[crossbar]

I just got my 2015 Soul :tongue-new: and now I need a way to carry my paddle board.

On my last car I had a Thule clamp system and it made music while I sped through the city at 30-35mph.

I'm thinking that rails and crossbars are the way to go now. It should be a little quieter.

According to this forum, it looks like SSD is the way to go. But which one?

The hybrid or the factory style? Which one is noisier?

Also, can I space the crossbars farther with the hybrid than the crossbar?

Talking about crossbars, any suggestions on ones that are easy to install and remove?

Or which one is the least noise making of them all?

Any suggestions will be very appreciated, thanks.

 

[crossbar]

OK, I thought of another question. Is one rail mounting point more secure than the other?

 

[crossbar]

How about a crossbar? Any suggestions on which one to buy?

 

[Buzz]

I would go with these......(copy & paste) plus they give GREAT customer service!

NEW! SSD Performance "Hybrid" Roof Rails for the 2014-2015 Kia Souls are HERE!
NEW! Our new SSD Performance "Hybrid" Roof Rails for the 2014-2015 Kia Souls (without Panoramic Roof) are HERE!

We call these "Hybrid" roof rails because they offer all of the advantages of traditional long roof rails but also the ease of quick bolt on installation in the existing factory "fixed" cross bar mounts on your Soul with no drilling or modifications of any kind required

Our new Hybrid Roof Rails allow the use of traditional aftermarket cross bars to be placed anywhere along the rails up to 50" apart for added security when carrying longer items like kayaks, canoes, long cargo boxes, ladders, etc. We've even designed cargo tie down attaching points into the mounting brackets to aid in securing your cargo

Our new Hybrid Roof Rails are made of 100% STAINLESS STEEL for strength and corrosion resistance and then finished in a tough, black powder coat finish to blend with your Soul's trim and look good for years to come. These are solid and mount and remove very quickly and easily if you only want them on your Soul when you need them. Includes stainless steel mounting hardware and instructions

All of the Malone Cross Bars that we sell are compatible with these new SSD Hybrid roof rails and carry Malone's lifetime warranty!

Complete Your Soul's SSD Roof Rack System with Some Malone Cross Bars... All Cary Malone's LIFETIME WARRANTY!
These Malone Heavy Duty, Lockable Cross Bars are some of the best quality cross bars that carry the best warranty on the market!

Malone AirFlow 50" Silver Aero Cross Bars...

The Malone 50" Airflow Heavy Duty Silver Aero Cross Bars boast a 165 lb load capacity, are lockable and feature a completely sealed design making them some of the quietest cross bars out there. These have a flat design with a rubber rub strip on top to maximize the load stability. These work with most universal accessories as well as accessories designed to mount in the "T-track" on top of the bars. These are backed by Malone's limited LIFETIME WARRANTY. These are delivered completely assembled and ready to install. They install and remove quickly with no tools required

Malone SteelTop 50" or 58" Black Cross Bars...

The Malone Black SteelTop Cross Bars are a great value. They feature heavy duty, lockable steel cross bars with a rubberized coating to stand up to years of use with a 132 lb load capacity. These come in either 50" or 58" lengths and feature the same square profile that most aftermarket accessories are made for (including Thule square bar accessories). These Malone SteelTop cross bars are priced well below most competitive alternatives and the black load bars look great with the black trim on your Soul! These also carry Malone's limited LIFETIME WARRANTY. These are delivered completely assembled and install in minutes with the provided Allen wrench

Whichever Malone Cross Bars you choose, you can count on years of trouble free service at a price that can't be beat!

 

[jump]

I would suggest emailing them as to which ones are quieter if you want to know. I e-mailed before I bought mine for my 2013 about what was involved to install it and they got back to me quickly. Think owner's name was Mike? He was very helpful and a very strait shooter and I'm pretty sure he could tell you which version would best meet your quiet concerns. That aside, personally I'd just go for the one you like the looks of. Mine is well made.

 

[crossbar]

Thanks Buzz and jump. I think I'm following jump's advise and going with the Factory Style because I like the looks better, even though my son prefers the Hybrid.

The Malone Airflow seems to be a better match for my Silver Soul. Also, from further reading on Mike's posts, the whistling seems to come from a hollow front crossbar, so the Airflow (because of the shape) should start with less noise compared to a square crossbar, which is what I had. And I'll probably foam fill them anyway.

Thanks again guys.

 

[Buzz]

Put up some pics when you mod is complete! :encouragement:

 

[dmwagner]

The noise comes from the crossbars.... I have the standard Malone ones and they are nearly unbearable at HWY speed, so when I am not toting my kayak around, I take them off.

 

[jump]

Thinking that things might have changed in a couple years, I looked at SSD's website to see the two options. From the pics, I suspect that the hybrid ones may be both easier to install and likely more rugged. It looks like the new souls have actual mounting locations for crossbars (the 2013 I have did not) The hybrid ones look to just bolt into these locations with multiple bolts. The factory style one looks like it may need drilling through trim and looks like it may mount with only one bolt each end into essentially trim clips. It'd hard for me to tell for sure from the website pics, but if that's the case the hybrid one should much more rugged. Maybe someone that has seen both can comment here for you.

 

[crossbar]

Well, I bought the factory style and when following the youtube video to install I realized that the trim in 2015 model is different.

There is no need to remove the tail lights, as there is no screw securing the trim in the back end. You just start poping it up from the little gap by the back door and move to the front.

I'm happy with the way it looks. Having said that... I cursed at myself during the installation for not going with the Hybrid. But now that it's done I'm glad I didn't.

It seems that I made every mistake possible during the installation, including one that got me packing the whole thing back for return, during which I realized that there were two sizes of square nuts! It didn't help that I was in a tiny dark garage with barely enough room for a real small step stool.

So, a heads up for future factory style buyers. There are two different sizes of square nuts, two different sizes of hex nuts, two different sizes of screws, two sizes of washers, and only two washers for the front inside part of the trim, none for the back.

I'm not sure why so much differentiation as it seems that one size of everything would have worked fine. Also, I used a 3/8 bit instead of a 7/16 and it worked fine. On the newer models the trim part to drill is only plastic and very forgiving.

Another heads up is regarding the welded part where you put the square nut. They don't necessarily have the same amount of room from one side to another in the front. I had to hit it to make it go in on the right side. And that's not what she said... :tongue-new:

Since it took me the whole afternoon I don't have any pictures, but it looks pretty sharp. I can't wait to see it in the daylight myself.

 

[jtgraphics]

I also just picked up a new 2015 Soul so if you can wait till weekend I will give you a report on the SSD Hybrid" rails be here Friday. I already have a bunch of Thule rack stuff on other cars so I'm not upgrading to anything I do not already have. So I'll be using thule 450 towers with some square bars. The wind noise comes from the bars so I will try with out a wind deflector first, then will be making one of my own later.
I will be removing the Thule crossbars when not in use but the SSD will stay on.
Will post some photos later for folks when installed.

 

[Shaggy Wierdo]

I have the hybrid on my Soul. They work fine, I do not run around with the Malone Cross bars unless I am using them. I really don't notice any noise in the bare condition. The rails can be taken off easily and go on fairly easily also. I like the looks of the others better than the hybrid but it is not worth the ease and utility of the hybrids give to get a little better look.

 

[Kypie09]

For either the SSD factory or SSD Hybrid rails is there any kind of drilling involved upon installation to the vehicle roof or rails? Don't think I saw this question or answer in the older posts.

 

[conwelpic]

For either the SSD factory or SSD Hybrid rails is there any kind of drilling involved upon installation to the vehicle roof or rails? Don't think I saw this question or answer in the older posts.

its tells you on the website, "no special tools, no drilling into the steel roof" Kia Products

 

[Kypie09]

its tells you on the website, "no special tools, no drilling into the steel roof" Kia Products

Just checking. Thank you

 

[jump]

Kypie,


Check with SSD - I have a 2013 soul and it is no drill into the roof, but that does not mean no drilling. There was drilling through the some plastic trim pieces required. Nothing hard, but you would need a drill. I think the rails have changed since mine. Looks like hybrid style may be no drilling at all, but I think factory style likely has trim plastic drilling. That's why I'm saying either check with SSD or hope someone else who did a recent install comments.

 

[Shaggy Wierdo]

Kypie,


Check with SSD - I have a 2013 soul and it is no drill into the roof, but that does not mean no drilling. There was drilling through the some plastic trim pieces required. Nothing hard, but you would need a drill. I think the rails have changed since mine. Looks like hybrid style may be no drilling at all, but I think factory style likely has trim plastic drilling. That's why I'm saying either check with SSD or hope someone else who did a recent install comments.

No drilling on Hybrid, drilling through plastic pieces on factory style. SSD will forward the instructions for both to you if you PM them with a request. Good folks to deal with.

 

[theo2thea]

I've the malones as well and just slide them to the back when not in use.

 

[Kypie09]

Thanks guys! All I was asking. I have read their site on their products lots of times and have watched YouTube videos for installing it. Everyone has a different experience so I thought I would ask. I love that SSD makes their products specific to make, model and year of Souls. Helps not playing the guessing game for fitting the products properly. Looking at the Malone cross bars as well. @theo2thea Do you have the Airflow set or steel top cross bars? And does anyone have the Wind Fairing Kit? How do you like it?

 

[Buzz]

LTLDV1SOUL has the wind fairing, you might PM her and ask her thoughts on it.