We all know M Coupes have a great rear. Now, how to give it a great rack!

[mmicire]

I spent a lot of time searching for a good roof rack for my newly purchased 2001 M Coupe and I wasn't satisfied with the solutions I saw. The BMW OEM roof racks fit nicely and allowed the use of the sun roof, but the pedestals were too far above the roof for my taste and looked square relative to the gentle curves of the roofline. The Thule racks looked better, but I didn't like the overhang for the square bars and the ominous requirement to grind out the rear crossbar channel. I believe that I found a solution that may be the lowest profile rack yet and no compromises for modification, overhang, noise, sunroof, or overall looks.

TL;DR Photo: DSC_4278.jpg

Before I start, I have to give full credit to Brad at the REI in Mountain View who helped me fit-check the Thule roof rack in the parking lot before I paid for anything. Also, the guys down at Rack and Road in Campbell, CA who played mix and match with 4-5 different vendor solutions to find the sweetness you will see in the next few pages. http://www.racknroad.com/ These guys are the best and it was great to give them an "impossible" car that wasn't an SUV to customize.

First, I went with the recommendation for a Thule mount kit for the e46 described in the FAQ... http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...pics-of-yours! For the impatient, you are looking for the THULE KIT 3065 fix-point mounting kit. Then the we determined that the new curved and low-profile THULE AeroBlade Edge (Small) was absolutely perfect for the roofline of this car. There is *NO* overhang with these bars. They sit approximately an inch and a half off the roof, match the curve of the car, and have very little road noise. [edit: see comment at end of the post for other rack options]

https://www.rei.com/product/772689/thule-podium-fit-kit
https://www.rei.com/product/892315/thule-aeroblade-edge-roof-bar-flush-mount

The REI and Thule web pictures are not exactly like the podium kit that I got, but here are some pictures to help understand what I ended up buying. I highly recommend buying the roof mount kit and making sure you have a good fit before you buy the rest of the high-price items like the AeroBlades and other accessories.

IMG_0357.jpgrapidfixpoint_kit_sized_640x420.jpg

After some trial and error, I figured out that the Coupe roof required stainless steel M6-1.00x25 bolts for the roof bolts. I saw lots of comments about having to grind out part of the mounting point on the car, but I bought a nylon spacer and had no problems at all getting the 3065 kit to fit without grinding. [edit: I misunderstood what needed to be grinded. There is no grinding to the car, only the rear pedestals in earlier Thule kits.] These mounts are *rock* solid when you get them screwed down and although they don't hook the underside of the mount holes like they would presumably do on the e46s, I am sure they aren't going anywhere.

Then you can mount the AeroBlades. The rear blades will be very tight and you will have to push the blades all the way in (most narrow setting) and slide them in with a little force. Once they start sliding in, a little leverage with a screwdriver will get them past the pinch and you will have a perfect fit. The front ones will need to be extended an inch or two. Then you tighten the four set-screws and the whole system is set up. TIL: The front of the roofline is wider than the back! Go figure!

It looks absolutely brilliant. I drove around for a few days and other than seeing something over the sunroof, there was no indication anything had changed. No road noise at all. The sunroof can only open half way, but the part of the mount that is blocking the roof is plastic and I plan to mill off the plastic to allow the sunroof to open completely.

Now that I had a roof rack, I knew that I wanted a basket and a pair of bike mounts. I looked at a lot of basket options including Thule, Yakima, and others. Most of them were boxy, tall, and way too wide for my tastes. The Kuat Vagabond X (http://kuatracks.com/products/roof/vagabond-x/) was the lowest profile that I could find, but at 41 inches wide, I was going to have to take it to a metal shop and have 6 inches removed from the center to narrow it enough for the roofline. I had been obsessed with #RebelRook911's setup (http://rallyways.com/8270/porsche-91...racks-debacle/) for 5+ years and after two evenings of Google searches, I determined that his roof rack was the Rhino Rack XTrays Small. This is the exact roof rack he is using...
http://www.rhinorack.com/en-us/products/roof-trays/xtrays/xtray-small_rmcb01

Fortunately for me, there was a dealer nearby and they just happened to have one in stock. The next day we did a fit-check on the car and it was absolutely *PERFECT* for width and height. I couldn't have been happier. (Pictures in the next post since I apparently can only have 5 attachments.)

Then we started experimenting with bike mounts. The Kuat has an integrated bike mount at the front of the basket, but the Rhino Rack did not. The guys at Road and Rack let me try out a few combinations, and we all had a eureka moment when we put the Rockymounts Driveshaft SD (http://www.rockymounts.com/DriveShaf...unt_p/1085.htm) on the Thule AeroBlade rail. It perfectly straddles the support rail for the Rhino Rack XTray and allows the bike to mount directly to the Thule rail. The big benefits is that, 1) mounting to the rail directly is stronger than mounting to the basket, and 2) I can use the bike mounts without the basket. They have a key-locking mechanism and the build quality of the Rockymounts bike mount is far superior to all of the other options we tried that day from 4 different leading manufacturers.

1085-3.jpgIMG_0339.jpg
Again, I can't stress enough now wonderful it was to work with a roof rack expert that was literally willing to open dozens of boxes in the parking lot and try out the best fit. If you have one of these shops in your area, I highly recommend it.

And so, that is where I stand. Pictures below. I have some more improvements on the way that I will update in the next few months. For the moment, I've blown my Coupe budget and need to chill out with the high-dollar purchases. I hope this helps someone else who is looking for a great roof-rack and basket solution for bikes and gear.

I plan on updating this thread with pictures as I do a disassembly of the roof rack for the benefit of future readers.

Rock on!

Talk to you soon,
Mark

EDIT: It is important to note that the Thule Fit Kit 3065 is *NOT* only for the AeroBlade Edge system. You can use it with the more traditional bar-like rails. The manual for the 3065 is here (https://cdn1.static-tgdp.com/assetlo...arket=US&att=1) and it lists the 460R, 753, and 460 rails as possibilities. When we were trying out the various pedestals, this 3065 kit would support the Thule AeroBlade (Edge and non-Edge) and Thule Square Bar setups. So if you need a wider loading surface and don't mind another inch of height, go with the Thule AeroBlade (non-Edge) system. If you don't mind the road noise and have some older square-tube mounted gear, go with the Square Bar solution. Bottom line -- the 3065 Kit is now solved for you. After that, you have lots of options for pedestals and bars.

[mmicire]

Some pictures of #RebelRook911's setup was my inspiration for the basket.
10483508_342418855915503_1453741441_n.jpg10499145_249737918549577_1355407652_n.jpg10593466_268315780029662_637985880_n.jpg10644058_1463019643964535_1751042513_n.jpg10601753_1529302253952220_1285035164_n.jpg
I figured that any roof rack narrow enough for the roofline of a 911 would surely work on a M Coupe. Luckily I think I was correct.

[mmicire]

Here are some quick pictures of the rack. I will do a teardown later today and post some detail shots if anyone is interested.

IMG_0335.jpgIMG_0340.jpgIMG_0346.jpgIMG_0338.jpgIMG_0333.jpg

[robrez]

That's Sam's old coupe? Nice job. Good to see people trying new things. I've got the oem racks and basket. The square pedastel never bothered me until I got oem aero racks for my e30 convertible.

[mmicire]

Yep. Samtrak did me right with this one. Now I am playing a bit with the options since he set up such a good foundation.

Do you have any pictures of the oem basket? I didn't find many pictures of it online. I recall that it was really small.

[robrez]

Not the best picture of the basket, but you can get an idea of its size.

- - - Updated - - -

Congrats on buying Sam's coupe!
Aero bars and a fairing are nice upgrades from the oem system. Looking forward to pics with just the racks installed. Kudos!

Edit, better pics of oem basket.

[mmicire]

Some detail pictures of the Thule AeroBlades without the basked on it.

DSC_4236 (1).jpgDSC_4252 (1).jpgDSC_4257 (1).jpgDSC_4258 (1).jpgDSC_4246.jpg

[mmicire]

And some pictures with the basket installed.

DSC_4263 (1).jpgDSC_4265 (1).jpgDSC_4275 (1).jpgDSC_4285 (1).jpgDSC_4290 (1).jpg

[samtrak]

cat is outta the bag!

[Fumanchu282]

Looks great, and awesome thread title. Here's mine, not as special as yours, just a Thule 753, 38" fairing, and two Rockymounts Pitchfork bike carriers

IMG_0819.jpg IMG_0818.jpg IMG_4024.jpg IMG_0514.jpg IMG_0534.jpg

[danomite]

...grind out the roof tracks on the car? Ummmm....there's no grinding of roof tracks with ANY rack set-up that I've seen. You do have to grind the track slots of the rear THULE bar, but you certainly don't do anything to the vehicle itself. Also, you can trim the standard THULE bars to whatever length you'd like...no overhang, if that's your preference....PLUS, they make several aero bars that work with the pedestals that come with the 753 kit!

What was your total cost for the complete pedestal and bars set-up....sans rack?

[mmicire]

...grind out the roof tracks on the car? Ummmm....there's no grinding of roof tracks with ANY rack set-up that I've seen. You do have to grind the track slots of the rear THULE bar, but you certainly don't do anything to the vehicle itself.

The I apologize and misunderstood. I was looking at posts in http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...-pics-of-yours! such as:

"You just have to cut the channel on the bottom of the rear crossbar a little bit ... If you have a small angle grinder or know someone who has one it's literally a 2 minute job cutting out the channels." and "It literally took 5 minutes to grind out the rear crossbar channel."

I thought the "channel" was the mounting point on the car. But from your description I now understand that it is the pedestal mount. Thanks for the clarification.

I guess a benefit to this setup is that there is no grinding. Just an allen wrench and some additional stainless steel bolts is all you need besides the factory parts and you retain the warranty on everything.

, you can trim the standard THULE bars to whatever length you'd like...no overhang, if that's your preference....PLUS, they make several aero bars that work with the pedestals that come with the 753 kit!

Agreed on all counts and that was the original plan. I just found an alternative that is lower to the roof and curved downward with the roof line. I can think of many reasons why you would want to have the bars extend beyond the pedestals. I just wanted to achieve a different look since I was already planning on getting the basket.

What was your total cost for the complete pedestal and bars set-up....sans rack?

Podium Fit Kit = $79.89
Thule AeroBlade Edge Roof Bar - Flush Mount = 2@175.89 = $351.78
Thule Keyed-Alike Locks-4 Pack = $59.95

I have the receipts for the basket and bike mounts at home if you are interested in the prices for those also.

Talk to you soon,
Mark

[fmcfad01]

and from today forward, no one wants the old Thule racks that were once so coveted!

Great job! I love when people find solutions like this and add value to the community. That looks really nice.

[kungfooren]

and from today forward, no one wants the old Thule racks that were once so coveted!

Great job! I love when people find solutions like this and add value to the community. That looks really nice.

That's what I was thinking. Always nice to have options. Same goes with the OEM rack.

[mmicire]

I wanted to give everyone an update on the rack and how it was performing. Overall, the whole thing is solid as anyone could hope. The rack has no movement and surprisingly there isn't a lot of road noise. As I mentioned in the earlier post, if I couldn't see it through the sunroof, I would never know it was there.

One of the catalysts for putting the roof rack together was a conference that I attend every summer in Vegas. Since I live in Northern California, it is a day-drive. Every year my group brings a couple hundred pounds of electronic gear to the conference in various Pelican cases and Roadie boxes. My goal this year was to have all of it loaded up in the Coupe.

It worked amazingly well. The rack held all of the gear with simply two crank-straps and a spider-bungie system that was purchased from Rhino Rack. It looked a little Beverly-Hillbilly, but it worked great and I couldn't really tell that anything was on the top of the car. During some spirited driving with a 350Z, we had the Coupe up over 110mph and everything was rock solid. Not a single wiggle or shimmy.

The only funny thing was the number of people giving me a thumbs up or slowing down to take pictures of the car on the road. ;-)

Attached are some pictures. Let me know if you have any questions.

DSC_4514.jpgDSC_4524.jpgDSC_4533.jpgDSC_4540.jpgDSC_4544.jpg

[mmicire]

And a few more roof-rack car porn shots.

DSC_4552.jpgDSC_4553.jpgIMG_0484.jpgDSC_4500.jpgDSC_4509.jpg

[partymarty]

This is epic - I have the OEM bars which I never use but think I'd greatly prefer this setup - and leave it on full time! What was your approximate total cost?

[///Mpmp1025]

This is epic - I have the OEM bars which I never use but think I'd greatly prefer this setup - and leave it on full time! What was your approximate total cost?

OP posted all the parts needed in the first post and I think total price is a couple post down.

This setup looks amazing!! Thank you for piecing this together.

db

[partymarty]

Oops, in a rush earlier, should have read a bit closer.

OP posted all the parts needed in the first post and I think total price is a couple post down.

This setup looks amazing!! Thank you for piecing this together.

db

[mmicire]

Today I needed to deliver a bike to a friend, so I loaded up the rack with the bikes to see how well that worked. As I expected, the bikes were rock solid. I could hear them cutting through the air, so not as quiet as the basket alone. You'll notice that I had the bikes loaded in two configurations. One was wheels-down and connected to the RockMounts sprocket mount. On the other bike, the front wheel couldn't be removed (special tool we didn't have) so we mounted the bike inverted in the basked and tied it down. I can confidently say that the second bike wouldn't have been as solidly mounted if it wasn't for the basket. Neither bike moved a bit in a hour long spirited drive down the 101 and through town.

More rack porn attached. Holler if you have any questions.

DSC_4575.jpgDSC_4578.jpgDSC_4623.jpgDSC_4608.jpg

[mmicire]

And some more...

DSC_4585.jpgDSC_4590.jpgDSC_4605.jpg

[mmicire]

And finally with a single bike on the sprocket mount...

DSC_4657.jpgDSC_4688.jpgDSC_4692.jpgDSC_4701.jpg

[DBWard]

Nice work, Mark!

FYI - anyone looking to unload your small OEM basket to help finance a conversion to Mark's set-up, please let me know.

Thanks in advance,

Dave

[sitdownrando]

Nice work, Mark! FYI - anyone looking to unload your small OEM basket to help finance a conversion to Mark's set-up, please let me know. Thanks in advance, Dave

Not sure if he ever sold it, you might ping RickySixx6 as I think he had one for sale a while back.

Sent from my iPhone using BF.com

[weezintrumpetee]

I'm 98% sure I saw you today going down Fulton toward the beach. I was in my Miata...your car looks fantastic!