Davisjl

I have a Yakima bike rack that uses Qtowers and Qclips. The 2010 A4 Audi used Q5 clips, but they don't list any clips yet for the 2011 A4. Do you guys think the Q5 clip will work on the 2011 A4?

Loafer123

Good Queestion. It is one I am aksing as well. Have you called Yakima directly to ask them?

If the 2011 A4 is the same roof lines as the 2010, Yakima does have a fit (and I believe you are correct on the Q5 clips). SO if there is someone out there who can confirm the body and roof lines of the 2011 is the same as 2010, I believe you will be good to go!

Davisjl

It's not the roof line I'm so worried about. It's close enough to the 2010 that the Q Towers will be just fine. The clips howevever, are molded to the profile to the door trim. Not sure if the 2010 and 2011 trim is the same... Guess I'm going to have to go by a store and get a pair of Q5 to test out...

Davisjl

Ok... an update. I went by my local bike shop and pickup a set of Q5 clips. I then drove over to the Audi dealership and tried the Q5 clips on both my 2011 and an 2010 A4. They fit exactly the same, so I'm going to go ahead and mount up the rack later tonight and see how it goes.

Loafer123

Let me know how the actual installation goes. And thanks for checking this out.

Davisjl

Went perfect and by the book. The clip fits the 2011 just the same as the 2010. I used the vinyl pad on the inside of the q-clip where it contacts the molding to prevent any scuffing of the chrome.

I'll talk a picture of it tomorrow in the daylight for you to see.

Davisjl

Pictures of the installed rack....

Davisjl

Now... that looks good to me!

Loafer123

Thanks for the detailed pics! I am really glad to know the Yakima system works on the 2011 A4.

Your car looks to be Brilliant Red- is it? Brilliant Red is the color we have. My wife calls it 'mid life crisis red'.

By the way, nice bike. I ride Orbea Onix.

Davisjl

It's Misano Pearl, which is a shade lighter than the Brilliant and has the pearl in the paint giving it some sparkle. (to be honest, you'd only really be able to tell the difference if a Misano and Brilliant were parked next to each other. I think if you put one car between them you'd be hard pressed to see the difference, unless you get upclose to see the pearl effect).

The bike is about to go through an upgrade. About to put a new Durace group on it or maybe one of the higher level Campy groups. Next year will be new wheels and then the year after that will be a new giant frame and forks/misc.

I'm doing the Ironman France this year, which has taken all my extra money I was going to use to buy a new Giant Defy Durace bike so I'm left with just getting a new group and then doing a phased upgrade over the next few years.