Speedbird1 wrote

Good idea- I'll get on it.

My old Thule Aero bar (TH 861 120cm) from a SAAB 9-3 (just the bar) is long enough for the G01!
And the feet used on my F31 fits the G01 as well.

Thule Feet Rapid Fixpoint XT low TH 753
Thule Kit Rapid Fixpoint XT TH 4023

XXX3 wrote

To those of you that are considering a roof rack for your X3, I highly recommend the OEM (BMW) that’s available from any BMW dealer, only $210 for both. I’ve used Thule and Yakima racks for bikes, kayaks and cargo boxes for many years, and these are equally as good at half the cost of Thule.

where'd you find them for $210? I see them for 316 on bmwusa...thanks.

nevermind. I see when you add them to the cart, the price changes to 215!

Took advantage of my rack today...

azf100 wrote

Here's my setup.

Azf100 - I’m looking to add a similar Thule box to the top of my X3. What size cargo box is in your picture? L or XL? Also is that the Thule Motion?

Thanks

EBrez wrote

azf100 wrote

Here's my setup.

Azf100 - I’m looking to add a similar Thule box to the top of my X3. What size cargo box is in your picture? L or XL? Also is that the Thule Motion?

Thanks

If it helps, I have a Thule Touring Alpine on my X3, on an old set of Thule Aerobar roof racks.

https://www.takbox.se/butik/takbox-thule-touring/984-thule-touring-alpine-touring-700-svart-430-liter.html

nogren wrote

If it helps, I have a Thule Touring Alpine on my X3, on an old set of Thule Aerobar roof racks.

https://www.takbox.se/butik/takbox-thule-touring/984-thule-touring-alpine-touring-700-svart-430-liter.html

Thanks Nogren, looks

Is there an opportunity to retrofit roof rails and install OEM roof racks on them?

lewy87 wrote

Is there an opportunity to retrofit roof rails and install OEM roof racks on them?

Do they not come standard in the country you're in?

In the US, they all come standard with the side rails.

codex57 wrote

Do they not come standard in the country you're in?

In the US, they all come standard with the side rails.

In EU, they don’t.
Either might be selected as high gloss black or silver.
I didn’t opted for them and started to think how I am going to install OEM solution for ski tube..

lewy87 wrote

codex57 wrote

Do they not come standard in the country you're in?

In the US, they all come standard with the side rails.

In EU, they don’t.
Either might be selected as high gloss black or silver.
I didn’t opted for them and started to think how I am going to install OEM solution for ski tube..

Sweden is in the EU, and we do get them in all models of X3. Remember EU is not a Country.

I would ask your dealer for a price, and also dwell deep into realoem.com to see if it looks like it's possible from there.

nogren wrote

Sweden is in the EU, and we do get them in all models of X3. Remember EU is not a Country.

I would ask your dealer for a price, and also dwell deep into realoem.com to see if it looks like it's possible from there.

Ok, so I have checked my configurator and you were right - roof rails are integral part of X3. For X4, which I ordered - it's around 400 EUR..

sor wrote

Took advantage of my rack today...

Can you take a picture from inside? I want to see how much they block the pano roof. Thank you.

I installed my OEM base rails today. I won't actually use them for a few weeks but I wanted to put them on for a more sporty look. They look ok. Honestly I'm only using the OEMs because I got them for free. Otherwise I may have went with a Thule or Yakima. I feel like the OEMs sit a bit high and the clamps/locks look a bit bulky, and it takes away from the sleekness of the car.

XXX3 wrote

rem40i: here’s a photo of OEM racks on an X5 that I spotted today while on the road without my X3. This should give you a good idea of how racks, without accessories, is going to look. Cheers

If this is an F15 those racks are mounted in the wrong place. We have the racks on the X5 and the placement is critical.

dbpe wrote

XXX3 wrote

rem40i: here's a photo of OEM racks on an X5 that I spotted today while on the road without my X3. This should give you a good idea of how racks, without accessories, is going to look. Cheers

If this is an F15 those racks are mounted in the wrong place. We have the racks on the X5 and the placement is critical.

Glad you brought this up. I'm new to roof racks so I followed the instructions that came with my OEM rack. So it's positioned like the other one on this thread that said he followed the instructions, which matches the picture on the bmw website. For better support and aesthetics I'd prefer to move the rear one back a bit. I noticed most people with Thule racks position theirs at the pillars, which makes sense, but it isn't where the OEM racks are to be installed. The X3 manual doesn't say anything about it. So how crucial could it be to follow the instructions of the BMW OEM rack?

EBrez wrote

Azf100 - I’m looking to add a similar Thule box to the top of my X3. What size cargo box is in your picture? L or XL? Also is that the Thule Motion?

Thanks

Sorry for the delayed response. Its the Motion XT Large.

animal.style wrote

dbpe wrote

XXX3 wrote

rem40i: here's a photo of OEM racks on an X5 that I spotted today while on the road without my X3. This should give you a good idea of how racks, without accessories, is going to look. Cheers

If this is an F15 those racks are mounted in the wrong place. We have the racks on the X5 and the placement is critical.

Glad you brought this up. I'm new to roof racks so I followed the instructions that came with my OEM rack. So it's positioned like the other one on this thread that said he followed the instructions, which matches the picture on the bmw website. For better support and aesthetics I'd prefer to move the rear one back a bit. I noticed most people with Thule racks position theirs at the pillars, which makes sense, but it isn't where the OEM racks are to be installed. The X3 manual doesn't say anything about it. So how crucial could it be to follow the instructions of the BMW OEM rack?

The instructions that come with the mounting bars have exact measurements from the front of the rail. The location is important because the roof rails aren't parallel and the mounting bars are different lengths. If you try to mount them in the wrong place you are pulling on the rails vs. clamping on them.

dbpe wrote

animal.style wrote

dbpe wrote

XXX3 wrote

rem40i: here's a photo of OEM racks on an X5 that I spotted today while on the road without my X3. This should give you a good idea of how racks, without accessories, is going to look. Cheers

If this is an F15 those racks are mounted in the wrong place. We have the racks on the X5 and the placement is critical.

Glad you brought this up. I'm new to roof racks so I followed the instructions that came with my OEM rack. So it's positioned like the other one on this thread that said he followed the instructions, which matches the picture on the bmw website. For better support and aesthetics I'd prefer to move the rear one back a bit. I noticed most people with Thule racks position theirs at the pillars, which makes sense, but it isn't where the OEM racks are to be installed. The X3 manual doesn't say anything about it. So how crucial could it be to follow the instructions of the BMW OEM rack?

The instructions that come with the mounting bars have exact measurements from the front of the rail. The location is important because the roof rails aren't parallel and the mounting bars are different lengths. If you try to mount them in the wrong place you are pulling on the rails vs. clamping on them.

Never really thought of that. Thanks. But each bar extends a few inches. I'm guessing this is either because the bars are made for multiple cars or it's so the bars can be adjusted a little out of the exact position?

I'm only asking because with the recommended spacing, I can't mount my snowboard because my bindings are in the way. I would need to move the bars farther apart to get a good fit, but I'll figure something else out if it would cause any damage or not be safe.

Cut this from Jeepersjoey's post in another thread:

I have Thule roof bars. Thule recommend a specific gap between the bars themselves - but say use trial and error regarding actual placement.
I had a quick look on my x3 but could not see "the notch". Anybody else seen this?

Swisstony

swisstony wrote

Cut this from Jeepersjoey's post in another thread:

Today I installed my roof rack.

Wanting to know how much noise it was making, I opened the sunroof.

Dear god there is awesome sound dampening (acoustic glass??) with the sunroof.

Closed = small amount of wind noise.
Open = HUGE amount of wind noise.

Yea...they are in the right spot. Not only did I measure, but they are aligned with the notch on the inside edge of the rack.

Wow...great job, BMW!!!

Paul

I have Thule roof bars. Thule recommend a specific gap between the bars themselves - but say use trial and error regarding actual placement.
I had a quick look on my x3 but could not see "the notch". Anybody else seen this?

Swisstony

Honestly I haven't looked.
I also got Thule bars, and did some trial and error together with open hatch, and my skibox. Sort of as far back as possible, with the box attached. And a small margin for adjustments of the "claws" on the skibox. It's a Thule Alpine box by the way.
No noise.

Re: The Notch...

Open driver door. Stand inside and look over the rail. On the back side, on the bottom segment of the rail, there is a imprinted notch/line. It just so happens that this notch is right where the middle of the rack foundation should be.

All four locations have this notch.

So...it must have been intentional by BMW.

(Again...it is on the inside edge of the rails, not the outside (which would have been better....but more noticeable).
Paul