Accessories site shows some Thule Aero bars with what looks like a 4900 foot pack:

Thule 4900 Rapid Intracker
http://www.thule.com/Thule/ProductDetailPage____45529.aspx

Hyundai Supplied Thule Aero bars
http://www.hyundai.co.uk/accessories/towAn...anta+Fe&ref=147

You can also see the Hyundai roof rails pushed to the back behind the Thule bars - nice to see Hyundai confident in their own equipment..........

So, I need to know the exact foot pack (4900/4901/4902/4903) and the correct fitting kit (i.e. rubber inserts).

Does anyone know for sure?

Why not just use the factory bars?

Good question...........

1. Because the factory bars don't move far enough forward (apparently).
2. I dont want to drill holes (to get the factory bars to slide further forward) and risk the warranty after just getting the car.
3. The Thule bars can be fitted further forward without any drilling required (apparently).
4. I already have a set of Aeros so I only need to pay for the feet and fitting kit.
5. I've already got a fairly large Thule box and I don't want it hanging off the back of the SF with it's nose in the air, interfering with the tailgate and ruining the fuel economy.

You're choice, of course, but I think you might be a bit paranoid about the warranty issue. Dealers are actually doing this mod for customers, so doubt there is any risk. There is really no structural reason for limiting movement of the bars forward. The only reason they don't have a hole pre-installed up there is because of the sun roof.

I have a large Thule box myself and did the drilling to move the bar forward. It is very easy to do, and much cheaper than buying foot packs. It took about 20 minutes with a standard drill.

See posts here:

www.hyundai-forums.com/index.php?showtopic=16754

and here:

www.hyundai-forums.com/t22137-luggage-box.htm

Thanks, I don't have a sunroof so that's not an issue. I might consider drilling holes as a last resort if the Thule foot pack is too expensive.

I've heard the factory bars aren't that good - presumably you didn't find that?

Interesting......my local Hyundai service department told me that they had asked the factory if they could do this modification, and were told no for vehicles with a sunroof.
I pointed out that the owner's manual describes being able to move the front crossbar further forward by removing the plastic molding and set screw, and they said that was only possible on the US models as the Canadian models were somehow structurally different. At that point I decided that they probably didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

This post has been edited by PaulB70: Feb 19 2008, 12:52 AM

When I picked the SF up today (hooray!!!) the dealer said they would not recommend drilling of holes in the roof rails to allow the factory bars to move forward. I guess I need clarification from Hyundai HQ seeing as dealers seem to have varying opinions.

I also got a response from a local supplier of Thule roofbars who said that Thule only make the correct footpack and fitting kit for Hyundai. Thule might make an aftermarket kit at some point but no details as to when.

My guess is that Thule supply Hyundai with one of their off the shelf footpacks and fitting kits but they aren't letting on which one to protect their arrangement with Hyundai.

Well, I got the factory roof rails off after reading this thread:

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/t15619-cross...emoval-help.htm

I hadn't realised that the load retaining structures are just 4 plastic pins that only protrude 8.5mm (0.33") into the roof-rail holes. See the attached pic.

No way am I trusting 75-100kg of roof load at ~60mph to those. Hyundai Thule bars for me when I require a roof box.

This post has been edited by StoneIce: Feb 24 2008, 03:23 PM

Attached thumbnail(s)

I am very disappointed to hear that the Santa Fe roof rack made for the UK models have "PLASTIC PINS".

I modified my rack so the front cross bar would move as far forward as possible. When doing so, I noticed the the pins on my rack are COATED STAINLESS STEEL.

If the UK racks really do have plastic pins, I would take that issue to some safety group that you may have in the UK that protects consumers.

I would also check with your Hyundai dealer regarding purchasing new pins such as the type we have here in the States. I am sure they can be retrofitted.

By the way, whether the pins are insterted 1/3 of an inch or 6 inches does not improve shear strength. Only the material the pins are made of does that. In our case, the pins are stainless steel.

In order to shear the pins, you would have to hit something at a relatively high rate of speed. In that case, a sheared pin or two would be your least problem.

David <><

This post has been edited by david-paul-1: Feb 24 2008, 07:22 PM

OK, maybe they are plastic coated steel pins but I can't tell for sure and they still seem fairly flimsy as far as locking devices go.

I have also been reading here that UK users are not recommended to use the factory cross rails for load bearing duties and Thule don't trust those pins either...

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/index.php?sh...37&hl=cross+bar

All the posts I have read on this forum saying the cross rails are flimsy / poor / non-load bearing etc have come from UK users - maybe there is a difference in UK and US cross rails? Also, if Hyundai was completely satisfied with their own bars - why do they sell Thule bars that do exactly the same job?

The factory cross bars are rated to 220 lbs (100kg) evenly distributed, according to the manual. How much weight do you need to carry?

1. "why do they sell Thule bars that do exactly the same job?"

Duhhhhhhhh.

Because Thule is in the business to make money.

2. "UK users are not recommended to use the factory cross rails for load bearing duties".

I have put all 180 pounds of my weight on each bar without any negative consequences. Just how much weight do you expect to put on these bars? According to my experience and calculations, both bars woudl be able to carry 360 pounds total. This may or not be to Santa Fe specs, but never the less, this is what I know they can handle.

I ran a bicycle shop for many years carrying the Thule and Yakima rack line.

Up until a few years ago, the only way you could get a decent rack for a specific purpose was to buy "after market". This is no longer true.

But.........................bottom line, its' your money and you need to do what makes you feel comfortable. After all, that's what keeps the economy running.

Most of us, including me, spend a lot of money every year on things that we don't really need or require. However, I can tell you one thing for sure, when I research something carefully, I usually go with the "in your face" results. You be the judge.

Have fun and enjoy your Santa Fe. These are really fine automobiles for the money and what ever you decide to do, I am sure you enjoy the results.

David <><

Thanks, I'm enjoying it already. Someone I work with bought an Audi Q7 at the same time as I got the SF. I know which one I would rather have and still have money left over for things like roof bars ............. :grin:

There you go. :)

Or in my case, still have enough money left over to buy gas.

David <><

Firstly, Stoneice I apologise for not having returned your PM only I am having problems getting the info you require.

I can tell you for sure that the foot pack you require IS sold by Hyundai but I bought mine direct from a Thule Rep (unboxed) as he was not supposed to tell me what the pack number was.

I will supply a picture as soon as I get home from work. That may help.

Secondly. The reason most of us here in the UK have to buy aftermarket bars is two fold: Firstly and most importantly because no recognised body such as NCAP have crash tested the standard fit roofbars so Hyundai is not allowed to recomend them for load carrying certain items (roof boxes and cycle carriers etc) Laws in the US are different to the EU so US dealers probably can, and do recomend the standard bars? I guess Hyundai are covering their a$$ and making a bit of cash on the side with THULE.

and secondly because most items including roofboxes and bike racks in the UK do not fit the "FATTER" hyundai bars. If you are interested there is only one manufacturer that does fit fat bars properly, and that is an italian company called FAPPA. Trust me I have done the research on this. BUT.....FAPPA bike mounts only fit standard bike frames and not monocoque frames such as those supplied by Orange or Dual suspension frames such as those provided by Marin/Giant/santa cruz/Kona etc.

Aint no way my 3K bike is gonna be trusted on those four pins and rounded bars! it's not only the weight but also how secure it is on the roof rails that counts for me.

So the bottom line is, if you have decent bike/bikes, you have to use the Thule roof bars because of both the reasons listed above.

Alternately buy a tow bar. Which is next on my list.

This post has been edited by dansaaf: Feb 26 2008, 01:58 PM

Dansaaf, many thanks for the info. From the responses here by the guys in North America it would seem the factory bars are rated to 100kg and they use them without any bother.

Personally, I like the Thule Aero bars as you can tie off things on the ends whereas the factory bars are sloped down to the roof rails which reduces loading options as well as them being wider than most fittings cater for. I also like taking roof bars off when I don't need them so I can reduce wind noise and fuel consumption.

I don't have to worry about 2-3K bikes (and I have a towbar anyway) but I will probably be carrying 6-7 people and £1000-£1500 of fencing kit in the roof box on longish journeys in winter when the weather is more likely to be poor, so I want to feel confident in the roof rack system.

I would definitely appreciate any pictures you can provide of the footpacks and fittings as I would like to re-use my existing Aero bars if possible and save a few pounds.

- Stoneice, Dansaaf - was curious what the follow-up was on the Thule Rapid System 4900 adapters. I'd like to get the specific foot pack & fittings info that Dansaaf received from his Thule rep - I'm attempting same in Australia.

Thanks in advance

Sorry 100lbdog, I still don't know what the specific footpack details are. Any luck getting the codes for yours dansaaf?

Still nothing from my end, the rep I got mine from (typically!) no longer works for Thule anymore (he was so helpful as well!) so I'm trying to get my dealer to divulge the info.....

If it helps, mine look exactly the same as the ones in the Hyundai brochure.. :bwekk: Kidding....

Will keep on digging...I'll take one of mine to Halfords, the guys in my local brach have exploded pics of Thule fittings, They may be more helpful than my dealer....

I took my roofbars to Halfords on sunday and it turns out that the Thule Footpack looks identical to the 4903 rebadged by Hyundai. I can't be 100% certain of the fitting kit that holds the aero bars to the 4903's but the feet that connect to my side rails are definately 4903's part of the 4900 series.

I'm not sure if anyone else can confirm the fitting kit number? I hope this helps, give it a whirl from Halfords, the guys there have said any issues they will happily refund.