[Express]

After a few people told me the roof rack base from an E46 would not fit an E90, I decided to do it after a few told me it would fit.

here are the pictures i took and the steps i had to take to make this work.

TOOLS NEEDED:

Beer
Dremel with cutting bits.
Safety glasses
Beer
Flathead
Snacks
Chicks for encouragement

So the first step was to just test the fitment. it was about 1/6th of an inch too big on each end and in the middle around the bolt housing.

Also, shit. You have to take off those stupid little flaps on the rails. how in gods name can you do this????? easily. remove the rail with a flathead starting at the rear. once you remove it, you'll break every clip so don't bother being careful. a few beers make you a bit more carefree and you make it work. anyways, heres a picture of the flaps and their hinges removed from the rail. i had a casualty. not sure how im going to fix this, but the beer helps.








Take the handy dremel (wear safety glasses. its a good idea. ) and shave all 3 ends on the rack down accordingly. Beer helps to ease the pain of the red hot shrapnel.



Take a break for beer.

Keep going.



Awesome. Now that you have all 12 ends shaved down, install the racks!

















If anyone knows how to install the bike rack, please share.

[fdriller9]

Nice! You can also remove the roof rails by prying up the first 2 clips in the back, then slide toward the back of the car and it will pop off.

[Express]

Originally Posted by *********

Nice! You can also remove the roof rails by prying up the first 2 clips in the back, then slide toward the back of the car and it will pop off.

......breaking every clip in the process...

[AlphaBeta]

You should have this moved to the DIY section

[fdriller9]

Originally Posted by express705

......breaking every clip in the process...

I've only broken 2 clips....And I've removed them multiple times.

[JayReplay]

Nice work..except for the broken rail flaps

[Express]

Originally Posted by JayReplay

Nice work..except for the broken rail flaps

='(

[dghdgh]

nice job could not see the pic of the beer or chicks thou!!!!!!!!!

[Express]

Originally Posted by dghdgh

nice job could not see the pic of the beer or chicks thou!!!!!!!!!

haha i will update the thread.

[Saintor]

You know... there is no snow.

I think that I have the same Yakima ski attachment.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Saintor

You know... there is no snow.

I think that I have the same Yakima ski attachment.

its all good. i have a set of skis to slap up there. its cold enough for snow, so its cold enough to carry my equipment haha.

[Nola]

I acknowledge your persistence... but I would not say this is a "fit". It is a mod to make it fit. You seem happy with it so congrats.

Question about the broken flaps... why did you take them off?

[Express]

Originally Posted by Nola

I acknowledge your persistence... but I would not say this is a "fit". It is a mod to make it fit. You seem happy with it so congrats.

Question about the broken flaps... why did you take them off?

you cant have the rack on with the flaps.

im really pissed off because i broke all of the clips on one side and its basically hanging there. i dont know how to replace the clips.

[Nola]

Originally Posted by express705

you cant have the rack on with the flaps.

im really pissed off because i broke all of the clips on one side and its basically hanging there. i dont know how to replace the clips.

With the correct roof rack you can. Just flip them up and the casing on the base unit goes nicely on top of it. You also get a cool little flip down window to see what you are doing, and a torque tool to make sure you don't strip a screw in place.

Overall I would still advise people AGAINST doing what you did.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Nola

With the correct roof rack you can. Just flip them up and the casing on the base unit goes nicely on top of it. You also get a cool little flip down window to see what you are doing, and a torque tool to make sure you don't strip a screw in place.

Overall I would still advise people AGAINST doing what you did.

why? because i broke one flap that i already fixed?


i don't care what you think, but i did this because i wanted to and i posted about this because other people wanted an answer to the same question.

if you have nothing positive to contribute in the future, you can make your own thread about it.

thank you for your opinion.

[Nola]

Originally Posted by express705

why? because i broke one flap that i already fixed?


i don't care what you think, but i did this because i wanted to and i posted about this because other people wanted an answer to the same question.

if you have nothing positive to contribute in the future, you can make your own thread about it.

thank you for your opinion.

I think we all come to the forums to benefit from others experience and opinions. I've only stated facts to help others make an informed choice. Especially on roof racks there is very little information out there. An E87 rack will fit an E90 perfectly with no mods, and no lost functionality. An E46 will need modification and you will lose functionality. I don't see why I would not post that... it is not positive or negative, it is how it is.

For the torque, make sure you don't exceed 8 NM.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Nola

I think we all come to the forums to benefit from others experience and opinions. I've only stated facts to help others make an informed choice. Especially on roof racks there is very little information out there. An E87 rack will fit an E90 perfectly with no mods, and no lost functionality. An E46 will need modification and you will lose functionality. I don't see why I would not post that... it is not positive or negative, it is how it is.

For the torque, make sure you don't exceed 8 NM.

i didnt lose any functionality. in fact, its the same.

as far as modification, very minor.

thanks again.

[Nola]

Originally Posted by express705

i didnt lose any functionality. in fact, its the same.

as far as modification, very minor.

thanks again.

You cannot keep the flaps in place during use of the modified rack. Is that functionality not lost?

[Express]

Originally Posted by Nola

You cannot keep the flaps in place during use of the modified rack. Is that functionality not lost?

not really. what do i need the flaps for? if i take the racks off, i pop the rails up and clip them back in.

are you done?

[spirocheter]

I just came across this post, I'm on my second e90 and had thought my RR was from my last e90.... Not so! Interesting to see how you made it fit, hilarious the beer helped! I think I'll choose to buy another rack, though thanks for sharing!