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Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-yakima-roof-rack-2014-infiniti-q50-y00425.aspx
Hey everyone, it’s Evangeline here at etrailer and today we have the Yakima roof rack system and we’ll take a look at how it fits our 2014 Infiniti Q50. If you wanna carry around some fun accessories like bikes because you don’t have a hitch on your vehicle or you also wanna carry around maybe kayaks or roof boxes for extra cargo space, what you first need is a roof rack system. So there are a couple fits for your vehicle but this is gonna be the Yakima roof rack which is ideal if you want something super sturdy, gives you more crossbar spread and is great if you wanna carry around longer items and as a roof rack that stays on your vehicle for a longer period of time. I have the 50 inch long JetStream crossbars here. This is the length recommended by Yakima and if you want to, you can get longer and or slightly shorter crossbar. I actually recommend this length as well because it gives you some overhang but not too much.

From the tower to right before the end cap that’s three inches of space and you do not want too much overhang with a sedan like this because then you’re more likely to hit your head against the crossbar when getting into your vehicle. With a Yakima roof rack you get a longer crossbar spread, which is good if you wanna carry around, let’s say longer kayaks or maybe you’re carrying around ladders, things that need a longer base. So from one crossbar to the other, that’s gonna need 32 inches of distance be able to achieve this despite the slope of your vehicle because there’s a lot more adjustability with the towers. And if you have a glass roof then you wanna make sure that you’re definitely clearing it which you do with this roof rack. So some measurements is from the roof to the bottom of the crossbar, have three inches of clearance and that’s a good amount of clearance for things that have clamps that go around your roof rack.

Even if you have U bolts and wing nuts you wanna make sure that there’s enough space there. But the next measurement is the height added to the top of the roof, and I have it at about three inches, oh let’s say four and a quarter inches. So that’s where your cargo sits. If you’re carrying around skis with extra tall bindings you gonna make sure that there’s enough clearance so the bindings don’t hit your roof. And if there isn’t, you can take a look at accessories that gives you that extra height.

The baseline towers are a sleek tower design that gave you that extra height. And if you have Yakima same key system lock cores which are sold separately, you can fit those into the towers to match your other accessories. Now, when you pinch on the tower end cap, you can take it off and see the inner workings of your tower. There’s a lot of adjustability here. You do have tools included so you don’t need to grab any of your own.

The weight capacity is 165 pounds. You do have aluminum crossbars here which most of the roof rack brands have. Something unique to the JetStream bars though is that they have struts in the middle which means that they have a true weight capacity. Even if you put a lot of weight in the center you will not see it flex as much as your more affordable brands. They’re also aerodynamic designed to have less wind drag and wind noise on the road. So those we’re the main features of this roof rack. If you’re still interested in it and you think it is the fit for you and your vehicle and whatever you want to carry, let’s take a look at the installation process. The installation is a bit of a process because there’s things like pitch and tow and there’s hooks with different numbers, pads with different numbers, and that’s what this video is for. I’m gonna guide you through that process so definitely take some time, go slow. I already installed the front crossbar. We will install the rear crossbar together. The first thing you wanna do is to get your tower onto your crossbar. You’re gonna have this silver plate along with a plastic attachment. Plastic attachment goes in. Silver plate goes in and you thread it with the bolt underneath. To get access to that bolt see how it’s covered with that gray door Well, the gray door is accessed at the back of your tower so pull that, hear it click and now you can see that bolt. So what I do is I keep it a little bit loose so I can slide it through the crossbar Take the end cap off and slide the tower through the track. But where do you put the towers Well printed on your crossbar are these little numbers. You’re going to line up the end of the tower with the number you need it to be, in our case rear crossbar M335. Before we tighten it down, we’re gonna set the pitch.