02-25-2012, 10:10 PM | #1 |
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Yakima on BMW rails?
Has anyone tried the Yakima system on the BMW roof rail? Any conversion issues? I would hate to start over as I have a nice collection of Yakima. Thanks for your input.
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02-26-2012, 06:35 AM | #2 |
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I'm in the same boat (literally, got the Yakima kayak stacker and cradles, rocket box, ski carrier etc.)
So far, there is no compatible "Rail Grab" tower for the flush rails. I emailed Yakima and was told one might be available in the future. No estimated date. I think I can make the Rocket Box work and possibly the ski carrier but not the boat items as they wrap around the bar. I'll probably keep pestering Yakima..... |
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02-27-2012, 12:04 PM | #4 |
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I was a little surprised that after the first model year of our gen X3 Yakima still hasn't released a rail grab in either their round bars or Whispbar form. The shape doesn't seem very different than other flush-mounted rails I've seen in other cars so why Yakima hasn't yet made a fit kit for it perplexes me. Ended up mounting the Thule Aeroblades instead and mounted my Yakima Fatcats to them. The fit is a little odd due to the pronounced wing-shape but still secure.
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02-27-2012, 06:51 PM | #5 |
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That's what I have come to as a remedy. Seems that all my Yakima stuff fits Thule towers and bars. Anyone know if we are stuck with square bars or can get something more aerodynamic.
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02-29-2012, 07:00 PM | #7 | |
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I don't think I've ever noticed any noise or vibration coming from the blades, but then again I never did a before/after comparison with the shade (the shade blocks out a surprising amount of noise) or sunroof open. I currently have my FatCats on there and those clearly are responsible for all the wind noise that I can hear coming from the roof. I'm pretty confident that once I take the FatCats off at the end of snowboarding season the noise will be imperceptible again. |
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03-12-2012, 04:10 PM | #8 |
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Same boat here. Has anyone checked out the Yakima railgrab for Audi?
Here's a link to them on etrailer. My wife is driving the X3 today or I would go down into the garage and compare the profile of the rails. http://www.etrailer.com/Roof-Rack/Ya...-Y8880201.html |
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03-13-2012, 02:00 PM | #9 |
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Yakima
I recently talked with Yakima and they suggested they were looking at Fall at the earliest and their solution would fit on the doors and not the rails. I have been using yakima products mostly for canoeing and kayaking since the mid 80's and really like their stuff.
This solution is unacceptable, so I went with Thule square bars. Very tight and secure on the rails. A bit of hum at times, but what can you expect. The X3 is my secondary vehicle for paddling but I think it will work fine. Looks cool also, IMO. |
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03-13-2012, 09:36 PM | #10 |
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That's what I'm leaning towards doing. I think all of my Yakima products will work on square bars so at least I won't have to replace everything. That's is more info then I got from Yakima. Did they say how they would mount to the doors? That sounds odd.
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03-13-2012, 10:17 PM | #11 |
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Yes they are planning on using the towers with clips to fit inside the doors. At least that is what they told me. That works okay on some vehicles but we have a nice roof rail and I guess Thule is the way to go. Most of the recent yakima components (canoe brackets, kayak cradles and stackers) have clips which can fit on square bars after pulling out a part of the clip.
I also put nylon straps under the hood attached to bolts for front tie downs. I found other bolts in the rear to attach another nylon strap for a stern tie-down. |
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03-15-2012, 01:21 AM | #12 |
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Roof Bars for X3
Hi All
Researching this topic myself. BMW has a roof bar that can carry 75 kilograms. The Thule is only rated for 50 kilograms. The BMW ones are 50% dearer and look like they are also made by Thule. The BMW roof rack is identical to the Thule but have deleted the Thule name!!? The Thule / BMW bars are the only ones that I can find that fit the flush roof rails, other brands all have to clamp down into the door opening. |
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03-15-2012, 04:08 AM | #13 |
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To KF,
Have you noticed that the international Thule website has the aero bars rated at 100KG but the Aussie website for the same bars is rated at 50KG (as you pointed out). I was going to ask a roof rack specialist to confirm when I get delivery of my X3 in 6 weeks. Otherwise, I stumbled across Rhino that have "sports" roof racks that are capable of 100KG and work with Thule roof boxes but these would be my second choice. |
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03-15-2012, 11:57 AM | #14 | |
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I would think that the load restrictions are a function of the towers rather than the bars themselves. The aluminum extrusion profile of the Aerobars look quite robust and appear to be able to handle a massive load. |
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04-05-2012, 09:58 AM | #16 |
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Update. Yakima will be producing a set for the x3 that fits inside of doors. Not sure when. With a mighty mount conversion all Yakima should fit on Thule aero blade system. The aero blade and the BMW stock system seem very similar so the mighty mounts should fit both. Etrailer has the Thule system for $372. BMW of towson on amazon has the BMW stock system for $229. So unless anyone can think of a reason why the Thule is a better value it would seem that BMW wins the day. Hope this helps everyone.
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04-05-2012, 02:16 PM | #17 | |
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Lou |
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04-07-2012, 09:02 AM | #19 |
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04-09-2012, 06:16 AM | #20 | |
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Question on mounts and size
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