Fit Kit for Thule Evo Fixpoint and Edge Fixpoint Roof Rack Feet - 7150

Video Transcript for 2023 Kia Seltos Thule WingBar Evo Roof Rack for Fixed Mounting Points: Complete Installation

Hi, everyone, it's Evangeline here at etrailer. Today we're taking a look at the Thule Roof Rack system for the flush rails of the 2023 Kia Seltos. We'll take a look at how to get this installed as well as how this fits here on our vehicle. If you're looking for a roof rack because you wanna carry fun things like kayaks or a roof box or even some roof mounted bike racks, well a roof rack system is gonna be the first thing you need to decide on. This is actually my vehicle, and this is a roof rack that I actually upgraded to because I wanted something with a good amount of weight capacity in order to carry a rooftop tent. So we'll talk about some of the features that I was looking at for the Seltos that helped me decide on this roof rack, but also some reasons why I prefer another roof rack for different situations.

This kit consists of three parts. You have our crossbars, in our case, the WingBar Evo 47 inch long bars. We have our Evo Fixed Point Towers, and then we have our custom fit kit. Most of this needs to stay the same for the Seltos. You can change the crossbar around a bit.

I would actually upgrade the length of the bars. So we currently have the 47 inches, which means we have an interval overhang up front and an 1-1/2 in the back. When I use these, I use the 50 inch bars just to gimme a little bit more overhang. Then I can mount more items to this side of the bars and it makes it easier to reach. But if you want a sleek look, stick with your 47's.

The Evo Fixed Point Towers are actually an upgrade for me. I had the older Thule design on, and these are new and improved to look more sleek, but also be a lot easier to install. These are fixed point towers, which means they installed to the flush rails of your Seltos. They do have one downside to that because of their custom fit, the point that they chose to secure to is the one that goes right over my sunroof. So if you have a sunroof on your Seltos and you wanna open that up, you will experience a little bit of whistling and noise because this will guide the air right into your vehicle creating that drag.

So fortunately, they're easy to uninstall. If I'm going on long road trips and not using the roof rack, I just go ahead and take it off so I can keep my sun roof open. For the rear bar, it is secured to the spot at the center of your rear door. So for your crossbar spread, you are going to have 26-1/2 inches apart. That is measured from either center to center or front edge to front edge. This measurement will fit most types of accessories, whether it's your roof boxes, baskets, and your kayak carriers. The reason Thule puts the roof rack so far forward on the Seltos is because of hatch clearance. Because your cargo sits closer towards the front, you now have a lot more clearance between your cargo and the top of your hatch, giving you more possibility of being able to get full access to both things. So from the rear bar to the top of the hatch, that's gonna be 31 inches of clearance. Great for longer, or I guess shorter kayaks as well as for the rooftop tent. My tent usually sits right here and I'm not worried about hitting the tent with the hatch. Some other measurements are roof clearances, two measurements there, one is distance from the top of the roof to the bottom of the bar. You actually have a lattice space here at just past 4-1/2 inches at that top valley. This is gonna be great for accessories that have larger clamps, like those U-bolts and wing nuts. Those will fit no problem. The next is how much height will this add to the top of your roof Again, measuring roof top of crossbar, we have it at almost 5-1/2 inches, and that's gonna be where your cargo sits. Let's say you have skis with extra tall bindings, you're not gonna be as concerned about that hitting a roof, or you'll be able to open up your sunroof without any worries. As you're deciding between your different crossbar options, you can pick between the different lengths, like mentioned earlier or different types of crossbars. These are the WingBar Evo's which are your more aerodynamic style. Plus you have potential access on the inside for T track mounted accessories. The T track accessories just slide through the wind strips. Then you just secure the end of the bar with this flip out end cap. And for locking, while your towers can be locked, you do have to replace the plastic lock core with a metal one, and that is sold separately, but you can find it here at etrailer.com. So for a strong and durable roof rack, this is gonna be a great option for you, especially now that you have the upgraded tower system. If you we inchesre to compare this with some other roof rack options, the popular alternative is gonna be the one from Yakima just because there's not that many fits for the Seltos with other brands. The Yakima roof rack has clamps that go around your flush rails and they do not bolt into the fixed points. So you have a little bit of leeway, plus you have a longer crossbar spread with the Yakima bars. So that Yakima system is gonna be better if you have extra, extra long kayaks or you're carrying really long ladders and you need the extra crossbar spread. But for most situations, your Thule roof rack is gonna provide the more stable and sturdy spots or positioning on the roof because it bolts into your flush rails. If anything, I would recommend getting the 50 inch bars instead of the 47 inch or playing around with different color options. You can get this in black or in aluminum. So for a very quick overview of how we got this installed on the Seltos, stick around. When installing your roof rack, the first thing you need to look at is your flush rail on your Seltos and find out where all the parts go. So I already have the rear crossbar installed. We'll install the front crossbar together. Our spots that we are looking at is the first holes and then the third set of holes, and that's where we're going to install the rack. With your kit, you're going to have this little tool, and this is to be used to pop the caps out of your flush rail. So there's two clips on each side. These need to be depressed in order to come out. Inside those holes you're also gonna have a little nut that's holding down that flush rail, so you need to remove it. Fortunately, Thule gives you a tool to remove it. It's pretty much a wrench and that fits that nut, and then we're able to loosen it and then lift it right out. So once you've removed all four caps and all four nuts, I highly recommend getting a little bag so you can store all of these in your glove box. Replace that nut with this larger one. This fits over that bolt, and then you're going to tighten this down with the included little stamp wrench. Now, get your custom thick fit kit. In the instructions you're gonna have numbers that will show you which side goes where. For our front driver's side, we have 266, so that number will be on the bottom of the rubber pad. When you flip the pad over, you're then able to install the plate onto it. Notice the direction of the plate and how the larger portion fits over that open spot of your rubber. Now we're then going to attach our little bracket, and this will have two tabs on each side. The small tab goes into the small hole up front, the large tab goes into the larger hole in back, push down until the tabs click in. These bases are then going to install over the bolt that you just installed into the rail, and then you top it off with the nut that goes on top. This is secured with a Thule Allen key. As it turns, it's gonna push out on that top bracket, creating all that tension both up and down, as well as around that bolt. So tighten that down until your tool clicks. Bring that tool back to your cross wires and your towers. So to get the towers installed, get your tool, remove the end cap on your tower, and then loosen the bracket over at the end. You wouldn't loosen up where you have a good amount of movement of that clamp. The next thing you're going to do is remove the end cap off the end of your WingBar Evo crossbars. And also this is when I push the wind strips into the top channels. When the crossbar is all prepped, I can then slide the tower into the crossbar and just top it off with putting the end cap right back in. Now it's time to gently place your tower onto your clamp. Since this is metal on that metal, you wanna make sure you're not missing the base pad, but you're getting the tower up and over. Also, remember that this should be facing the correct way, meaning the tall part of the crossbar is facing forward and the tapered part is facing back. With that clamp loose, you're then able to pull it out so that it can fit into the bottom base, see how those hooks fit into those grooves You are then going to slide your crossbars back and forth until you get even length on each side. Up by the front I found about an 1-1/2 of space here was pretty even. Now we're going to tighten it down on both sides using that tool. I really like how it's just one bolt that I have to secure and that this tool prevents over tightening because once I get to four newton meters, it automatically clicks and prevents it from tightening further. When everything's finished, you're then going to put your end caps on. So the end caps just fit right in. You're gonna have these plastic lock cores in there too. I use a flathead screwdriver just to turn the lock cores to make sure the end caps don't pop off. Once all four towers have those end caps on, for good measure, I just give them the good old shake to make sure that everything is secure. But that's gonna be it for your install. Now you're ready to load your crossbars up with all kinds of fun accessories and hit the road. With this being a very simple install, it'll also be a very simple uninstall, which I tend to do a lot whenever I want full use of my sunroof. It'll simply be a matter of taking off the end caps, loosening those bolts in the middle of the towers, lifting the whole system off, and then removing your custom fit kit. So for that reason, I recommend keeping all your caps, your nuts, as well as the tools included with this kit in your glove box free access. What you just saw here at etrailer was a look at the Thule Roof Rack install and demo on our 2023 Kia Seltos consisting of the 47 inch WingBar Evo crossbars, the Thule Evo Fixpoint Towers, and the custom fit kit for your vehicle.