I'm debating on getting a rack for my soon to be purchased mini. Right now I'm not sure how often I would actually use it but I'm sure having it will be nice on occasion when I don't want to drive the big diesel truck. How do the aftermarket ones stack up against factory. If its a wash I will probably not get the factory one and just wait until I need one.

 

I'm in the same boat and looking for a roof rack to hold our mountain bikes. I have heard good things about the MINI system and it's removable when not it use. The THULE rack has had some fitment issues from what I've read here, but I still see many on MINIs in my neighborhood.

 

I just bought my MCS yesterday ( ), but I opted for aftermarket Yakima, as I always do. It's incomparably versatile, offers tons of options, is lower-priced, and you can move your attachments from car to car. Thule is also a worthy contender.

 

Bought Thule for my truck cap, then sold the cap and racks. Bought Yakima for the truck roof to haul a canoe - much happier with the way the Yakima is designed.

Wonder who makes the stealership sold MINI system, maybe it is Yakima or something anyways....

 

The OEM racks are a knock off of the Thule Aero Bars. So close in fact that any thule items taht can be used on the thule aero bar can be used on the MINI OEM rack

 

A lot depends on what you want to haul - boats, bikes, camping cargo and lumber all create slightly different pros and cons, and some brands have much more elegant solutions than others. Another deciding factor might be whether you want to leave it on all the time, or take it off after every use.

I've used Yakima products for years - and generally, highly recommend them. However, after reading the anemic specs and significant warnings for the MINI-compatible roof rack, I eliminated Yakima right up front.

For me, the choice came down to either the Mont Blanc MB-3000-MC, or the MINI factory rack. There are probably some OK Thule racks, too, but I didn't investigate those very much. The one Thule rack I owned many years ago - a cheap one - came with enough nuts and bolts to fill a plastic bag the size of a house cat, and when I finally got it put together, it was not very rigid.

Based on the high price of the factory rack ($330) from most MINI dealers, I was very close to getting the Mont Blanc - until I just now discovered the factory rack on Amazon for not too much more than the Mont Blanc ($243 vs $200). On the other hand, considering what your car, bikes and boats cost - not to mention the laws of physics at 70 mph - roof racks are probably not a good item for a lot of cost cutting.

I finally decided on the factory MINI rack for my R56 because it is the only one which doesn't touch my paint, and it doesn't rest on the sheet metal of my roof - which some say is easily damaged. It also does not require any hardware - "clips" - be mounted in the door frame, as do all the others. I don't like the idea of anything on my rubber door seals. The factory MINI mounting hardware is unusual, maybe even bizarre - but the car and the rack were designed by the same team to work together.

The downside to factory: if you stick with MINI brand attachments, the choices are somewhat limited, and costly. As previously mentioned, you can often use one brand attachment with another brand rack - but, there may be some uncertainty about what will work until you actually buy and try it. Apparently there have also been a few reports of stripped threads on the brass bolts/nuts - which may, or may not, be due to over-tightening, but I plan to substitute stainless steel bolts with the initial install.

Still theory for me, as I have not yet received and mounted the factory rack, but so far, I think it's the way to go.

 

runswithsizzers, can you point me to the Yakima info you found? I just bought a new Yakima system for my 11 MCS but haven't installed it yet. thanks, Justin

 

I got the factory simply because it looked better. The snowbaord attachment rocks and the bicycle one is ok. I used both a lot already. The bike one is badly designed because the hatch wont fully open if you have a spoiler.


good stuff

 

Justin,

I found this info somewhere during the long and slow process of using Yakima's website to "Fit My Car" - a 2010 base model Cooper. Once you enter all the info and get to their recommendation, look in the lower left corner for "Fit Notes" or something like. Because the website is some kind of Flash BS which I can't Copy and Paste, I captured it as a screen shot:

http://garywright.smugmug.com/MINICo...836261_t52F43L

... every Yakima dealer has a "fit kit" (spec book) which should include the same kind of car-specific notes for every vehicle Yakima has tested.

When I mentioned "anemic specs" in my previous post, I was referring to the 75 *POUND* total weight limitation of the Yakima, compared to 75 *KILOGRAM* (165 lb) spec for the MINI and Mont Blanc racks. I don't have a specification for Yakima's crossbar spread on the MINI, but it appears to be less than the other two - probably around 22-23" compared to 27".

I found Yakima's notes #61 and 113 to be of concern - the same can probably be said of all roof racks which use "clips" on the MINI, and not just Yakima.

 

Bro. Thanks for that info, that was very helpful. I decided to return the Yakima kit and go with the factory rack, and then Yakima attachments that fit the wider bars. Far greater peace of mind and an operable sunroof.

 

Oh yeah, my dealer offered to match the eBay price on the factory rack too, which made the easy decision easier. . .

 

Note that Yakima weight limit includes the weight of the rack itself.