I first found the little marks that went up and down on the rubber. The I put the plastic card behind those marks. Then I took an Exacto knife and cut the vertical lines. Then I cut a horizontal line between the vertical cuts and removed the rectangular piece. Then I used the Exacto to "trim the bottom again until I had the exact shape of the openings that the "feet" of the rack inserted into. The piece that you take out should be about 2 inches long and about 1/4 inch wide. You can get an idea of the width of the piece you'll remove by looking at the "plugs" that seal the opening when the rack is not on the car. Those plugs overlap the opening on each end by about 1/4 inch, but they are almost exactly the same width.

BTW, the rubber seal that you will be cutting has a part number (51137146105-right, and 51137146106 left) and can be reordered and reinstalled if you screw it up horribly. I think it costs something like $60. Given its availability, you should have a bit more confidence that you won't screw up the car irrepairably (is that a word?).

Good luck.

 

Hmm thanks so much. So is there an easy es to do it without cutting? Once the vertical slits are open shouldn't thd horizontal part come loose by itself? Thanks again. Anybody in oc wanna help me remove the damn things for a beer or two? Haha.

 

I found that the bottom cut was easy. The opening in the body pretty much guides the blade. Once you have done one, well...... you know.

 

How does one do this withOUT cutting, does it just rip naturally once the side slits are stretched? From what i read, a blade is not NEEDED to do this - I just wanna make sure i get it right - haha

 

In theory, the "tab that is to be removed is scored and can be easily torn along the scoring line. That's about what it says in the instructions.

In practice, the scoring line is not particularly distinct (perhaps tooling has gotten worn along the way). I found that mine wasn't likely to "tear" without significant damage to the remaining portion of the rubber. Hence the handy dandy Exacto.

There may be folks out there who have successfully torn the tab along the scored lines. But I doubt it.

Try an Exacto or a straight edge razor blade. You'll get a better end result.

 

FYI i have done more than 7 cars for the OEM Roof Racks and each and every one has been easy to rip the tab out. But with that said they all were early 08 porduction so as Herleman said it could be that the tooling is warn and not cutting the rubber correctly. An Exacto Knife should do the trick easily though.

 

Does anyone know if the 2011 Clubman still has the "scoring" to remove the weatherstripping for the rack. I looked and did not see anything to indicate where I should even put the rack feet. I think they got rid of the scoring so that unless you are confident in your mechanical abilities, you have to have the dealership install the thing. I would hate to start cutting then realize I cut in the wrong place or made the cutout too big.

 

just got it installed today took about 40 minutes with the instruction btw great write up... now my only question iss when i got on the freeway it made a whistling noise. is that normal for these racks?? thanks

 

Itsounds as if you have them reversed front to back. Tbe front one should have 3 small rubber tabs on the bottom side. If those tabs are not on the front one then there surely will be a wistle

Do you have any other attachments on the rack. So attachments willl also cause some noise

 

Lol i put mine on in 5 mins and have this whistling... time to change em around lol

 

thank you for getting back to me. i did go by the picture on the bottom of the rack where it is needed to be positioned at. so yes the 3 tabs are on the front of the car where its suppose to be.. hmm maybe i installed it wrong?? but if i installed it wrong i figured it would of flew off of my car by now .. weird.. ehhh the whistling sound isnt so bad since i crank up my music as i drive and the DOS intake doesnt help either , lol.. just moreee sound for my ears

 

what about clubman with the factory roof rails? do they sell attachments for those?

 

I just installed the OEM fork mount bike rack on the OEM base rack unit on a 2011 MCS. The rear of the bike rack is hits the spoiler when you open the lift gate. I may have to trim the end off since I don't any way of moving the unit forward a bit. Any one have other suggestions before I start cutting the aluminum? I think its aluminum.

 

I turn mine around if i know im gonna be openning the trunk... holds just fine

 

I trimmed about 6 inches off of the end of mine. Put your bike on it first to be sure that the rail still fits under the center of the wheel before you cut. It cuts very easily, but go slow to be sure the cut is straight.

 

What did you use to cut the aluminum? Can it be done without a vise with just another person holding the rack down?

 

I used a fine bladed hacksaw (nothing exotic -- HomeDepot variety about 6 or 7 dollars). I cut mine on a work table in the garage. I simply held it in place with one hand and cut with the other. I had a vise, but I was trying to protect the finish. The aluminum cuts easily (but cut it slowly), don't put a whole lot of pressure on the saw and you'll find it is easier to keep the cut straight. When you're done, you can finish off any rough edges with some fine black sandpaper (maybe 100 to 400 grit). I hit mine on the end with some black spray paint just to make it look better.

Its really pretty easy to do.

 

BTW -- I have two bikes that I use regularly, a road bike and a mountain bike -- the mountain bike has a longer wheelbase.

Be sure that if you have more than one bike that you use the longest one to measure the length of the rail.

Probably dumb advice, but I thought I'd throw it in. I usually think of those things a bit late.

 

That PDF was fantastic. The only suggestion I have is that the indents in the rubber are not visible in most places on my late '08 Clubman. I found that the measurements helped me locate the perforated sections, then by stretching the rubber, I could then see the perforations in the bottom of the gutter, which were not visible any other way. Mini's instructions were completely useless for this. Thank goodness for this forum.

 

WT*!? Has anyone else gotten email notification of lchutny's post oh...about twenty times?

 

Yes, and I get a new one each day. Unsubscribing from this thread now!!!!

 

Jeff,
Can you tell me if you were ever able to get the Thule Fairing to fit on your OEM roof rack? I currently have the Thule fairing with the Aero Bar attachments but they are smaller than the OEM crossbars and I am unable to get them to fit.
What did you do to get it to fit on your OEM roof rack?

Any info would be helpful.
Thanks in advance

 

Schatzy,
I have the Mini OEM Roof Rack and also have a Thule fairing...but just can't get the two to mingle. Have you been able to find a solution to get the Thule fairing to securely attach to the OEM roof rack?
I do have the aero bar attachments but they are slightly too small to fit over the OEM crossbars.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

Does anyone know the part number or source for the black plastic inserts that go in the slots when the rack base is not installed?
Thanks!

 

ossie, I cut the thule fairing mounts at the bolt hole area and used a 4" bracket to extend the fairing forward. You will definately have to extend the fairing mounts in order for it to clear the moonroof (if you have the moonroof) with the Mini OEM rack system.