I skipped the surfboard holder and bought Pads and straps. Just wrap the pads on the crossbars and straps around rack and back through the tie down clasp. Will hold two or three boards...

 

So is the whistling normal? What can be done to diminish it? Right now i have the ski/board attachment loaded on.

-Will

 

Yes whistling is normal. I just wan to see what it looks like and I am one of those guys that is real paticular about making sure that the board is strapped down real good cause sometimes I have to get on the freeway and I don't want them blowing off. I saw a guy the other day that had soft racks and the board was about an inch away to being road lunch.

 

Thank you for the step by step instructions. It was so easy to put it on.

 

 

I've heard a lot of people saying that their factory roof rack whistles, however, mine doesn't. For those of you that have loud roof racks, do you have the rubber strip installed in the T-track?

 

Mine whistled a lot when the ski holder was empty but not when i had skis in them. Now that i am done skiing for the season i took off the ski holders and put in the rubber strips. No whistling at all. Very quiet with no attachments.

 

Newbie Here, just got me MC!! yippie.. I am in love, maybe I'll call her "honey." I want to carry a kayak, I have read the thread here, but it's still not clear to me if it's better to go with the MINI setup (rails, kayak holder) or thule or other OEM. What are your thoughts? Thanks again, great group here.

 

I carry a 13ft. Kayak on my mini. I have the factory crossbars, and Yakima Kayak mounts. Because I set my rack up to carry two Mountain bikes and leave the kayak mounts in the middle, I bought a stubby radio antenna from Alta, otherwise the kayak going down the center of the car would hit the antenna. The trouble I have is that if you carry a kayak, you are supposed to secure the bow and stern with lines that go to the bumpers. On my MCS, there really isn't a good place to hook them. The lake I paddle at is only a couple of miles from my house, so I just don't use lines, and I go slow. I'm not real happy with the model of Yakima mounts I got. They are not adjustable, and really don't fit the shape of the hull of my Kayak.

 

When you say factory crossbars, is this not the same as the dealer putting them on after the purchase? (aftermarket) Great info, thanks. I am only <2 mile from the river where I would be kayaking, and I have a 10' kayak. I am trying to figure out what's the best route with the bars, being I would have to do aftermarket.

 

By factory crossbars I mean the silver ones that say mini on the side.
I tried aftermarket (yakima) crossbars, but didn't like the way they fit the car, so I returned them and went to the dealer and bought the Factory Mini crossbars. They fit much better, and are really strong.

 

Did you have difficulty installing the mini crossbars?

 

they were pretty easy to install the factory. i do recommend having another person help you. it probably took about 15 min to put it on and it does look great.

i to had the thule rack at 1st didnt like the way it feels. to me it didnt seem sturdy but with the factory it feels solid plus you can carry more weight. i think max load is about 165 pounds.

get the factory and you wont be disappointed.

 

The factory cross bars ar not hard to install, but there's a trick. The first time I tried to install them I had a hard time. I could get one end of the crossbar attached, but not the other. I finally realized that before you try and put them on the car, you need to loosen the two allen screws (Button head cap screws) on the underside of the cross bar ( the ones at at least one end) so that it can self adjust to the size of your car. Then attach the crossbars, and tighten the two allen screws. I think it now takes me 5 minutes to put my roof rack on. Another tip is to put a sock over the end of the crossbar that will be on the opposite side of the car from where you are standing. This will help prevent scratching your car. Then after you get the one side on, take the sock off, and attach the other side. Lessons learned....

 

Did you have to do any cutting into rain gutter? Thanks!!!!!!

 

There are 4 perforated areas that you need to cut with a razor balde. No big deal.

 

The roof rack looks good ! How much do they cost ! Do your drill holes or what ? I have a 15 foot kayak only weights 90 lbs i think = Would be Longer than my Mini I think ?

 

Flyinace - where did you get that attachment? It is not the same one that I have!

 

I bought them from Prestige mini. AFAIK it is just the standard ski/Board rack. Holds 4 ski & Poles or 2 Boards or 2 skis and 1 board.

 

I just bought a thule one for $380 for my surfboard but i want to buy a cargo rack and a roof box

 

Huh, it's different then mine- which has those rubber bands that go over the skis and then the plastic fitting...

 

I read through all of the posts here and I'm still not sure what to do. I'm planning to get the roof rack and bike holders, but am not sure if I should get the touring mount or fork mount. Sounds like fork is easier to get up there, but you need to make sure you don't scrape the fork on your paint on the way up, and then you have to store your dirty wheel (I mountain bike) in your clean car. The touring mount is harder to get the bike in place (and I'm only 5'4")....

I don't bike frequently but want to be able to hit the trails when I'm ready! If I leave the roof rails in place all the time, how long would it take to add the bike attachments?

Thanks for any advice -- I'm still a newbie and don't even have my MINI yet...but I'm excited!

 

I don't have my rack yet... but I've seen pics of people using the tow hooks (front & back) as tie-downs for your Kayak... that's my plan at least.

Do the yakima mounts fit the factory bars OK?

 

I wanted to bump this up again, as I see there are a few questions that didn't get answered.

And, of course, there's the self-serving reason--I'm really debating getting the rack and installing myself. It's on the short list of things to do. Short list for now at least.

 

I've had the rack on my 08 MCS for over a year. The only complaint is that the plastic that was black isn't black any more! It's more gray-silver.

I've ordered some black wow, and will give that a try (with before and after pics).

I use the rack for a cargo carrier, and the occasional weird antenna platform.

My daughter thinks the rack makes the car look "cute," like it has handles...