Thule roof rack works on 370Z
 

For those 370Z owners who want to take more stuff with you, here's an alternative to the boofsquire rack. On a whim, I tried to fit a Thule rack from my 2006 mini cooper onto my Z. Much to my surprise it was a direct fitment! The Thule option is a great alternative to buying a new (and usually unavailable) Boofsquire setup and it allows for the use of Thule's full bike carrier (such as the Sidearm or the Bigmouth) which eliminates the need to put a dirty mountain bike tire in the truck. The downsides I have found so far are the weight (Hatch will not stay open), the wind noise (but not any worse than the typical road noise). Also, when setting it up, you have to make sure the rails for the bike racks do not extend too far forward or they will scratch the roof when you open the hatch! If you are considering this option, make sure you buy the MiniCooper fit kit with a MINIMUM bar length of 50" (slightly longer would be better, but 50" will work). Hope you guys find this useful.

Check the pics for additional info. I added round magnets under the hatch springs to prevent the hatch from "bouncing" when I hit a bump.

this is great, would be funny if we can fit 4 rims/tires for track days............

Awesome. :tup:

pretty cool :tiphat:

i imagine spoilers from the sport package or nismo may get in the way

Would the rear lip on the sport package cause any issues?

If you use the standard height towers you might have interference. THule makes a high-rise tower that would provide additional clearance and should clear the rear spoiler.

You can probably modify it, but do you really want to strap 250lbs on top of your car....

The NISMO wing makes this one a no-go for me, but pretty nice find. Not sure I would try it though. I would hate to rip my hatch off while driving on the highway...............

250 pounds I wouldn't worry too much actually. I can put 2 rims inside the car and 2 outside maybe....

You can definitely build a cross brace to support a tire or two, like those rally cars back in the days. I can't imagine a 65lb rim/tire is exactly easy to lift.

http://hpimodelcar.img.jugem.jp/20110507_827994.jpg

Does it cut into the paint at all?

Looks like a rocket launcher. Kewl.... You could have some real fun on the fourth of July. ;-)


Edit: Had to do it:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...etlauncher.jpg

How is Rear visibility affected...? :icon08:

No, it does not cut into the paint. The "hooks" are rubber/plastic coated and there are rubber pads under each of the towers. Although, if I keep it on thru the summer I will probably put some protective tape under the pads to ensure the paint does not get scratched.

Nice edit with the rocket launchers!

Rear visibility is slightly effected with the rear crossbar, but not significantly.

So like instead of only seeing 5% of what's behind you, you see 4%, huh?:bowrofl:

could you please list the Thule part numbers? or the Mini cooper year you purchased the rack for. Tks! I am planning to use this solution for my mountain bike.

:facepalm:

Hi there... any chance you can list the Thule part numbers?

I'd like to know the part numbers as well.

not bad

Another request for the Thule part number please. Looks like a great solution! :)

grave digging a thread here, but has anyone sourced these racks after this thread was made?? Part numbers etc??

part number? anyone?

Hello everyone,

probably you all know the pictures of 370z coupes with roof boxes and co.
I've seen that a lot myself in Japan. More JDM is not possible i guess.
Simply out of principle I have now thought I will try the whole thing.
Would be quite nice to be able to take a set of tires without an escort vehicle or if you want to go camping etc..

I have so far only test mounted a MontBlanc bar (160cm) with Thule clamps. The correct bars fit perfectly with 150cm and are the Thule Squarebar Evo.
Fit both top and bottom of the trunk lid.

Here the required components and modifications.
Starting set is the Thule Rapid System 754
The Thule clamps 659 (original for Mini R50/53).They must be bent a little further or a piece be cut off.
And the rubbers 182 (still looking for higher to save the adjustment on the 754 system) and to ensure the free movement of the wiper.
Thule Squarebar Evo 150cm

Pictures of the finished attachment will follow.

there you go

How fast do you feel is safe with the container at that angle catching a ton of air?

I'd like to see a picture of how the container attaches to the bars.

awesome, thanks for this