# OEM Roof Rails for A3/S3



## toutenhoofd (Jun 20, 2010)

I've seen forum posts about adding OEM roof rails to the Sportback A3, and I know it's possible but expensive, but I've not seen anything about doing that to the 2015 MQB sedan. I would love to add a roof rack that actually looks good, where the feet don't wrap around the edge of the roof, and the only way I've seen that done in an aesthetically pleasing way is with OEM factory rails. It _can_ be done with Thule metal rails or with permanently mounted Whispbar feet, but I don't like the look of the Thule rails and I don't like that you can't remove the permanently mounted Whispbar feet. 

Does anyone know if Audi makes OEM rails for the sedan?

Thanks


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## IHIERBal (Sep 26, 2014)

I have the OEM rack on my S3 sedan, it does wrap around the door sill though. At first it bothered me a bit, coming from a Mazdaspeed3, where the factory rack system did not have to do so.


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## toutenhoofd (Jun 20, 2010)

IHIERBal said:


> I have the OEM rack on my S3 sedan, it does wrap around the door sill though. At first it bothered me a bit, coming from a Mazdaspeed3, where the factory rack system did not have to do so.


But you've grown used to it now? I'd love to see a photo. I'd also like to know if you take it on and off, or just leave it on. 

Thanks.


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## IHIERBal (Sep 26, 2014)

I've kept the roof rack on since installing. I actually just removed the snowboard/ski rack only because I'm going on a fairly long road trip and I won't be bringing any boards.


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## lilmira (Feb 4, 2014)

I have the OEM "clamp on" crossbars on my GTI. I was a bit worried about scratches to the paint and whatnot at the beginning but it has been non-issue. I always clean the contact points on the car first before I put the crossbars on. It takes me roughly 10mins including grabbing them in/out of the box from my basement so I only put them on when I need them and I take them off after use. The only thing that I didn't like was the larger profile of the crossbars. Looking at the pictures, it looks like they use the thinner ones for the A3/S3 so I'll be fine with them.


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## IHIERBal (Sep 26, 2014)

I forgot to mention, I had our clear bra guy at the dealership put a strip where the roof racks mount to.


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## lilmira (Feb 4, 2014)

I was thinking about that too but I wasn't sure if the pressure from the clamp would do anything to the film so I didn't bother.


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## toutenhoofd (Jun 20, 2010)

Anyone know if this Whispbar system would work on the 2015 a3/s3 sedan? Whispbar shows it fitting the a3 hatch. http://www.rackwarehouse.com/whispbar-audi-a3-06-11-complete-smart-foot-flush-bar-car-roof-rack.html

I imagine the sunroof might not clear the low crossbar. 

Thanks


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