Roof rail retrofit....Chrome or Black?

-Ju-

-Ju-

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I want to fit the rails to my newly acquired S3 Sportback. I had kind of decided on Chrome, which I think would be easier to source anyway, but on a black car black rails would look more stealthy.
I have chrome on the wheels and the S3 mirrors, but do I really need to carry that to the bars?
Thoughts?
 
satin black
 
Brushed aluminium to match with the mirrors. Black would probably go well but it won't stand out as much. The brushed ali will provide a contrast
 
Our lass doesn't like the rails so the black would be quite stealthy and go some way to making her keep her nose out!
Generally though I do prefer the chrome but on black, the black rails would blend in nice.
Suppose it'll depend on which I find first.
Thanks for the opinions
 
I plastidipped mine if it makes any difference to you. Simple enough to do. Has lasted for quite some time, they were brushed alu before.
 
Not sure I'd be into the whole plastidipping thing, although tbh I've never seen it done!
 
To make her happy & obtain a look, get the black ones, easy decision.
 
Think I would still go for the chrome and make a feature of them , having said that keeping the other half happy is a valid point , good luck :uhm:
 
MattS3 said:
Be great to see a fitting guide/how to, if you go ahead and do this :)
Click to expand...
That'll be easy, take out fixings, stick on, job done........
Just kidding, I'm crap at how-to's, I always jump in and can't be bothered with photos!

KemiksiZ said:
Chrome.. if u would not like, plastidip it ;)
Click to expand...
As said before, don't think I'll be plastidipping if I'm honest

Mike X said:
Think I would still go for the chrome and make a feature of them , having said that keeping the other half happy is a valid point , good luck :uhm:
Click to expand...
I almost bought some chrome ones of eBay but they turned out to be fakes and there were some black ones but the seller had already sold them twice and then relisted at a higher price without selling. I get the impression he's being greedy!
 
Go for chrome. If you don't like the look, then its easy to make them black. On your car I do think that chrome would compliment the wheels, but of course it is a very personal choice. Good luck.
 
Alu (or Chrome). Provides a nice contrast.

I have them on my Sprint blue as I use a roof rack regularly. I have black roof rails on the beemer which is black and to be honest I think it looks dull. Black also seems to mark more easily when mounting the rails. I still cant believe the beemer doesnt mark on the roof rails where the bars should go whereas audi proper mounting points to show you where the bars go.
 
Seems like its a pretty even split then!
I think I'll end up with chrome tbh. I did have chrome on on my last sportback, which was avus and was very happy with them. But if some black ones do come up, I'll consider those too as I think I would be happy with either
Cheers guys:icon_thumright:
 
As an update to this thread, I decided to try and get both black and chrome rails and then decide on fitting which way to go
A couple of pics before I reveal my choice





The drilling was a little scary but the hardest part was removing all the trim.

I actually preferred the black when they were on as they didn't quite draw your eye to them like the chrome do and the chrome ones do seem to weather a lot.
Anyway here she is all fitted!
 
audi upgrades
Great :) i think Its not possible to see ur Panoromic roof is open at Thé first stage, from front?
 
audi upgrades
Both look good. Like the way the chrome/silver bits look different such as wing mirrors and wheels. I have chrome on our sprint blue S3 but, the BMW has black ones on.
 
Would you mind providing fitting details including any anti-corrosion measures taken? Thanks
 
Yorky said:
Would you mind providing fitting details including any anti-corrosion measures taken? Thanks
Click to expand...
The actual fitting was fairly straightforward tbh, as long as you're fairly competent at this kind of thing.
I drilled up from underneath to get the start point and then marked all the rest out from that point on masking tape from above by holding the rail in position. I then started with a 5mm HSS drill and worked out to 13mm as that's the size required for the adjusting shims that go into the roof
All drill holes were treated to primer and top coat before the rails were bolted on
 
3.2 Ju said:
The actual fitting was fairly straightforward tbh, as long as you're fairly competent at this kind of thing.
I drilled up from underneath to get the start point and then marked all the rest out from that point on masking tape from above by holding the rail in position. I then started with a 5mm HSS drill and worked out to 13mm as that's the size required for the adjusting shims that go into the roof
All drill holes were treated to primer and top coat before the rails were bolted on
Click to expand...

Thanks. How did you know where the start point was? Did you happen to take any photos of the various stages? I assume you were working under cover for the paint (& drying time).
 
If you pm me your email address, I'll send you the retrofit PDF that I got from the net.
 
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