no problem mantis, that's exactly what I wanted...that's why I put it in big purple letters!

I agree with all your points, thought the same thing. These are all dense rubber, not porous and spongy (and I did see that type also) but I tweaked the contrast on the pics to be able to see detail on black on black, it made it look that way, especially pics 6 & 7.

I tried:
ACME rubber
Complete Automobilist
Griffith Rubber
Technorubber Industries - Samples 1 & 2
Rocket Seals -
Steele Rubber products - Sample #3 (it's a classic car parts restoration operation)
Robinson Rubber
Manufacturer's Rubber
Yakima- none similar and none remaining

I sent detailed pics and called them, and I know there were a few more companies I'm forgetting. I was REALLY surprised I couldn't find anything similar. One company said sometimes automotive companies patent these kinds of things and maybe that's why I couldn't find anything like them. But I know Yakima made these racks, so maybe they have a paten, who knows.

They're mostly automotive, and some are window weatherstripping.

Any ideas or further sources for something that will work better would be great! Thanks!

Quote Originally Posted by mantis465 View Post
not looking to offend, but non of them look particularly great. were did you find samples from? are they intended for automotive use? i use to have some that looked almost identical to oem stip's, that i used at dealership i worked at. i can see were they got it from but with out having rails myself to compare to will be hard to know for sure how well they will fit. i know it came in 4ft lengths though. also the rubber stips u do have do you know what they are inteded for. i only ask because in picture they look a little poris compared to the oem rubber as if they are for sealing a door jam or somthing so they will compress a little. if that is the case u may find they shrink over time as rubber hardens, they also just seem to hook in on one side so apart from the #3 sample i would be worried about leading edge cathing the wind and either pulling it our over time or causeing a wind whistle.... (have had wind whistle on oem room rails when rubber was not intalled just right on mdx"s very anoying).

sorry if i sounds negative, not my intension, just thinking out loud. great work though and pictures really helped