# E90 BMW racks?



## msrothwe (Aug 1, 2007)

I just bought a 2006 325i. This thing is f-ing awesome, sport package, premium package, bluetoof, xenons that turn with the wheel, cold weather package, 6 speed manual, etc. I bought it from a dealership 2 hours away, the whole way I was like . I drove to work today, I was like . I drove home from work, and was like . I think you get the idea. Now, I'd like the be able to drive to the trailhead and be like ...so I need a rack. 

My bimmer has these pretty sweet rack hard points where a rack can be mounted without touching the paint. I was initially hard core anti-roof rack, but I think I'd be OK if the roof rack used these OEM drilled/tapped holes and didn't touch the paint. So then the question comes down to Thule, Yakima, or BMW OEM. Which one of these sits closest to the roof? Could folks post pics of their e9x rack setups? I'd really appreciate it.


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## iridetitus (Sep 16, 2004)

my issues w/ roof racks are these: the likelihood of pulling into the garage/parking garage/hitting overhead limbs or anything else eventually is simply too high (for me, at least). second, and this has happened to me twice; when cresting a hill cops can see the bikes on top long before the car, and ZING! the radar detector starts screaming before i ever had a chance. may have gotten the tickets anyway, but i like to think i had a better chance w/o the extra 3' of height up top. coincidentally, i was driving a 3 series at the time. 

either way, good luck. and post pics of the car.


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## dh1 (Aug 28, 2004)

Get the factory rack, you can add whatever trays you wish. The yakima or Thule racks won't fit the factory holes (unless I am mistaken).


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## JohnJ80 (Oct 10, 2008)

Hitches mounted on Bimmers (cars) typically look awful. most of the ones I've seen and looked at for my 530xit wagon have an ugly black metal piece that bolts up on the bumper in plain site. No thanks. That's like painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

J.


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## msrothwe (Aug 1, 2007)

JohnJ80 said:


> Hitches mounted on Bimmers (cars) typically look awful. most of the ones I've seen and looked at for my 530xit wagon have an ugly black metal piece that bolts up on the bumper in plain site. No thanks. That's like painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.
> 
> J.


I agree. I'll take a look at the OEM racks. They just seem to stick up so much from the car. There's a good 6 inches of clearance there for some reason. I was hoping the thule's weren't so goofy looking.

Oh BTW, pics for clicks:


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## essjss (Aug 16, 2008)

nice ride. I'm not sure about the E90 but the Thule rack fit my E46 perfectly. It used the factory mount points and didn't touch the exterior painted surface at all, a BIG bonus in my book. I'd go for whatever mounts to the factory mounts.


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## speed_bump (Sep 30, 2004)

You should be able to get the Thule 460 mounts to work with the appropriate fit kit. Did you try one of their online fit guides?


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## tednugent (Apr 16, 2009)

msrothwe said:


> I just bought a 2006 325i. This thing is f-ing awesome, sport package, premium package, bluetoof, xenons that turn with the wheel, cold weather package, 6 speed manual, etc. I bought it from a dealership 2 hours away, the whole way I was like . I drove to work today, I was like . I drove home from work, and was like . I think you get the idea. Now, I'd like the be able to drive to the trailhead and be like ...so I need a rack.
> 
> My bimmer has these pretty sweet rack hard points where a rack can be mounted without touching the paint. I was initially hard core anti-roof rack, but I think I'd be OK if the roof rack used these OEM drilled/tapped holes and didn't touch the paint. So then the question comes down to Thule, Yakima, or BMW OEM. Which one of these sits closest to the roof? Could folks post pics of their e9x rack setups? I'd really appreciate it.


Stupid question....

have you tried searching various BMW forums? ie www.bimmerforums.com, etc?


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## DukeNeverwinter (May 6, 2006)

Get the BMW ones. Fit is great. Should be on par as far a price is concerned. You can even try and get them to 10% off it if you try.


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## Enzo149 (Sep 1, 2008)

I have a set of BMW racks for your car, That I took off of a E90 I sold a couple of months ago. Email me if your interested [email protected]

:thumbsup:


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## RIfreeDE (Dec 2, 2004)

I had the same BMW as you just bought and I purchased an OEM rack off Craigslist that included locks, trays for two bikes and 4 sets of skis. I used it a bunch of times. Now I used my wife's x3 with a Raxter hitch rack. The OEM rack has a perfect fit unfortunately its expensive and the frame holding mechanism isn't user friendly.


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## Superdude (Mar 18, 2006)

Nice ride! Especially since it's a manual.

I'd love a BMW. Maybe when used 335s come down to where I can afford one...


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## msrothwe (Aug 1, 2007)

Superdude said:


> Nice ride! Especially since it's a manual.
> 
> I'd love a BMW. Maybe when used 335s come down to where I can afford one...


Yea, the manual is really what ties it all together. I'm not so hot on the 335i, though. Sure they're quick, but from I've been reading that they're not particularly reliable, eating fuel pumps, overheating, lag adding software, bad wastegates, no thanks. I guess it'd be ok in the warranty period, but after that, I'd avoid them like the plague.


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## JohnJ80 (Oct 10, 2008)

RIfreeDE said:


> I had the same BMW as you just bought and I purchased an OEM rack off Craigslist that included locks, trays for two bikes and 4 sets of skis. I used it a bunch of times. Now I used my wife's x3 with a Raxter hitch rack. The OEM rack has a perfect fit unfortunately its expensive and the frame holding mechanism isn't user friendly.


Have a picture of the hitch? The ones I have seen have this butt ugly and I can't get past that ugly plate that they want to bolt to the back bumper in full view. I just can't bring myself to do that to my 530xit wagon.

J.


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## josho (Jan 28, 2008)

*TULE on e46*

This is the best picture I have for now but the Tule rack fits on the e46 very well. I can get more pics if it's ever out of the shop long enough...


From Bike


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## puckhead (Aug 9, 2004)

I have a 06 E90 also. I ended up getting the Thule rack that screws into the top of the car similar to the OEM rack. I went with the Thule over the OEM because I have a Sportworks rack that won't work on the OEM aero bars. At the time, Thule did not sell the E90 rack in the US. Not sure if they sell them in the US now. I went on the internet and found a UK Thule dealer that shipped the rack to the US. Don't get the Yakima, their racks rests on the roof and will mess up your paint.


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## JohnJ80 (Oct 10, 2008)

Can you tell me more about these Thule rack towers? There isn't a whole lot of information on these on the Thule website. We have a Subaru Impreza Sport (2008) that has rack hard points for the factor rack to screw into. The factory rack is super noisy - much more than our other Thules and I'm looking to replace it.

J.


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## speed_bump (Sep 30, 2004)

JohnJ80 said:


> Can you tell me more about these Thule rack towers? There isn't a whole lot of information on these on the Thule website. We have a Subaru Impreza Sport (2008) that has rack hard points for the factor rack to screw into. The factory rack is super noisy - much more than our other Thules and I'm looking to replace it.
> 
> J.


Most online retailers will have the Thule fit guide. You'll want the 460 podium fixpoint foot kit and the proper fit kit (probably 3068). Then just add the load bars (probably LB50) and whatever bike trays you like.


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## speed_bump (Sep 30, 2004)

If anyone needs the foot kit for a E46 (Thule 753), I've got one available. I bought a set off Craigslist, but I don't have a BMW. I'm using the other parts but I had to order the 460 podiums and the specific fit kit for my car.

BTW, this also fits on a 97-04 5-series.


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## rollertoaster (Jun 11, 2007)

I'm a BMW tech and I've never liked the factory racks, they stick up too high. If they switched to an aero-bar setup it would be alot better. It's nice that they use the factory holes, but they need to have a lower profile


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## JohnJ80 (Oct 10, 2008)

speed_bump said:


> Most online retailers will have the Thule fit guide. You'll want the 460 podium fixpoint foot kit and the proper fit kit (probably 3068). Then just add the load bars (probably LB50) and whatever bike trays you like.


I guess I'm going to need to call Thule. My understanding is that on the 2008 Impreza sport, there are hard points but not on the other Imprezas. I can't find it specifically in the fit guide.

J.


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## jummo (Sep 8, 2005)

I have the Thule rack on our 07 335xi. It fits into the fixpoints perfectly and does not touch the paint anywhere.

I can easily take it on or off, or switch to kayak mounts roof top box etc.

Other than the wind noise it is great. The BMW OEM racks are made by Thule but use the Aero bars which limit interchangability with your existing Thule accessories.

Unfortunately, I'm not eligible for the bike cost more than the car thread, but it's not like we didn't try. 

jummo
[


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## SSearchVT (Sep 6, 2007)

I've been looking for a rack for my 02 330xi and was at a toss up between Yakima and Thule. Then I saw the thule mounts (753) - they just looked cheap to me. The Yakima system uses landing pads in the roof ports and clips to these... Unfortunately I like the Thule bike mounts more then Yakima - so I may end up with a hybrid kit.


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## msrothwe (Aug 1, 2007)

Nice car Jummo,

I just got the thule racks, they work pretty well, I was impressed actually by the lack of noise to tell the truth. The Thule rack on my old Volvo HOWLED. This one barely makes a sound, and I got 28 mpg with a road bike on the top and the cruise set at 77 mph. I'm impressed, but I think I might end up taking the rack off and putting it on for mountain bike excursions only.


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## ChrisJ (Aug 15, 2005)

Looks like all the other yuppie cars around here. Whoopppps did I actually type that.


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## msrothwe (Aug 1, 2007)

ChrisJ said:


> Looks like all the other yuppie cars around here. Whoopppps did I actually type that.


Cool. Have you driven one?


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