Roof Rack For The Mazda5 Thread

Wow, my original post on this topic was back in October of last year and this thread is still going. (cool)

I finally got around to installing the racks on my 2008 mazda5 and I did end up getting the mazda ones; yeah, quite the delay, but the snow only disappeared a week ago!
I just wanted to say that the installation of these are a snap. It takes me about 5 mins to get em' on or off, much quicker than I was expecting. I was very suprised with the lack of wind noise. Even on the highway at 110+ km/hr there is hardly any noise. I used to have a pair of yakimas with wind jammers on my old car and those things would howl once I approached highway speeds, so with the high profile of the mazda ones I was expecting these to even worse.
Anyone else as impressed with how quiet they are? Maybe I'm just lucky with placing the little spoilers they include in just the right place.

BTW, there was some talk in this or another post on whether they are made by Thule. Well, the box they came in says 'made in sweden'.

All of the Mazda cargo attachments are made by Thule.
 
Thule artificial rain gutter

Has anyone used the Thule artificial rain gutter brackets to attach to the factory mounting points on the Mazda5? It looks like this can be done pretty easily by drilling a hole in the center of the bracket and bolting through to the factory threads with the bracket in the horizontal orientation.

This way I will be able to use all of the Thule parts I have accumalated over the years. I haven't seen how the factory brackets attached so I am concerned that they are using more than the single threaded points to hold everything togther.

Any insight would be appreciated
 

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Has anyone used the Thule artificial rain gutter brackets to attach to the factory mounting points on the Mazda5? It looks like this can be done pretty easily by drilling a hole in the center of the bracket and bolting through to the factory threads with the bracket in the horizontal orientation.

This way I will be able to use all of the Thule parts I have accumalated over the years. I haven't seen how the factory brackets attached so I am concerned that they are using more than the single threaded points to hold everything togther.

Any insight would be appreciated

The new thule mounts use the single threaded points. However the price is a pain even if you have the bars.


460 PODIUM FIXPOINT FOOT = 149
3069 Fit Kit = 60

Granted you can wait for your local store to have a 20% off sale, (EMS and REI recently had such sales) but I have not seen a single store even list the 3069 fit kit. However, there is no point on dropping even 209 -20% on some plastic.

I am going a different route and making my own mounts. The mounting point is a M6 thread and after a little messing around to get proper angles I have a sample that sits properly over the mount points. It is made out of 3 1/2 layers of baltic birch plywood glued up. I'll be drilling and tweaking over the next week and plan on posting the finished product here with details.

Also my plan includes being able to break down the bars (I may just mod my thule bars) to store in the trunk storage space so they are always ready in the 5. And if I get super motivated version 2 will allow for adjustability of the bar position.
 
Hi to all, I just bought a Mazda 5 2008 and I would like to get a roof rack. If anyone can post some pictures of the connectors on the roof would be fantastic. I want to asses if I can do it myself. I am still a bit hesitant to open the covers myself as the car is only days old.

thanks and zoom zoom to all,

Javier
 
Hi to all, I just bought a Mazda 5 2008 and I would like to get a roof rack. If anyone can post some pictures of the connectors on the roof would be fantastic. I want to asses if I can do it myself. I am still a bit hesitant to open the covers myself as the car is only days old.

thanks and zoom zoom to all,

Javier

The connector is a simple bolt that can be viewed by sliding the small plastic rectangular cover to expose the bolt hole. Should be easy to do this, it usually takes me 10-15mins to install the pair of racks myself.
Anthony
 
Hi to all, I just bought a Mazda 5 2008 and I would like to get a roof rack. If anyone can post some pictures of the connectors on the roof would be fantastic. I want to asses if I can do it myself. I am still a bit hesitant to open the covers myself as the car is only days old.

thanks and zoom zoom to all,

Javier

I just had an entire system installed on my 5. I had Rack n Road install permanent tracks. Then I installed an Inno Rack system with cross bars which connects to the tracks, and on top of that crossbars, a cargo box. I'll take some pics and post them up. The whole deal cost around $1200, but it's awesome.
 
Thanks guys. That helps alot. My old mazda a 323 Hatch Back- 93 was a total workhorse for me. I use to haul loads of material to work on my house and with one simple walmart type roof rack I used to carry plywood, drywall and tons of other stuff. So since I want to have a proper roof rackthis time around, what would be an all purpose rack A MAzda or THule. Which one can handle the needs of a family working man the best. :)

Thanks again,

Javier
 
Thanks guys. That helps alot. My old mazda a 323 Hatch Back- 93 was a total workhorse for me. I use to haul loads of material to work on my house and with one simple walmart type roof rack I used to carry plywood, drywall and tons of other stuff. So since I want to have a proper roof rackthis time around, what would be an all purpose rack A MAzda or THule. Which one can handle the needs of a family working man the best. :)

Thanks again,

Javier

My understanding is that the Mazda rack is made by Thule. The basic difference is that there is a Thule kit available with lo profile bars, and a 2nd Thule kit that is higher profile, like the Mazda bars. So if that makes a difference, then Thule might be the way to go. Other than that, I think the Thule setup might be a tad cheaper.
 
I've seen that in western Europe they can get rails that run along the side of the vehicle, as opposed to the Thule bars that run across the roof. This would be perfect for us since we already have a set of Yakima bars that fit our Freestar van rails. If anyone knows where I can get a set of these, I'm willing to pay. I've attached the Danish Mazda site if anyone else is interested. FYI, we are carrying Kayaks just like in the photo.
translate
http://www.mazda.dk/Showroom/ExteriorFullscreen.htm?rg={52E40627-4F43-42EF-A30F-2EF233482F76}&model=Mazda5
 

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I just installed a Thule roof rack last night and it was pretty simple to do. I did make a mistake at the end, though. I was talking to a neighbor and I wasn't paying too much attention to what I was doing and I tightened the front right bolt too tight and it bent the metal underneath the plastic strip and it is now warped and lifted about a quarter inch off the car. I have removed the rack and tried to push it back in place, but to no avail. Does anyone know if it is doable to pop off the plastic strip and bend back (or replace) the metal bracket? I feel like such an idiot for screwing up right at the end. The rack really was easy to install.

On a related note, I bought the Thule 604 Ascent cargo box and if fits nicely on the 5. I will post some pics as soon as I reinstall the rack.
 
Attached is a pic of the damage. Basically, the black plastic strip is now raised a bit because the metal strap below it is bent (from tightening the bolts too much). I hope rain won't do any harm to the car.
 

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I know it's not what you want to hear, but I don't think there's an easy fix for that. Unfortunately, you may have to go to a body shop to make sure it's fixed right.
 
Here's my setup - Inno Ride Wide cargo box on Inno XR cross bars mounted to tracks I had installed on the roof. I can fit SO MUCH stuff in that box. I usually just keep my surfboard and wetsuit /inside so I can stop at anytime to get a surf in :p But I use the space this car offers for work, and the box just adds to the utility.

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Will Thule Mountaineer fit on Mazda5?

I have a possibility of picking up a used Thule Mountaineer. The specs say this baby is 91 inches long... how will that fit with my 2008 Mazda5 on ThuleRB47 racks? I think it will need to be forward a bit so as to clear the hatchback and the antenna, and my concern is it will hang way over the windshield. Any thoughts?

-em
 
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