I have a kayak I'd love to be able to take out without having to swap cars with the girlfriend. Has anyone installed a roof rack on their F56 and could share their experience?

Thanks,
Daniel

 

I've found this from Yakima. Anyone with experience with this?

 

I run Yakima q towers on my Mazda and they're great. I had a Thule bolt on rack on my M Coupe that was great too. I'll likely transfer my Yakima to the F55 when they release the right clips.

 

http://installation.yakima.com/ If you search for a 2014 MINI, they have pictures on the site.

I will have tried them out when I get my car delivered sometime this month hopefully. I'll be able to let you know how they work.

 

Thanks! Yakima is on top of their stuff with those pics. I was able to find a used set on eBay. I'll post pics when I get it and install it.

 

From Thule. I'm not sure they understood the question :-)
________________________________________________
Hi Conrad,

Thank you for choosing Thule.

On my fit guide for the 2014, couper hatchback with a naked roof. They will come up with something, but I do not see a date for availability yet.

And there is no fit for the Mini Cooper coupe from 2012-2014

Regards,

Yvan
Thule Consumer Service


Customer By Web Form (Conrad Thomaier) - 07/02/2014 11:22 PM
Do you have plans to add an attachment kit for the 2014 MINI hardtop? This is a new design. I have a set of racks and carriers.

Yakima has one, BTW...

 

I ended up buying a used Yakima rack set in eBay for $200. Installed it this morning. The fit is extremely strong. I'm not worried about it damaging the car at all.

-4 Q Towers
-4 Q128 clips
-2 48" crossbars

Still need to find the 44" wind fairing at a decent price because of the wind noise.

 

I also recently installed a Yakima on my MCS. Can attest that it is very sturdy. Have a rear spoiler and be advised that just about every bike carrier is going to clash with the spoiler when you raise the boot. I bought RockyMounts Pitchfork bike rack b/c its seemed to have one of the shortest profiles (45 inch tray). It was still too long. So, I cut about 4 inches off the back of it before installing the end cap. It no longer clashes with spoiler and there is still plenty of tray left to mount my road bike (50cm) with inches to spare if you have a large frame. I could have cut off 1-2 inches less and still been OK. This allows unobstructed raising of the boot during normal driving. However, with a bike mounted, the tire will STILL hit the spoiler when you raise the boot. As far as the fairing, I ordered and installed a 38 inch. The 44 inch looked too wide to me on the pictures from the Yakima website. Happy with the looks of the 38" and still seems pretty quiet from inside the car at speed.

 

Thanks for that. I have Pitchforks now, but stock they're only about an inch extra for my 29er and maybe three for my 58.5cm roady. Hoping the F55 adds enough extra length.

 

The Yakima 1A Raingutter Towers also work quite well - very firm. In fact, when you give the rack a firm shake, the whole car moves. I have 48" crossbars and the copperhead bike attachment as well.

 

Are there any deals to be had out there on Yakima racks? Online, orsracksdirect.com looks cheapest, from my bit of research. I'm just imagining something like a coupon at Sport Chalet, REI, Wal-Mart...? Thanks for any ideas.

 

Ors is good, I used them for my previous Thule. I got my current Yakima from a friend. I'm debating switching from Q Towers to Rail Grabs and would either order from Ors or wait for the annual REI sale.

 

Glad to see it correctly fit. The installation guide has them sticking far out of one side.

 

REI often has 20% off sales.

 

Cool- although sounds like REI's sale is in April, and I can't wait that long. Good to know =P

Red, what do you mean, rail grabs? You got factory roof rails? Or do you mean the rain gutter towers like Lawerance? Seems like the Q is gonna fit better, no?

 

Sorry, yeah, I meant with roof rails. I haven't ordered my F55 yet and have been debating adding the roof rails just to not have to deal with the Q-tower feet touching the painted roof. For the naked roof though, the Q Towers are probably your best bet. You can always clear bra where the feet go.

Check Amazon too, they sometimes have better pricing than the others, especially if you have the patience to put them in your wish list and watch the price fluctuations until they hit your sweet spot.

 

I wonder if the WhispBar can be cut down to fit the mini. I like that clean flush look much better. =/

 

Can you measure the distance from the center of the rear bar to the hatch when it's opened? I'm trying to see if I can open the hatch with the ladder on the rack without worrying about it touching..

The bottom legs of my ladder are about 16.5" from the rear bar, and the top legs are about 19.25"

http://imgur.com/a/61SiX

 

I want to get that same 6' ladder on my future rack as well- why not use some straps or something so that it can be slid further forward, so it hangs less over the rear? Of course I've never put a ladder of any kind on a rack of any kind...

 

The time it takes to put the straps on or take them off is too long, plus the difficulty of making sure straps are fully tightened down and secure.

 

Well- just went ahead an ordered the Yakima Q-tower system. Was on the fence for a while, hoping something sleeker would come along... but saw that ORS has 20% off everything until Aug. 15. So had to go for it. Came out to $285, including free locks and free shipping. Tough to beat that deal I think! Yet it somehow added up to nearly $600 when I added the load warrior roof basket, and a fairing... dang. That better be a REALLY nice basket!

http://www.orsracksdirect.com

 

So the F56 has the hidden slots behind the drip railing in a similar fashion to the R56 and R53 for roof rack attachment? What is the need for the optional roof rails?

 

Just a matter of preference. The drip rail mounts still require a foot pad to sit on the painted roof along with the vinyl coated clips touching the rain rail. Roof rails allow for mounting with none of the rack touching a painted surface, or at least nothing but the rail.

If you're likely to remove the rack often, the naked roof with some clear bra where the towers rest is probably ideal. I usually leave mine on year round so prefer having the rain rails.

 

Currently the roof rack system that is out by MINI is the one that fits to the included roof rails that are ordered on the build: Like seen in this pic.

Roof Rack Base Bars - Cross Member 82712327916

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/82712327916/







Here are the other roof rack accessories. Aftermarket and factory.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2014-Cooper-F56-S-3_Door-B48A20A/Exterior/Roof_Rack/






Thanks

 

Here's a picture of my Yakima rack with my ladder attached:



and an album with a few other pictures: http://imgur.com/a/fpzHX#EZ9iYCw

I highly recommend the ladder clamps I'm using too. If you're in the US, you have to have them shipped from the UK, which makes them rather expensive, but they work really well: http://www.rhinosafeclamp.co.uk/