Receiver hitch bike racks for 08 Impreza 5door

Anyone installed a receiver hitch on their 08 Impreza 5door?

I was debating on a roof rack or receiver hitch.

The word on the street is the roof rack is noisy without bikes.

I like rear receive hitch racks but was concerned about the weight on the rear suspension of a 2.5i

Any opinions appreciated.

Thanks,
Thomas - new first time Subaru owner

 

there are some hardcore MTB guys here that can answer better, but here's my experience/thoughts

i had a 04 wrx with a trunk rack - hated it
was going to get a hitch rack until black and blue (a member here) told me if someone rear-ends me and hits the hitch, you've got frame damage

i ended up using a yakima roof rack that really wasn't too noisy and came off/on easily, and is very sturdy (i.e. i did a track day with it on)

 

So does that mean that hardcore roadies can't answer...only MTB guys, huh?

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with the '08. But I can speak from experience on the '03 WRX and '06 STi. I had a Thule roof rack on my '03 and loved it. I never had any noise issues at highway speeds. I had the large fairing on the rack, so that may have helped. I decided to go hitch mount when I got the STi, as I also want to run a tire tail for carrying tires to autocrosses. I went Thule again on the hitch mounted rack and wound up buying the Thule T2 917 1/4" rack. I love it...nicely built unit, carries two bikes wonderfully, easy on and off and you don't have to worry about running your beloved bikes into a garage door (ahem), or other stationary structure. I like the ability to pull the rack off the car which isn't a simple task with a roof rack.

Good luck with the rack purchase. Check out ORS Racks Direct (http://www.orsracksdirect.com) when you're ready to buy.

 

I have the hitch rack and it works great. It is very sturdy and easy to load and use.

 

I'm looking at the THULE T2 rack 1"1/4.

 

Just don't stop too fast when you have a bike on the rear hitch (or make sure they are secured like hell). There is a nice lil dent in my trunk from either a pedal or some handlebars slamming into the car!

 

Yikes, you must have a rack you hang the bikes on rather than one which you set the wheels in?

 

Actually the guy who owned the car before me was big into mountain biking (mmtasty) so I don't know for sure, but i imagine it was one that let the bikes hang.

 

I worked at a Bike shop for 10 years, I will never again own a roof rack....bad things happen with roof racks. People drive into parking decks, drive troughs, and garages all the time. They make too much noise and they usually leave marks on the paint.

With a hitch rack its so easy to pull it on and off. Its easy to load the bikes because they are almost ground level, to me there is just less stuff to go wrong.

If you need a rack a buddy of mine owns a shop in Powder Springs, www.boneshakerbicycles.com
Randy or Hamlet should answer the phone just tell them you are a friend of Matts and they will hook you up.

 

Cool. I had a Sportworks Rack on my Ford Explorer but it's a 2".

I'll ditch the roof rack route and go with the Thule 917 2bike receiver rack.

Thanks for all the input.

Thomas

 

You will be very happy! Great rack. Enjoy. :bigthumb:

 

I had the 1 1/4 Curt receiver hitch installed a few days ago. The Thule 917 T2 rack is hard to find. Of course it is the Holidays and stores will restock soon.

Too cold to go cycling much during this time of year.

 

Never to cold. Bundle up some