Tell me how well a ski rack works on the roof of a 08 Civic

[GT40]

I bought a 2008 Honda Civic GX to save money on gas, running to and from the mountain. I have a hitch rack right now that carries my MTB and it works very well.

Now I've got to come up with a good way to carry skis. Does a roof rack on a Civic mess with the roof paint or cause dents? Do the attachment points mess up the window seals or make the ride noisier? Or does anybody know of a good hitch ski rack, that isn't a pain to use?

Any experience you have about this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, GT40

[Hugh Conway]

If number of people in car = 2 or less, fold down rear seat and put skis inside.

[GT40]

If number of people in car = 2 or less, fold down rear seat and put skis inside.

Rear seat wont fold down. The natural gas tank takes up most of the trunk.

[I Dunno]

Who uses natural gas? phhh...

[GT40]

Who uses natural gas? phhh...

But it's so cheap to run. $0.85 per GGE. 130 octane, abt 40 mpg.

[Buzzworthy]

Doc, had a rack on my old civic in college. That was a bit ago.

Maybe call these guys to ask more questions?

http://www.orsracksdirect.com/honda-...lariat-sl.html


after you figure out the mount and if it works to your satisfaction, have you thought about getting a box instead? It is very nice to keep the road crap off your stuff and whatever skis you aren't using are locked in the box where peeps can't see what nice skis you have.

[GT40]

Doc, had a rack on my old civic in college. That was a bit ago.

Maybe call these guys to ask more questions?

http://www.orsracksdirect.com/honda-...lariat-sl.html

I used them to buy my Jeep rack. I guess I'd like to get the opinion of someone who isn't trying to sell me something.

[Dromond]

I didn't even know that car existed. Cool! How frequent are fueling stations in your area?

[Buzzworthy]

Honda Civic forums?????

I have not seen your new ride but I hear it is sweet.

[TeleThor]

I had a '00 civic and my girlfriend has a '05 or so. My Thule rack worked/works great. No dents or damage. Pretty much all racks have rubber pads on the towers to ensure good fit and zero damage.

[GT40]

I didn't even know that car existed. Cool! How frequent are fueling stations in your area?

about every 30 miles

check out CNGchat.com for map info

I can drive to Basin 9 times for the same cost as once in my 6cyl Jeep.

TeleThor, thanks for the heads up.

[Hugh Conway]

Rear seat wont fold down. The natural gas tank takes up most of the trunk.

Huh, didn't realize they had a CNG variant now.

I have a Thule rack for my '05. no damage, does decrease fuel economy, hence the skis are normally inside.

[Dromond]

about every 30 miles

check out CNGchat.com for map info

I can drive to Basin 9 times for the same cost as once in my 6cyl Jeep.

TeleThor, thanks for the heads up.

Solid! Until we get access to good electrics or something along those lines a CNG car actually sounds pretty viable. Watch for that mileage to decrease a bit once you have to put stuff on the roof, though. If you a true hypermiling nerd you would take up snowlerblading before losing the extra efficiency.

[eldereldo]

Thule racks fit great, don't damage anything, just make sure you clean the spot the pads sit before you put the rack on. It does increase the noise a bit. I don't think you want a hitch rack as then your skis are sitting right where they will get covered by all the crap your car will be throwing up. Another great thing to add is a ski box, protects the skis from crap, easy to load and somewhere to leave extra pairs. It will decrease your mileage a bit depending on big/high you get.

[Concussed]

I can't wait for a CNG setup in Jackson....my jeep will be the first converted. T Boone's the man.

That being said...I may have an extra set of Yakima bars and an old Yakima rack if you wanted to do the whole gutter setup (you'd need to get the mounts).

[TeleThor]

For what it's worth, despite having good luck with a normal ski rack in the past, I'd also suggest going for a rocket box. You still have to get the towers/feet and crossbars, but like eldereldo said, all your stuff is protected from the elements and you get a nice place to leave an extra pair of skis while you're skiing. And you can use it for hauling other stuff like lumber and pipes, without worrying about tying it to your car. These days they're super easy to put on and take off.

I had a buddy who had a regular rack on his car a few years ago and had to replace his bindings because they got so rusted up and weakened from all the salt that got kicked up from driving the canyon roads.

[Noonan]

Had a Thule roof rack on a Honda Prelude years ago - no problems at all. I would assume, with the way Honda works, that the setup for a Civic would be almost identical.

You'll want a fairing - I tried mine with out it for a while and had some road noise that pretty much disappeared when I put the fairing on. I'd also assume the fairing would help out with gas mileage - though I can quantify it.

[Blurred]

Will you be changing your name to 08 Civic?

[Concussed]

Had a Thule roof rack on a Honda Prelude years ago - no problems at all. I would assume, with the way Honda works, that the setup for a Civic would be almost identical.

You'll want a fairing - I tried mine with out it for a while and had some road noise that pretty much disappeared when I put the fairing on. I'd also assume the fairing would help out with gas mileage - though I can quantify it.

2nd the fairing. big diff in noise (not a big help with bikes though). and you can put your super sick tgr stickers up there....

[Sinecure]

I don't think a box makes much of a difference in mileage from just mounting skis with a regular roof rack. Either approach will cut your mileage by 1-3mpg (or however you measure with CNG).

I used to have a Thule with the specially bent feet for my Acura Integra. It was a bit complex because I had a 2-door, but it worked great. With a four-door you won't need the extra braces that I had to mess with. If you mount a box on it, I bet you can just loosen the feet and lift the entire assembly off the car (box and cross-bars all together). If I had that car, I'd set that up and rig some sort of strap/pulley system in my garage so I could just lift it off and lower it back on whenever I needed it. Since I drive an SUV, I can't fit in my garage with a box on top

[stuckathuntermtn]

There's this crazy Swedish company called Thule (too-lee). I here they actually make racks that actually fit on top of different types of cars
and they work pretty well. Get the fairing.

[GT40]

Thanks every body for the help and suggestions. I hadn't considered a box, but now I'll measure the garage door and see if it would fit.

The Civic GX is great for commuting, but once the snow really starts coming, I'll drive the Jeep instead. I hope the roads are as covered as they were last season!!! (I had to use 4 wheel drive lots of times)

Either approach will cut your mileage by 1-3mpg (or however you measure with CNG).

We measure it as PPN, Parsecs per Nanoliter.

[kttate75]

There's this crazy Swedish company called Thule (too-lee). I here they actually make racks that actually fit on top of different types of cars
and they work pretty well. Get the fairing.

Believe it or not, there's an American company doing virtually the same thing called Yakima (yah-kih-mah).

[Sinecure]

If the civic won't fit in the garage with the box on it, you live in a hobbit house.

Oh, and I did manage to dent the roof of my Integra with the rack. When I had a bike mounted on it and drove into the garage - Doh! Now I put the garbage can in the middle of the garage when I put the roof box on my car. It reminds me not to drive in when I get home at the end of the weekend.

[Buzzworthy]

GT, the Liberty fit in the garage with the box. Now it is on the Subie though for all of last season, which sits outside as my motorcycle and man cave take presendence.

Works equally well for gear in the summer.