Here are some photos of the successful Thule roof rack installation on my 2008 Clubman S.

I was looking for a rack that was quick to install and remove and that would use my Thule load bars and bike holders.

The feet are the new model 480. They are easy to use and include a very cool allen torque wrench.

The fit kit# is 1507. And here’s where it got interesting. The instructions on how to attach the fit kit clips to the roof were wrong. I was disappointed since I’m a big fan of Thule’s products. I talked with Ryan at the Golden CO store of Rack Attack and sent him a couple of sets of photos. He forwarded them on to his Thule rep. The rep responded with some additional instructions and the install was done. The clips need to clip over the gutters, not under the gasket as shown on the instructions. Make sure to locate the clips exactly as dimensioned in the instructions. The left rear attachment is a bit ugly as the clip pulls the gutter/gasket assembly up from the free edge of the fixed glass. But this wasn’t a deal breaker for me. I just covered the gap with black electrical tape. I won’t have the racks on during the rain. When the rack was removed, all the gutters returned to their original positions.

I drove over 2 hours at freeway speeds (~80 mph) without any problems. The other bike belongs to my brother so he double-checked everything to protect his own bike (a pricy Dean titanium hardtail).

BTW, the bike holders are the Thule Big Mouth holders and are keyed alike to the racks.

Now, Shut Up and Ride!

 

THEY WAY YOU HAVE THIS MOUNTED IS INCORRECT.

NOT MATTER WHAT THULE SAID. The Install instruction that I have seen are correct.

There are little pieces of the Rubber Gutter that need to be removed and then that is where the foot clips go into. These pieces are at the top edge of the gutter right along the roof.

The way you have it mounted not only can the rack slide along the roof the rain gutter can be ripped out and then that mean a lot of labor time to have it replaced.

I know what I have stated above to be TRUE as i have worked closely with both Thule and Yakima. MY car has been a test car for them on a number of occasions. Also I assisted them in the writing of the instructions of proper installation.

The clips should attach directly to the metal structure of the car.

Unfortunately my car is at the dealer right now and i can not take picture of what you need to do to make this mount correctly.

 

I understand what you’re saying.
But you need to have the fit kit 1507 clips in hand and you’ll understand my initial frustration. First off, the clips are wider than the slots in the roof for the MINI rack. Secondly, the rigidity of the gutter prevents the clips from even getting to the slots. (The install instructions do not mention gutting the rubber gasket.) I did ask if the 1507 was the correct fit kit.
After many emails, I have to trust the feedback I got from the shop guy and his Thule rep.
And the racks worked fine.
But if you have some new/better info, I'd certainly entertain it.

 

That does not look at all like the 1507 kit that they tested my car with the bend up at the bottom is not at the correct angle (bent up to high) and is way longer.

The ones they tested on my car were narrower and the bend was only slightly more than 90 degrees. It fit into the slot perfectly and held of firmly with NO Possibility of movement.

I have seen a few Clubman damaged by racks that attached below the gutter. One to the point of over $1500 in roof repairs because the gutter let go, It is only made of rubber. Another lost a $2700 bike, dent removal and painting of the roof when the racks let go and.

I have been able to move all of the under gutter mount style rack feet that I have seen for this car and all of them will scratch the paint on the roof or roof dunes.

It is your call but IMHO that is a very unsafe mounting method.

I will have to check with Thule to see if they made any changes after the last time i was there last October.

 

I went thru this with the Rack Attack guys. And it was a bit frustrating.

The previous foot model was 400XT with fit kit# 2198 and I thought I had a photo of that kit showing what you described: a narrower clip with maybe a 90 degree bend. But the Rack Attack guy said it must have been a generic detail. He ordered another 1507 just to make sure that he sent me hadn’t been mis-labeled. And it was the same clip.

The instructions for the 1507 implied that it would fit into the factory slots. But certainly not the clip I have.

The Rack Attack guy got this note from his Thule rep after seeing my photos:
“The bracket is designed to fit on that black gutter that runs along the trim above the doors…..tell him to make sure his measurements are correct, but that is the way it fits.”

Do you know a more reliable contact at Thule?

I’d feel more comfortable if the clips engaged the factory slot. But my current rack doesn’t budge.

(BTW, thanks for "debugging" this with me.)

 

Chilao-

I purchased the same Thule 480 rack kit as you and also noticed something funny with the instructions. There was no way the 1507 clips were going to fit under the gutter into the slots. After triple checking my measurements I decided to contact Rack Warehouse where I purchased the kit from to verify they had sent me the 1507 clips (which they had). I was concerned about damaging the gutter/roof so I stopped my install.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one confused by this. Thanks for posting your story, I was considering returning the kit. I'll try to post some pictures of my kit this weekend so we can compare measurements.

 

Tried again to install the rack and still no luck. It appears the 1507 clips are too wide and too deep to fit into the OEM slots. The gutter is much too stiff and firmly attached to the roof line to peel back like the instructions demonstrate.

IMHO, attaching the clips over the gutter on the front seems very dangerous as it pinches the weather stripping for the window. I can see it damaging the edge of the roof and the gutter over time. Going over the gutter on the rear pulls the rack feat out of alignment since the clip wasn't design for the extra 1/4" needed to clear the gutter.

Very disappointed in Thule. Going to contact Rack Warehouse on Monday to figure out my return options.

schatzy62- what type of rack do you use?

 

When I bought my clubman no one made an aftermarket rack for the clubman and there was not rails avaliable for the car. I purchased the OEM Base rack System and use that regulary taking it on and off the car with no problem.

I answered a add from Thule and Yakamia for test cars and the offer was for a full set of racks and extras.

Unfortunately i did not take any of the offereings as they all caused problems with the rain gutters and water leaks.

 

Prior to taking delivery on my 2009 Clubman S, I checked with Thule and with Rack Attack. What I was told was that the gutter mounts would stay on, but should only be used for the lightest duty. They did not recommend transporting bikes or kayaks. This was partially due to the lack of stability in the mount itself, and the short distance between feet. I decided to order the factory rails and attach Thule feet and bars. This setup seems to work well, and will carry anything including the Thule Cargo Carrier that I previously used with a Land Rover.

 

Called Rack Warehouse this morning to discuss the issue. (Thule's consumer support line is closed on Mondays) The support rep was friendly and tried to help by calling his vendor contact at Thule. They claimed the instructions in the 1507 kit are correct and the clips should go under the gutter, not over the gutter. As Chilao discovered, that is just not possible to pull the gutter down that far. I'll have to see what Thule tells me tomorrow when they open.

Most annoying part (besides not being able to use a $400 rack) is that Rack Warehouse will only take the kit back if Thule accepts this as a warranty issue. Since I tried to install it, they consider it used and will not offer a full refund.

 

I have an "older" Thule roofrack, I believe it is the aforementioned 400XT towers with 2198 fit kit. Its clamps do go down over the rain gutters, but when tightened the force is really much more on the rubber feet themselves and I've never had any distortion of the gutters or window weatherstripping. I originally bought the base rack for my 2006 R56, then kept if for an Audi A3, a 2008 MCS, and now my 2009 JCW, all just changing the fit kits, and updating the bike rails once. I have never had any issues with it and it pretty much stays on my car most of the time, carrying up to three bikes. I believe the stated weight limit is 75 lbs and since all of my bikes, even the mtbs, are way under 25 lbs each, I've never overloaded it. It appears this new setup is trying to mimic the OEM rack but not working as intended. Do they still offer the older one? Sorry, I don't have a picture handy of it, but here's a gratuitious picture of my other car and its custom hitchmount rack:

 

Just spoke with customer service at Thule. The rep told me there have been no reported issues/complaints with the 1507 kit on the Clubman. I find that hard to believe as Chialo raised this same issue through Rack Attack.

I've been referred to the engineer that fit the Clubman so we can work through the problem. I'll be sure to post pictures when there is a resolution.

dewarner-
Retailer I purchased the kit from told me this rack can support 110 pounds. (Thule website seems to confirm this.) He said all of their racks have slightly underrated maximum loads just in case they are overloaded.

mtbscott-
I believe the 2198 kit was replaced by the 1507 when the feet changed from the 400XT to 480 Traverse. The rubber feet on the 1507 have a deeper curve to hug the roof line better. Your hitchmount setup is making me wonder if that is the smarter move given all the trouble with these racks.

 

Looking good man.

Is that your brothers Audi, if so does it have black wheels ?

 

Please keep us posted on any updates from Thule. I need a rack for my kayak but dont trust anything that doesn't fit the factory slots.

 

Will do. Has been three days and I haven't heard back from the engineer after I sent my pictures.

Talking with the vendor I mentioned the Thule instructions implied their clips should attach to the OEM slots. He said this isn't always the case. According to him, the OEM slots are at the strongest point on the roof and Thule/Yakima normally try to attach their clips to those same points.

 

Heard back today from the fit engineer who designed the 1507 clips. This is what he sent me along with the attached photos:

"It sounds as if the customer is trying to installed the bracket above the composite gutter and not below it as it is intended to be installed.

The fit is meticulous, and the rubber is a bit hard to separate from the composite trim above it - but it does work and it does fit quite well.

Note: Make sure they pay attention to the Acutite tensioning tool, as over-tightening this rack can damage the vehicle.
Note: On the back driver's side, you will not be inserting the bracket between the composite gutter and the rubber, but around the rubber itself."

I have sent them a link to the directions and pointed out why I was trying to fit the clips under the gutter. (In case anyone is interested, this is what came with my kit: http://www.thuleracks.com/instructio...07,%201507.pdf See page 6, step 5.)

I'm very satisfied with how the rack mounts on the car after following these directions. It was frustrating that it took this long to get the proper instructions from Thule, however both the customer service rep and the fit engineer very helpful.

 

Well I must say that the instructions that come with the kit surely do not look like the way it is supposed to mounted. They need to update the instructions for sure. They look like the Original way that Thule had mounted clips to my car during testing and how the OEM rack mounts. Maybe they just don't realize the mistake in the instructions.

IMHO it is still an unsafe mounting, but you all cas do as you please. I have seen how easy it is to pull the gutter off the car, it really does not take much force at all. I will stick with my OEM Base Roof Rack System.

 

The shape of the fit kit arms might be a bit different, but essentially it's just like my older towers/clamps. I have to disagree with you Schatzy about this being unsafe. The clamps are held in place by going under the gutter rail, but the "force" holding the rack on is mostly tension spread out over the feet. I can assure you if all four towers are tightened proportionately, there is NO distortion of the gutters and the rack is secure. I have driven literally thousands of miles with my Thule rack on three MINI's and an Audi A3 and have never had it slip, or move in any way. If you look in their catalogues, you will see that the majority of Yak and Thule racks are made to fit by clamping around some part of window frame trim. If that's unsafe, the roads should be littered with racks ejected from the roofs of cars but I haven't seen that. My bike team actually just picked up a sponsor deal from Thule, after one of their regional reps saw the one mounted on my MZ4. He took several pictures and said it might show up in some of their promo materials.

 

Directions are totally wrong, we'll see if they ever update them...

Maybe you could clear up my main concern with the OEM solution. When I bought my Clubman the salesman told me holes are drilled in the roof so the mounting bolts can be secured. He said they provide plastic plugs to cover the holes when not in use. I was concerned with water/rust around these points 5-6-7 years down the road. The dealer didn't have a model with the OEM rack installed so I couldn't see it for myself.

 

OEM rack for R53 MINI's required drilling holes in the roof. The factory rack for R56's (and Clubmans) fits into some tiny slots that are inboard on the weatherstripping/rain gutter, then tension holds the feet down just like the Thule. In a perfect world, the MINI would come with pre-tapped holes in the roof for a rack. My old E46 M3 and Porsche Caymans had them as do assorted other German cars. There were little plastic flaps that covered the holes, when you opened them, the specifically made tower feet bolted right on with nothing touching the roof. I wish we had that too.

 

Thanks for clarifying that, my salesman was obviously confused. Something about drilling into a brand new roof felt wrong and that's why I went the Thule route. I like your pre-tapped hole idea. Would provide a strong mount point and a clean roof line.

 

Atlas,
Thanks for staying with this.
(I was out of town for a week but I was getting emails showing all the new posts.)
My connections look like the photos.
Do you have any pictures of your installed clip on the rear driver's side? Mine seems secure, but not so pretty.
I don't quite understand "Note: On the back driver's side, you will not be inserting the bracket between the composite gutter and the rubber, but around the rubber itself."

 

No problem, didn't mean to hijack your thread...

I thought that comment was a little strange too since I attached the rear passenger side clip the exact same way as the driver side. I think he means you shouldn't try to separate the gutter from the rubber seal below it on the back of the car. On the front doors you need to do this because you'll be pulling the weather stripping away from the window if you don't.

I briefly installed the rack yesterday just to check these instructions. Car got covered in dirt last night so I need to wash it before I put it back on, hopefully I'll have time this weekend and I can post some pictures. I've been thinking about putting a protective film like clear bra over the foot-roof contact points so I can wipe them off with a damp rag rather than having to wash the entire roof. I'm a little concerned about dirt between the rubber foot and the roof wearing down the paint over time.

 

And that is what make this forum so nice to be on. we can disagree and still remain civil to each other. Many other forums I frequent are not so civil.

This is where I disagree with this being safe. From what I see in the OP's pictures there is some distortion of the rain gutters. And the OP actually mentions "The left rear attachment is a bit ugly as the clip pulls the gutter/gasket assembly up from the free edge of the fixed glass." So with some distortion of the rain gutter, and the fact that I have seen how easy the rain gutter comes out of these cars I still think it is unsafe.


Now I may be wrong here but this is the first car I have had with rubber rain gutters and there may be others that I do not know about. But most of the clamps that clamp down around window frames and gutters are doing so on solid metal surfaces not rain gutters that just pull out of the side of the car.

Congrats if they do show up please post some pictures so that we can see them.

Well the MA was totally wrong on the mounting. As mbscott said there is no drilling of the roof for the racks and although they are tension fit they lock onto the car very very very securely as can bee seen in picture in my gallery and in the instructions I wrote for the proper fitting of the OEM Base Rack system as the instructions that MIN sends with it are even worse than the Thule instructions.

My write up thread can be found here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-roofrack.html

The specific writeup is here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ck-install.pdf

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the rack installed. (The quality isn't the greatest as my cell phone has hard time with the lighting in my garage.)

As you can see from the left rear picture, the clip does pull the rubber seal away from the window. I can see this being an issue driving in rain and nothing is preventing water from going behind the seal now. On the right rear, that problem doesn't exist because the seal is different on the club door. Once each foot was properly tensioned, the rack was very secure on the car without bending the gutter. I could grab and bar and rock the car back and forth without the feet coming loose.

Thule's instructions are just terrible... I found is easier to position the feet on the roof without the rails locked in place. Now that I've got the width perfect, I painted a simple white line so I can quickly align the bars in the future. Another thing they don't mention is loosening the tension bolt inside each foot to gain enough clearance so the clip can go under the gutter.

I drove about 40 miles over the weekend with the rack installed and 2 bikes mounted. My maximum speed was about 70mph and I didn't have any issues other than some whistling above 55mph. I don't see any damage to the gutters or roof. I guess only time will tell if this mounting system will be an issue.

schatzy62-

If my salesman hadn't of told me the OEM rack required drilling, I was planning on purchasing it when I bought up the car. Unfortunately I found this board after I'd ordered the Thule rack and had trouble installing it. Knowing what I know now, I would have gone OEM and saved the hassle of debugging Thule's instructions. I put too much trust in Thule and the retailer, next time I'll consult this board first.