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Roof Rack

22K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  stathis.bacharakis 
#1 ·
I want to put a roof rack on my 2003 R53 so I can throw some snowboards up top. I found this (see attachments) but it says "To add a roof rack to your MINI ; when pre mounts are installed already." I have no clue what pre mounts are. Currently I have nothing on top of my mini, just a sunroof.

If anyone has a roof rack on top of their r53 please enlighten me on the process.
 

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#3 ·
I believe the first generation Minis could have fixed roof rack mounting points added to their roof, which may be the 'pre-mounts' referred to.

To use a 'conventional' roof rack on these cars, I think you have to use the 'short roof adapter' that gets two clamps into each door opening, like this:

 
#5 ·
You may want to double check that you can place a luggage rack on it with it having the sunroof. I was going to have one installed on mine but was told because it had the sunroof they could not install one, this was at a Mini dealer. I did not inquire abou the clamp on style though.

Good Luck
 
#7 ·
One of the problems with the Mont Blanc, Thule, or Yakama is that their load capacity is less than half of the factory rack. They are limited to 75lbs where the factory rack is 75Kg(165lbs). Had the factory rack on my 2002 R53 MCS and have it on my current 2006 R53 MCS. Great rack. Easy to put the cross bars on and off, after the mounts are installed. Never had any problems with leaking.

I carry bicycles, kayaks, a cargo box, or anything else that will stay on the cross bars. The system works very well and there is nothing that touches the painted surfaces of the roof, so no scratching of the paint.

The rain gutter is only plastic and makes a poor anchor point for the other rack systems. The factory rack does not touch the rain gutter or the paint. It anchors to the eight mounting bolts with screws. Extremely solid.

See photos of the '06 MCS below.
 
#8 ·
The rack you have pictured IS for the 1st Gen R53s and can confirm as already noted here that the rack DOES have to be attached to premounted posts bolted into the roof. I have a 2003 R53 with the bolted-in factory roof rack (AND, BTW, my R53 has the sunroof as well -- great thing about OEM design, the rack is tall enough that the sunroof easily clears it underneath when opened). Bought the car new thirteen years ago and had the OEM roof rack installed by dealer at time of purchase, and have been using it ever since without incident (have OEM bike mounts that bolt to it, as well as OEM luggage rack). Only advice would be that, if you have a dealer or someone else install it, make sure it is someone who is meticulous with the detail work or has done it before. Early on, there were horror stories of dealers and DIYers who were unfamiliar with installation, misread the OEM templates for drilling and made postholes in the roof in the wrong spots! Also, if you go this route for your roof rack and intend to not have it on the car all of the time, buy lots of extras of these, as they tend to go flying off:

https://www.ecstuning.com/ES197069/
 
#11 ·
I have the OEM R53 roof kit (as pictured). It does require drilling and make sure you do it right. I bought mind directly from the dealership back in 2002. They drilled the holes in the wrong place and had to do some welding to fix. The plastic end caps/covers tend to rattle a lot too. It is a bit noisy with it it on.
 
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