About 18 years ago I had a Volvo XC 70, I bought a Volvo Bike Rack that was manufactured by Thule. It was a cantilever system so you could fit the bikes to the rack at ground level and literally raise them onto the roof with one finger, then, that's all you had to do was to secure both wheels with webbing straps,no effort was needed whatsoever and have used them on two 5 Series and two X3's.
They were expensive at the time at £200 but as I broke my back in a car rally accident it was worth paying as cycling was the only exercise that I could do at that time. I still have them but not fitted to my present G01 due to lockdown. I do not know if Thule still make this great rack but check out their web site as they are the best without the effort of manually lifting the bikes, and if you tow a trailer they are great as no extra weight is put on the hitch

I went with the Menabo Leopard roof racks from Costco. Cost me total $180 Canadian shipped directly to me including all taxes.

I plan on using them for a tiny cargo box I have from my old Range River Evoque and to carry skis.

Is there any real specific place to fit roof bars? Got myself a set of Thule Wingbar Evo's delivered yesterday then fitted them last night. Couldn't see nothing in the BMW drivers guide app on my phone so just placed them where I thought they'd be ok.

Sitting 36cm from the start of the roof rail at the front screen then spaced 700mm apart.

Hopefully there is no markings of the rails either which I see some other's have experienced!

@Martyn I have the same Thule system as you, mounted to an M-B. Thule makes very good equipment.

Regarding placement/location, I position the crossbars so that full function is possible for moonroof and rear liftgate, with two adult bikes mounted. This means the whole system is a bit rearward of where most people install the crossbars. I have a traditional moonroof, and both tilt and slide functions work. The liftgate can be opened fully with two bikes mounted.

A panorama roof sliding feature might, or might not be usable. Tilt feature should be OK.

The spacing is marked on the rails with a little nub. Run your finger along inside lower edge of the rails. You should find the two locations marked. Do not exceed this spacing for cross bars.

chassis wrote

@Martyn I have the same Thule system as you, mounted to an M-B. Thule makes very good equipment.

Regarding placement/location, I position the crossbars so that full function is possible for moonroof and rear liftgate, with two adult bikes mounted. This means the whole system is a bit rearward of where most people install the crossbars. I have a traditional moonroof, and both tilt and slide functions work. The liftgate can be opened fully with two bikes mounted.

A panorama roof sliding feature might, or might not be usable. Tilt feature should be OK.

Was going to get the genuine BMW bars as they were cheaper but got the Thule one's as it means I can put them on the wife's F31 if we need. Luckily no sunroofs here to worry about!

Have you had to retighten your's at all after so many miles?

Swampman wrote

The spacing is marked on the rails with a little nub. Run your finger along inside lower edge of the rails. You should find the two locations marked. Do not exceed this spacing for cross bars.

Went out and run my hand along the rails and could fell them, the bars are only about 2" past the markers

Martyn wrote

Was going to get the genuine BMW bars as they were cheaper but got the Thule one's as it means I can put them on the wife's F31 if we need. Luckily no sunroofs here to worry about!

Have you had to retighten your's at all after so many miles?



Went out and run my hand along the rails and could fell them, the bars are only about 2" past the markers

@Martyn No tightening needed in the half dozen trips I have taken with the bikes on the racks. Each trip has been approx 500 miles round trip. I’m leaving soon for a 3,000 mile round trip with the bikes on the roof.

The Evo feet/towers have a ratcheting feature when the correct tightening torque has been reached. It’s good. Also, the clamping feature (“jaws”) is covered with rubber, so the grip on the vehicle roof rail is very secure.

Took the bars off earlier today and it’s left marks on my rails. Bit annoyed with it, bars were fresh out the box and I cleaned the rails before fitting them!

The BMW-issue roof rails (82712414373) take a very slight bite out of your fuel economy, even without a bike holder or basket up there.

In my controlled testing of fuel economy there is a loss of about 0.6 mpg from the rails being present. Even with their airfoil type shape, they do present a little bit of additional drag .

I also found you need to be careful on where you space the rear bracket. Running it as far back as what feels comfortable puts it right above the antenna. A few times that has had a negative impact upon satellite radio reception.

The locks are really nice to keep someone from 'jacking our rails but the end-caps are a little bit bulky with the plastic covers that flip down over the tightening knobs.

Just finished a 3,000 mile round trip from Indiana to Colorado and back. Thule Aero wingbars and ProRide bike racks, with 2 adult bikes, see my photo above.

The bars and bike racks are very solid. One bike rack needed to be tightened onto the cross bars one time. It could have been I didn't install them tight enough in the first place.

Lots of cross winds in Missouri and Kansas, and the racks+bars performed well.

Fuel economy penalty was about 15%, or 3-4 mpg in my case. 90% or more of driving was interstate highways at 75mph - 80mph. Wind noise was acceptable. I use the Thule front air deflector. Vehicle is a 2017 Mercedes GLE350 4MATIC with a 3.5L naturally aspirated V6 gasoline.

When I got home after the trip (yesterday) I adjusted the locking bar pivot so that the bikes sit one inch farther forward on the roof. This creates more clearance to the liftgate in the open position, and retains the ability to use the moonroof in both tilt and slide functions.

Great system!

@Martyn the marks on the roof rails don't surprise me, the coating ("plating") on the rails is not the same as plating 30 years ago. Cerium or argent of whatever it's called is not a super high quality coating. My opinion for my own vehicle is that is is "just a car" and it is there to be used. I run my vehicles as near to 200k miles or beyond, so resale value is not generally a concern for me.

chassis wrote

@Martyn the marks on the roof rails don't surprise me, the coating ("plating") on the rails is not the same as plating 30 years ago. Cerium or argent of whatever it's called is not a super high quality coating. My opinion for my own vehicle is that is is "just a car" and it is there to be used. I run my vehicles as near to 200k miles or beyond, so resale value is not generally a concern for me.

That is some dedicated ownership! I'll try polishing them, imagine it will come out. Most people wouldn't notice the marks but they will annoy me

Just contributing to the thread... we've had the OEM roof racks on for 2+ years now on our G01 X3 and approximately 30K miles. Never had to retighten or adjust them once. Dealer installed originally.

Also, we've been through countless automatic car washes... both the touchless and standard drive-thru variety, and never had an issue. The OP's comment about never going through a car wash with them on just stuck out to me. Maybe I'm lucky, but we just never once had a problem.

bsm.m4 wrote

Just contributing to the thread... we've had the OEM roof racks on for 2+ years now on our G01 X3 and approximately 30K miles. Never had to retighten or adjust them once. Dealer installed originally.

Also, we've been through countless automatic car washes... both the touchless and standard drive-thru variety, and never had an issue. The OP's comment about never going through a car wash with them on just stuck out to me. Maybe I'm lucky, but we just never once had a problem.

I'm in Utah where roof racks aren't uncommon. I've noticed the auto washers will actually shut off the roof roller when they see me coming, which is quite annoying because it means it doesn't get as clean but I guess it saves them from lability or something. I've gone through once or twice where someone has forgotten and it didn't do anything adverse.

This is when I actually have the ski rack on the rails. Plain rails just go right on through as a normal wash.

sor wrote

I'm in Utah where roof racks aren't uncommon. I've noticed the auto washers will actually shut off the roof roller when they see me coming, which is quite annoying because it means it doesn't get as clean but I guess it saves them from lability or something. I've gone through once or twice where someone has forgotten and it didn't do anything adverse.

This is when I actually have the ski rack on the rails. Plain rails just go right on through as a normal wash.

Gotcha, so yeah to clarify, it's just the plain rails going through the car washes that I was talking about where I've had no issues. I have never got through a car wash with a ski rack on the rails or anything else. Just wanted to clarify for the thread. That all makes sense now...

Hi, on my wife’s 2019 x3. Will a 2017 x3 roof rack fit?

Good to hear that there are some of you who have left your cross rails on for extended periods of time (or indefinitely)... as I do the same.

Very nice to hear that you've mitigated the automatic car washes without removing them, as well....

I had cross rails bent and flung off of my GMC Envoy a couple years back driving through an autowash without thinking... The rails were fine, but the mounts were damaged in the process... so I've had a phobia about driving my X3 through those tunnels.

In fairness... the GMC mounts were completely different attachment method than the BMW... So there's that to consider, also.

Mkswoosh wrote

Hi, on my wife’s 2019 x3. Will a 2017 x3 roof rack fit?

Mkswoosh Which rack system do you have? The 2017 BMW roof rails appear to the the same concept (flush to roof, without 360 degree clamping access) as the current G01 model. On the surface it seems possible. The rack manufacturer such as Thule or others can give you guidance with their configurator.

I have the f25 bmw racks on my g01. They do fit, maybe not exactly where bmw wants you to mount them but close enough. If you take them on and off several times they appear to ‘stretch’ a bit and can be placed at the notches inside the rails, which indicate bmws mount suggested location.

BMW & bimmers forum noob here, so sorry if there has already been a discussion about these OEM web sites!

Has anyone ever ordered parts from https://www.bmwpartswholesale.com/ or https://www.genuinebmwminiparts.com/ ?
They both have 2019 X3 Base Support Systems for about $100 less than my dealer via https://www.shopbmwusa.com/

Oh and the 2019 Base Support System will fit a 2021 X3, right?
Thanks!!

Martyn wrote

Took the bars off earlier today and it’s left marks on my rails. Bit annoyed with it, bars were fresh out the box and I cleaned the rails before fitting them!

I had the same issue, I didn’t on my old X3 with the satin roof bars. Must be the gloss black. I’ve used Meguiars scratch remover and then waxed to provide some protection, if you look really closely you can still see. Re positioning, there are small raised bumps in the rubber seal at the base of the roof rail, inside edge where they meet the roof.

Has anybody tried putting a roof top tent on the x3?

Thule Aeroblade with ski rack. Aeroblades were making huge amounts of wind noise at all positions so I was forced to cover bottom edge of front blade with blade vinyl tape. Pretty ghetto solution and frankly unacceptable for a piece of equipment at this price point, much less one that claims to be whisper quiet. Otherwise pleased with the functionality. No interference with the panoramic roof operation and surprisingly not excessively loud with it open. Crushed fuel economy though.