Hardtop Owners Unite! Thule ski/bike rack option for Hardtop - DONE!!!

[trayson]

Okay, we've all talked about how nice it would be to have a ski or a bike rack on the E36 convertible's hard top. Of course, if you look up online, Yakima and Thule will tell you it can't be done. Most rack stores will tell you it can't be done.

You know that *I* am hardly the type to believe other people's assertions. Some of you may know that a while back, I had considered adding a track system to my hardtop but the idea of drilling holes and having black tracks on my hardtop wasn't thrilling me. Plus, it was going to be expensive.

So, I stumbled upon a few threads that talked about E36 coupe owners that had put Thule Racks on their cars. I've seen plenty of pics of this too. Then I realized that the E36 coupe had a frameless front window just like the verts did... So, I looked up the part numbers for the E36 coupe doors and front windows and compared them with the vert. Same part numbers meant that the profiles of the roofs should be identical.

A while back, I found a pair of Thule 400xt towers with crossbars and a fit kit for a 2009 Honda Accord sedan (my girlfriend's car) on Craigslist for $100. I bought it. Then I realized that the towers and crossbars were what I needed to attempt to rack my hardtop. I just needed the correct "fit kit" for the E36 Coupe's roof. The kit needed is Thule Kit174, which is no longer made, but you can find it for sale on the internet. I got a sweet deal on one on Ebay.



It is a tight fit, and it took quite a while to figure out the stubtlties of the Thule system to get that exactly right fit for my hardtop, but after playing with it for a long time, I've got it dialed in and it's damn solid. I have no qualms about carrying skis or snowboards up there. Likewise, I would feel okay carrying a lighter weight bicycle up there too. (my road bike is full carbon fiber and weighs only 17 pounds). I'd probably feel okay carrying a mountain bike up there too, as long as it's not a steel monstrosity. I probably will never carry my cartop box up there. That's just too much IMO.

Okay, on to the pics:

The rubber feet of the towers are made to have a little ridge that works with the rain gutter line on the hardtop:


The rubber coated metal arms that grab the black section of the hardtop just above the windows does NOT interfere with door opening or closing at all. And it actually has an "L" shape so that the arm does NOT contact the window at all. it actually ends before it gets to the glass. it's a short "L", but effective.



From the back:


I could actually carry two Thule Flat Top 4 ski/snowboard carriers, but I really only need 1 to carry our stuff for my trip to Whistler next week, so I mounted a singe one in the center of the crossbars.



Side Profile:
(I tried to get the bars as far apart as I could, but the stretch of the fit kit down to where it grabs the top is a TIGHT fit and I had to position the towers where there was the least amount of distance (i.e. where the roof wasn't curving)


Front shot (with my snowboard and two pairs of kids skis)


And a picture of how it looks on the whole car. Sorry about the bad lighting in my garage. I'll get better pics later. You'll see that I'm rocking the BBS LM replicas and I've got 17" studless snow tires mounted on these as my winter wheels. I think it looks pretty sick. (better than the OEM Contours I previously had that I sold to get these LM Replica's).



Let me know if you have questions or comments.

-Trayson

[3DGE95Ti]

Now you have no excuse to go on bike rides this summer!

Also I want one for my future hardtop asap since its a discontinued part.

[trayson]

Now you have no excuse to go on bike rides this summer!

Also I want one for my future hardtop asap since its a discontinued part.

The only part that is discontinued is the KIT174.

This is the cheapest I was able to find it. $25 + $15 shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

Then you would just need the 400xt aero towers and the 50" load bars. Craigslist is a good place to find that stuff. Or locally, go to Re-Rack in Portland on Sandy Blvd. They have lots of good used stuff.

[jimmyjoe]

wow that looks great!! awesome find!

[trayson]

wow that looks great!! awesome find!

Thanks. I think I'm going to drive it to work tomorrow to see how the wind noise does on the freeway...

[Moron95M3]

gah I want your setup...

been looking for a hard top...and was planning on putting a ski rack on it.
my vert is my winter car. I guess the ski hole will have to work for now.

btw - in for more pics when you get it out some time

oh, and one last question - what size are your ski boots? - it looks like the binding is close to the bars on both sides. Could you get a distance measurement here?

thanks!

[trayson]

gah I want your setup...

been looking for a hard top...and was planning on putting a ski rack on it.
my vert is my winter car. I guess the ski hole will have to work for now.

btw - in for more pics when you get it out some time

oh, and one last question - what size are your ski boots? - it looks like the binding is close to the bars on both sides. Could you get a distance measurement here?

thanks!

The skis you see are my 5 year olds! they barely fit between the crossbars... I would prefer to have my snowboard secured on the outsides of the bindings, but it's not possible with how I have it setup now.


To do it a little better, you could get the Thule short roof adapter...

http://www.rei.com/product/799923


On another note, I drove to work doing 65 - 70 on the freeway and the wind noise was only evident when I listened for it. No whistling, and VERY manageable. I was actually surprised how mild the noise was. (i.e. if you didn't know a rack was up there, you'd never hear it. And since the Hardtop is quieter than the soft top, that helps.

btw - in for more pics when you get it out some time

thanks!

Here you go!

[alanilil]

That's very cool. Anybody seen the BMW rack that works with convertibles? Never knew it existed until I fingered through the dealer accessory catalog that came with my 97 sedan.

[MParallel]

That's very cool. Anybody seen the BMW rack that works with convertibles? Never knew it existed until I fingered through the dealer accessory catalog that came with my 97 sedan.

I seen it. The metal frame of the softtop can carry more weight that the thin aluminium of the hardtop.

Well done Tray.

[HollywoodMN]

Very Nice!

[trayson]

oh, and one last question - what size are your ski boots? - it looks like the binding is close to the bars on both sides. Could you get a distance measurement here?

thanks!

The distance from center of crossbar to center of crossbar is only 19" with my setup. Looking at it, I'd imagine you could get 24" or more if you finnessed it a bit more and spent more time getting the towers to latch on more forward and back...

[cmcon98]

That setup is exactly what I've been looking for! I don't have a ski pass 'cuz I have the HK system and the factory sub is where the pass would be. Your setup would make it worth my while to get a set of dedicated winter tires and drive the M3 on ski trips to NH and VT. Great find!

As for racks using the convertible top, there's an old James Bond film (I forget which one) where the Bond girl drives a red '69 Cougar convertible with a ski rack on the trunk. The skis follow the angle of the rear window with the tips toward the front of the car, pointing upward at an angle. I'm sure some kind of universal trunk-mount rack system must be available that would work on E36 verts without the hardtop.

[simondebrun]

Hey,
great hack to get that roof rack sorted for your e36. How has it been? Would you still recommend it?

So - possibly a dumb question - what would you think about putting a surfboard up there? I'm guessing a 9' 6" would be a bad idea? (trying to persuade myself to get a nice e36 convertible, but practicality unfortunately is an issue).

[trayson]

Hey,
great hack to get that roof rack sorted for your e36. How has it been? Would you still recommend it?

So - possibly a dumb question - what would you think about putting a surfboard up there? I'm guessing a 9' 6" would be a bad idea? (trying to persuade myself to get a nice e36 convertible, but practicality unfortunately is an issue).

I didn't keep the setup that long because I bought myself an Audi wagon. So that became the sno-wagon.

It would probably work for you with a surfboard... Hard to know for sure.

I have the fit kit pieces (kit 174) that I'll sell if you are interested. You'd then need the towers and crossbars.