I have whispar's on both our cars - rails on one and normal fittings on the other. The service from the shop was outstanding. I needed the racks on one car for the weekend - they had the brackets couriered down from sydney to the distribution centre and then had one of their staff drive to pick them up so that I would have them in time.
The racks are excellent - I don't worry about extra padding - I make sure the grip is over the bars - I used the standard pull 10' or 12' straps that I have bought at surf shops. In Byron last year I hired a board and used a set of these straps with 2 towels roled up in place of the rack which worked unbelievablly well.
I am in Melbourne but can't have more praise for the shop - have sent everyone I know there for racks since I bought mine. The shop is in Bulleen.
I just bought rail racks from Rola for my wife's X-Trail. Easy to install and easy enough to remove (maybe 5 mins) if you want them completely removed or a couple of minutes to remove the bars only.
Kanu Locls are good but you need to be careful not to wrench down too hard on them as the cables in the strap can imprint the rails of the boards.
We use Hobie Roof rack covers. They are 36" wide and attach in seconds and look the goods as well as being nice and padded.
The Kanu Lock 2.5's ($79.95) only for one board. Two boards or more and you need the Kanu lock 4.0's ($89.95)
Another option is the 40mm wide ION Straps with super heavy duty stainless buckles. This is what I use, they are the product of the year for me. I love them.
At about 5.30pm i got a phone call from the Rola distributor (who refunded my money yesterday) saying Rola just delivered my roof racks via courier......WTF!
I have suggested they send them back to Rola with the bill.
