Cargo Roof Rack to Hold 4 Wheels w/Tires?

[markseven]

I'm looking for a roof rack that will hold a set of 15's with 225/50's. I've seen a sig with an E30 with rack full 'o wheels... groov3?

Any info/insight/advice is appreciated.

[Erick]

I believe that was Sean you're talking about.

[Sean]

Hahaha! I knew it was only a matter of time!

It is me! And I am the inventor of such a rack.

What did I do, you ask? VERY VERY rough outline...it was a bit of work.

- Thule Roof Rack - can't remember the model number, but get the arms and square bars - grabs on to the chrome trim pieces above.
- Bought two 24"X48" pieces of high density particle board from Home Depot
- Line up boards so two fit side by side on top of rack - find ideal position of thule rack bars
- make indents in boards so that it fits on top of the bars snug (the thule rack has a section where the arms are up higher than the bars - if you see it, you'll know what I mean)
- Find the best way to mount the boards to the bars - I should have used the right side u-bolts, but I actually made little metal pieces to go underneath the bar, and got bolts that have the round end on one side and bolted the boards down. There are four mounting points per board.
- Bolt it down snug - then drill holes to put a long bolt thru the middle of each tire to secure each tire/rim to the boards
- I got a long cable lock to lock my tires to the rack (which has the little thule locks in it) It wouldn't be needed...but i was worried if I stayed overnight in a hotel that I'd find my snow tires gone the next morning.

The two boards give you a total of a 4 ft by 4 ft sqaure section on the roof of the car - just enough to fit 4 normal e30 sized tires. I am positive when I drive home this winter, I can bolt my fifteen inch rims to my roof, and use my snow tires to get home.

My faring was an afterthought, because it was quite noisy with no faring as well as not being able to open my sunroof because air was pushing down on it. I bought an 8'x4' section of ABS plastic and cut it apart to make it. Still have tons of ABS left...gotta figure out what to make with it.

Oh...and I painted the boards with black wood paint - it's held up ok, gone in some spots - but dont care, function over form!

I took some pictures of the process, but I didn't have time to make a write up...and honestly thought no one would be interested.

It sure worked out well! I was worried the rack wouldn't support the weight when cornering hard...but it holds VERY well!

Wow...I'm at work...I should probably do some work now. lol

[markseven]

I believe that was Sean you're talking about.

Yup, he posted :D

[markseven]

Hahaha! I knew it was only a matter of time!

It is me! And I am the inventor of such a rack.

What did I do, you ask? VERY VERY rough outline...it was a bit of work.

- Thule Roof Rack - can't remember the model number, but get the arms and square bars - grabs on to the chrome trim pieces above.
- Bought two 24"X48" pieces of high density particle board from Home Depot
- Line up boards so two fit side by side on top of rack - find ideal position of thule rack bars
- make indents in boards so that it fits on top of the bars snug (the thule rack has a section where the arms are up higher than the bars - if you see it, you'll know what I mean)
- Find the best way to mount the boards to the bars - I should have used the right side u-bolts, but I actually made little metal pieces to go underneath the bar, and got bolts that have the round end on one side and bolted the boards down. There are four mounting points per board.
- Bolt it down snug - then drill holes to put a long bolt thru the middle of each tire to secure each tire/rim to the boards
- I got a long cable lock to lock my tires to the rack (which has the little thule locks in it) It wouldn't be needed...but i was worried if I stayed overnight in a hotel that I'd find my snow tires gone the next morning.

The two boards give you a total of a 4 ft by 4 ft sqaure section on the roof of the car - just enough to fit 4 normal e30 sized tires. I am positive when I drive home this winter, I can bolt my fifteen inch rims to my roof, and use my snow tires to get home.

My faring was an afterthought, because it was quite noisy with no faring as well as not being able to open my sunroof because air was pushing down on it. I bought an 8'x4' section of ABS plastic and cut it apart to make it. Still have tons of ABS left...gotta figure out what to make with it.

Oh...and I painted the boards with black wood paint - it's held up ok, gone in some spots - but dont care, function over form!

I took some pictures of the process, but I didn't have time to make a write up...and honestly thought no one would be interested.

It sure worked out well! I was worried the rack wouldn't support the weight when cornering hard...but it holds VERY well!

Wow...I'm at work...I should probably do some work now. lol

Hey dude, you are a very industrious fellow! Thank you for taking the time to write that up :D The Thule rack mounts to the gutters very securely, yeah? I was thinking last night about driving down the freeway and the rack blowing off and crashing through an SUV windshield... that would suck. I assume the faring eliminates most of the air passing under the rack?

[Sean]

Hey dude, you are a very industrious fellow! Thank you for taking the time to write that up :D The Thule rack mounts to the gutters very securely, yeah? I was thinking last night about driving down the freeway and the rack blowing off and crashing through an SUV windshield... that would suck. I assume the faring eliminates most of the air passing under the rack?

My retarded looking faring does eliminate much of the noise and air rushing underneath my tire rack.

And, yes, it does get very secure. Think of it this way - if you space out the feet just right, and screw them on really really tight - it can't move either way - side to side it pulls and pushes on the trim, but the trim on the otherside fights that motion. The trim can only come off one way...OUT. And with the rack there, it can't budge.

Back to front - it holds tight, haven't had any issues. I've clocked 1000 miles without tires (just the wood) and about 2500 with tires, and no issues at all!

[markseven]

My retarded looking faring does eliminate much of the noise and air rushing underneath my tire rack.

And, yes, it does get very secure. Think of it this way - if you space out the feet just right, and screw them on really really tight - it can't move either way - side to side it pulls and pushes on the trim, but the trim on the otherside fights that motion. The trim can only come off one way...OUT. And with the rack there, it can't budge.

Back to front - it holds tight, haven't had any issues. I've clocked 1000 miles without tires (just the wood) and about 2500 with tires, and no issues at all!

Sweet! One more question: Is the lower edge of the faring secured?

[UNHCLL]

Save the weight of a huge wooden board...

http://www.s14.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12517&highlight=Roof+Tire

[markseven]

Save the weight of a huge wooden board...

http://www.s14.net/forums/showthread...ight=Roof+Tire

Thanks for the link - it gave me a another idea (I think the wheels in the upright position is an advertisement sent to the local hoods/thieves) that will save weight and keep a low profile. My neighbor is a welder, so I'll ask him if he can weld something up for me. :D

[Sean]

Thats a good idea too. I used my idea and I'm happy with it. The wood is heavy - yep, true. I thought of other things I could do with the resources I had...and one of those was not a welder or nice tools to cut metal. It is a good idea to use metal bars though - and I wanted to do something like that to begin with. But, I did what I did because it worked with what I had. I also didn't have to drill holes in my roof bars.

Oh, and I wouldn't put them upright like that. Sure, you may save weight up top... but the height of everything is also higher...so it reverses what you saved. Either way, putting tires on your roof will add weight to the top of your car - raising you center of gravity substantially. My tires were VERY secure and I trusted it past speeds of 100 mph. Now...going that fast fully loaded only happened downhill because I like not TOTALLY wasting gas...but I still trusted it. :)


The faring is secured on the top by bolts. The bottom literally sits on my windsheild gasket going around the window - and it covered in some felt to keep it from eating up the gasket. Worked out quite well.

Something else I thought of...you can't make a faring for the other system.

[UNHCLL]

Thats a good idea too. I used my idea and I'm happy with it. The wood is heavy - yep, true. I thought of other things I could do with the resources I had...and one of those was not a welder or nice tools to cut metal. It is a good idea to use metal bars though - and I wanted to do something like that to begin with. But, I did what I did because it worked with what I had. I also didn't have to drill holes in my roof bars.

Oh, and I wouldn't put them upright like that. Sure, you may save weight up top... but the height of everything is also higher...so it reverses what you saved. Either way, putting tires on your roof will add weight to the top of your car - raising you center of gravity substantially. My tires were VERY secure and I trusted it past speeds of 100 mph. Now...going that fast fully loaded only happened downhill because I like not TOTALLY wasting gas...but I still trusted it. :)


The faring is secured on the top by bolts. The bottom literally sits on my windsheild gasket going around the window - and it covered in some felt to keep it from eating up the gasket. Worked out quite well.

Something else I thought of...you can't make a faring for the other system.

The above link has been tested at higher speeds too, although it may be more of an aero drag.
Not trying to imply Sean's setup is bad, just an alternative to save from having those large heavy panels on the top as well.... and lets be realistic, you won't be trying to set cornering load records or high speed runs with tires strapped on your roof. The e30 is already a low car, so you're not at risk of tiping over... ;)

-C

[Sean]

The above link has been tested at higher speeds too, although it may be more of an aero drag.
Not trying to imply Sean's setup is bad, just an alternative to save from having those large heavy panels on the top as well.... and lets be realistic, you won't be trying to set cornering load records or high speed runs with tires strapped on your roof. The e30 is already a low car, so you're not at risk of tiping over... ;)

-C

I missed that part. LOL (about the speed testing). It's definitely a good alternative.

He's right...I wouldn't hit the track with my rack on. hehe I never had any fear of tiping though...and I had to dodge a deer at like 60 too! lol

[markseven]

I missed that part. LOL (about the speed testing). It's definitely a good alternative.

He's right...I wouldn't hit the track with my rack on. hehe I never had any fear of tiping though...and I had to dodge a deer at like 60 too! lol

Sean, like I wrote in my first reply, you rock and your sig inspired me. I will use the rack to carry tires to and from the track, nothing else. No G-load issues!

[AlarmedBread]

Ballin'. I've just used tiedown straps on a roof rack and it works fine, but I wasn't worried about overnight stays and theft. Maybe build a wing to deflect air over the top of the tires.

Sean, drive back to SD this weekend and we can use your plastic to make a splitter for the front of my car :)

[robtech]

He's right...I wouldn't hit the track with my rack on. hehe I never had any fear of tiping though...and I had to dodge a deer at like 60 too! lol

sheeeiiitttt i would...just to do it