norsecarnut

is that a morning shot? where roughly, that looks like the "grand" in the background. but an angle i'm not used to seeing. hiked there once with an old GF ....

i am pretty sure the CURT will sit below the valance edge, effectively 2+ inches lower than mine. i would advise against it. i'll take some good shots of mine and a good shop should be able to replicate. silly guys at torklift, had they made notes they'd be shipping you one and charging your cc!

your car looks so...transparent!

I am not the norm, i actually like your wheels, 17" right, maybe i should get 17's when my winter tires wear out. i always like seeing older bmw cars with such a deep sidewall on the tires I could try the style 32 in 17 but i also really like the 18" 3x5 one in the 2008 brochure. by the way, my car is essentially identical to the brochure blue with natural brown

Sarge

That's the Grand from the WY side, just west of 'Mormon Row'. I was out shooting a lot for a realtor, and decided to do a little 'flowers & Grand' trolling. Didn't get anything epic, but a few good snaps - this is one, taken from inside Grand Teton National Park:



My thought was to see if the shop could get their hands on a Curt, or just the diagram, and make something custom. I'll have to see what their comfort/skill level is. It's not something you want to get 'wrong' if you actually do tow with it (I would be towing with it).

I plan to powder coat my stock wheels black for winter, add 10mm spacers, and mount some 215/55 or 60/17 Blizzaks. I would be better off with a 17" for summer, but after looking at 19's on my allroad and 20's on my former X5 so long, the 17's just look so small. I found a set of M5 reps in 18" that I like, but they're staggered, and I'm concerned about mounting 245/40/18 on 8" front (ET35) and 9" rears (ET38) (not sure if it will look odd). I can't seem to buy just the fronts, so I may have to buy two sets to get four 8" wheels. That all being the case, I'm also looking for some OEM options as well (less difference in cost, so may as well get possibly better quality).

I say 'possibly' better quality, as one of the things I went around and around with BMW about in the past was one of my OEM X5 20" wheels had a pinhole leak due to a defect in the casting. The sort of thing you'd expect on reps, but not OEM. But there it was. I finally got a new wheel out of them, but they were not 'kind' about the process. For the price, I'd have thought the wheel was forged, but it was obviously cast...

Lotus99

J,

Our Volvo gave us a lot of headaches. It was pretty sad, I must have been in to the dealer like 20 times in 2.5 years of owning it. It was fully loaded, other than NAV. I only miss a few things about it though, so in retrospect, I'm actually totally glad - depreciation notwithstanding... - that we ended up needing to get rid of it, as our 5 wagon is just a joy to drive. The Volvo was a T6, so almost 300 HP, but it's amazing how much difference a proper engine, transmission and suspension makes. The BMW's is years ahead of the Volvo, and we had the adjustable suspension in it too.

The only things I miss about it are the extra cargo space due to the fact that its rear hatch window is vertical unlike the BMW's that slopes quite a bit, and the anti avoidance collision system it had which would beep and flash if you approached a car in front too quickly. It actually was quite a useful thing, along with the active cruise control it had.
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For the roof bars, I hadn't even considered the BMW ones, as I figured I'm sure it would be double the cost of anything aftermarket, but it seems that it might be cheaper. Does that make sense? Any downsides to it? I wonder if I might be limited to only BMW stuff then...

It seems that the BMW bars only cost $250, while the Thule's for my car are either $300 or $400 (450R Rapid Crossroad).

http://www.shopbmwusa.com/ProductDet...&ProductId=797

And the bike holder seems the same price as Thule's?

http://www.shopbmwusa.com/ProductDet...&ProductId=533

if I should just go with a BMW or not... Their equivalent box to the Thule though does seem a few hundred $ more...
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Lastly, your cargo box says it's 92" long. So for the hatch to open and not hit it, does it overhang the windshield like a foot?

Lotus99

Sarge, I wonder if you can't run staggered? (I'm sure a quick search of this forum will give you the answer too) My dad's 2009 535 X drive sedan came with staggered wheels / tires, and I'd have thought the wagon would be able too then if one wanted.

norsecarnut

I would not get the "rapid" style unless you just like the look. They are noisier from what I've heard people report but also more limited in what can go on them, as well as not being as strong as the simple rectangular bars.

I really prefer the Crossroad strap "foot". Then you can use any length bar and you can also mount a wider range of bike and other holders from either Thule or Yakima. I like my 2 Yakima Sprocket Rockets for my fork mount bike trays, they have the most secure head and look sleek However the Thule wheel fork is superior.

norsecarnut

Many E61 drivers are running staggered wheels however it sure does make tire size matching annoying. There are a few threads on wheels specifically.

norsecarnut

BMW cargo boxes are re-labeled Thule and also re-priced +++

See my photo but yes, it overhangs like a foot...or more The Spirit (not shown on Thule website anymore...?) is just long enough for my 206 classic ski but fits much better. The Boxter appears to be the same dimensions but is painted fancy and really priced high. $900 usd!!! That's one to wait for a 20% off sale....

norsecarnut

I thought the sedan has different offsets than the wagon.... maybe. Also, the wagon has the rear air suspension which may or may not have something to do with that.


Where in Canada are you located?

Lotus99

Thanks for the tip. I haven't researched anything yet, other than what Thule says fits my car, which are these two. Saves me $80 and I prefer the black look too, since I have no silver on my car (M package).

The 50" square bars are what it suggests by default. The next size up is the 58", so maybe the 50" is what I should go for?
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So sounds like you're recommending I stick with Thule foots, rather than the $250 BMW base system (which I assume might limit me also, like the rapid aero bars, to what I can attach to them)?
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Lotus99

Duhhh, you're right, I forgot you'd posted all those pics on the first page!

As I was checking out the box prices, most things now in Canada - on larger ticket items - are within 10% of the US dollar. I was shocked to find out the Thule 2100 goes for $950 CDN, whereas Amazon sells it for $620 US. What a joke! I would probably drive down just to get it! (I'm in Vancouver)

I saw a minivan today with a box (Spirit 1600) and a bike on the roof, as well as 4 bikes on a hitch rack. Once you see things in person you realize your "plans" don't always work out. I see you can't mount the box all the way to the edge of a load bar and have it overhang the edge of a bar, as the footings would be in the way?

It's hard to see from the crappy phone pics (I zoomed instead of walking up to his car, as he was sitting in it ), but his guy had mounted his bike on the outside of the foot tower, and it didn't look like there was enough space to put one more on the inside of the tower (between the box and the tower), but maybe he hadn't moved his box all the way to the right, to make a bit more room for a second bike on the driver's side? Otherwise, I guess you'd have to mount the second bike on the pass. side, outside the tower, or get a much longer bar, so you can mount two bikes on the OUTSIDE of the driver's side tower?
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