Roof Rack options for 2014 Mazda3?

OEM Roof Rack Part 3

Good evening everyone!

I am happy to report that the weather cooperated this weekend and I was able to wash and wax my new car for the first time and importantly to this thread, install the roof rack!

I was very impressed with how easy it was, just read the instructions. I wrapped some electrical tape around a large flat head screw driver and gently pried up at the front of both of the rain gutters. They slid back about a quarter inch and rose up out of the channel very easily. There are two semi complex pieces per side holding the gutters to the car which can be stubborn. You need to pick up the edge closest to you and rotate it gently and then push the gutter piece towards the center of the car and it will release from the clip. I had to fiddle with that for a while before I figured it out, the instructions are a bit vague there. The back of the piece comes off easily and the new one goes on with a couple gently pounds with your fist. The slide on caps which cover the screws are a bit stubborn, so I used the same tape covered screw driver like a chisel and tapped them off till they popped free. I placed the clear stickers which protect the roof on while there was no gutter piece at all on the car, I think it was be easier to do so with the area free and open. 4 bolts are then threaded into the car's roof. I might suggest putting some sort of paint down at the bottom of the nut on the roof to protect the car's real paint. I might take the roof rack off to address this as the bolts do tear into the paint.

Feet screw.JPG

Then, the rack lands on-top of the screws and protective tape, a big wing nut is used to hold it down, the caps get slid on, and it becomes a very clean rig when done.

close up of bar foot.JPG
Bar over sunroof.JPG

Finally, I installed my Rocky Mounts bike bar. One does have to be a bit careful with the rubber insert on the top of the bars. Press down on the insert as the bike mount is slid into the top channel. Also, the rear bar is 1.5ish inches shorter, so the a common reference point on the bike bar should be 3/4 of an inch closer to the end of the rear bar than the front bar to get it to sit straight on the car.

front of rockymount.JPG
bike on car angle.JPG

I have driven the car for a few hours straight on the highway after install and I think I lost only about 1 mpg with it an the bike mount on. The noise increase is also pretty much impossible to hear. The sunroof is a bit louder, but nothing is perfect. The rear gate does open with the road bike on the rack without a problem. There is about 3 inches of space between the bar and the hatch, I did not think to look at the tire to the hatch. I will be putting my much larger 29er full suspension on tomorrow so fingers crossed the tire does not get in the way!

I hope this was helpful in your decision process to maybe purchase this set-up. I have been impressed with the quality and the fact that you get an equal if not better rig for half the price of Yakima or Thule, while still maintaining the Yakima name, albeit its a bit hidden. Way to go Mazda for actually saving their customer money through economies of scale!
 
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Great, thanks.
What is the total height with roof rack installed?
Half the reason I am getting Mazda3 is that my garage is very low and I have
bunch of kayaks suspended above the car so much so that my Corolla SW
barley clears it by inch or so. I might have to install coilovers to help the
issue(cryhard).
 
OEM Roof Rack Part 4

Good evening everyone,

I put the mtn bike on the car yesterday and thankfully the rear tire missed the rear gate's spoiler when open by about an inch, it was really close! I own a Trek full suspension 29er so it is a pretty large bike in the overall world of mtn bikes, but some all mountain machines may cause a problem. It would just require that the bike not be on whenever the gate needs to be opened all the way, not a big deal.

I measured the overall height of the car, roof racks and all, with my super precise engineer's squinting eyeball and got about 60 inches, which makes sense as it was about 2.5 inches taller than the roof which is supposed to be 57.3 inches according to Mazda.

I am super impressed with this rack, I have noticed a slight whistling with the sun roof in it's angled orientation when at highway speeds, but it is nothing that the normal radio volume needed to overcome the open sunroof can't handle.
 
Thanks.
My clearance is 61" from garage floor to the bottom of the kayak. Not a whole lot of room to play with.
Lower springs and I am in business. I am not planning to use rack all the time but when I do use it I need
to drop kayak right on the rack and drive off.
 
Thanks.
My clearance is 61" from garage floor to the bottom of the kayak. Not a whole lot of room to play with.
Lower springs and I am in business. I am not planning to use rack all the time but when I do use it I need
to drop kayak right on the rack and drive off.

The good thing is you can literally drop the kayak (1") onto the rack.
 
Good evening everyone,

I put the mtn bike on the car yesterday and thankfully the rear tire missed the rear gate's spoiler when open by about an inch, it was really close! I own a Trek full suspension 29er so it is a pretty large bike in the overall world of mtn bikes, but some all mountain machines may cause a problem. It would just require that the bike not be on whenever the gate needs to be opened all the way, not a big deal.

I measured the overall height of the car, roof racks and all, with my super precise engineer's squinting eyeball and got about 60 inches, which makes sense as it was about 2.5 inches taller than the roof which is supposed to be 57.3 inches according to Mazda.

I am super impressed with this rack, I have noticed a slight whistling with the sun roof in it's angled orientation when at highway speeds, but it is nothing that the normal radio volume needed to overcome the open sunroof can't handle.

Precision_Man, awesome review. THANK YOU. Sounds like the OEM rack is the one to go for. I haven't bought the car yet, but will see if I can negotiate with the dealer to bundle it in at a discount.

1 mpg difference could be due to anything, may or may not be the roof rack. I was a bit concerned as some people mentioned a 5mpg hit. I still have a hitch rack as my backup plan, it does make loading the bikes easier, but I think it's pain that's gets in the way when loading groceries into the hatch.
 
Good evening everyone,

I put the mtn bike on the car yesterday and thankfully the rear tire missed the rear gate's spoiler when open by about an inch, it was really close! I own a Trek full suspension 29er so it is a pretty large bike in the overall world of mtn bikes, but some all mountain machines may cause a problem. It would just require that the bike not be on whenever the gate needs to be opened all the way, not a big deal.

I measured the overall height of the car, roof racks and all, with my super precise engineer's squinting eyeball and got about 60 inches, which makes sense as it was about 2.5 inches taller than the roof which is supposed to be 57.3 inches according to Mazda.

I am super impressed with this rack, I have noticed a slight whistling with the sun roof in it's angled orientation when at highway speeds, but it is nothing that the normal radio volume needed to overcome the open sunroof can't handle.

Precision_Man, awesome review. THANK YOU. Sounds like the OEM rack is the one to go for. I haven't bought the car yet, but will see if I can negotiate with the dealer to bundle it in at a discount.

1 mpg difference could be due to anything, may or may not be the roof rack. I was a bit concerned as some people mentioned a 5mpg hit. I still have a hitch rack as my backup plan, it does make loading the bikes easier, but I think it's pain that's gets in the way when loading groceries into the hatch.
 
Your welcome smoothmoose, love the name btw!

I have had the bars on for about a month and half now and still love them. I also love the rockymounts, such a nice carrier! I am reluctant to open the sunroof on the highway, but I think I was before the bars too, I had never had a sunroof before this car and it is pretty noisy, even with a naked roof.

As you might have read from my previous posts I bought a Yakima fork mount carrier before learning of the rockymounts and I decided to keep it. I carpooled with two other guys to a road ride event and installed the Yakima as a third rack for the trip. I put it on backwards so the bike's bars would not get all tangled up and everything went smoothly. I only got 25mpg on the highway, but oh well, my carpooler's paid for most of the gas. The Yakima also goes on and comes off much more easily than the Rockymounts, making it a great temporary carrier.

Good luck to everyone, enjoy your Mazdas!
 
Your welcome smoothmoose, love the name btw!

I have had the bars on for about a month and half now and still love them. I also love the rockymounts, such a nice carrier! I am reluctant to open the sunroof on the highway, but I think I was before the bars too, I had never had a sunroof before this car and it is pretty noisy, even with a naked roof.

As you might have read from my previous posts I bought a Yakima fork mount carrier before learning of the rockymounts and I decided to keep it. I carpooled with two other guys to a road ride event and installed the Yakima as a third rack for the trip. I put it on backwards so the bike's bars would not get all tangled up and everything went smoothly. I only got 25mpg on the highway, but oh well, my carpooler's paid for most of the gas. The Yakima also goes on and comes off much more easily than the Rockymounts, making it a great temporary carrier.

Good luck to everyone, enjoy your Mazdas!

I just got my car 2 days ago. Mazda 3s GT hatch in white! Took it for a nice drive to the beach and the PCH today. I'll be ordering the roof rack soon.
 
This thread has been very helpful! But, I'm still trying to figure out what to buy and would really appreciate some informed guidance or input.

I expect to only be using my roof rack about a half-dozen times a year, mostly for bikes. (For bikes I traditionally have used a rear carrier, but our family has grown so I will need to use both rear and roof carriers to carry bikes.) (I'd been getting away with squeezing 3 bikes on the rear carrier and squeezing a small kid's bike in the trunk, but those days are ending.) I have a long commute and do not want to leave the rack on all the time, and I am trying to figure out the best option. As far as I can tell (correct me if I'm wong), the two best options seem to be:

1. A Thule "bare roof" rack. I have an old (square) Thule rack and can re-use the cross pieces and just buy foot packs and fit kits (plus the bike racks!) (I also have old Thule triangular "load stops" which I like and could continue to use occasionally for carting stuff.)

2. The Mazda OEM fixed-point removable rack.

Of course, if I were to leave the rack on all the time, the Mazda rack would be the choice. But assuming I don't, I'm wondering which rack would be easier to put on and take off quickly when I need it?

I found (I think) the Mazda instructions online, and it didn't look like you can leave the feet in place and just remove that crosspieces. Is this correct? If leaving the feet in place were an option, I might do that, since that would presumably allow for the quickest and easiest set-up, without causing significant drag.

I'm wondering if I could leave the roof rack and bike racks assembly together, hang it on my garage wall, and plunk the whole thing on the car at once, rather than rebuilding the assembly each time. Do you think this is workable for either the Thule or Mazda rack?

Any thoughts are welcome!
 
This thread has been very helpful! But, I'm still trying to figure out what to buy and would really appreciate some informed guidance or input.

I expect to only be using my roof rack about a half-dozen times a year, mostly for bikes. (For bikes I traditionally have used a rear carrier, but our family has grown so I will need to use both rear and roof carriers to carry bikes.) (I'd been getting away with squeezing 3 bikes on the rear carrier and squeezing a small kid's bike in the trunk, but those days are ending.) I have a long commute and do not want to leave the rack on all the time, and I am trying to figure out the best option. As far as I can tell (correct me if I'm wong), the two best options seem to be:

1. A Thule "bare roof" rack. I have an old (square) Thule rack and can re-use the cross pieces and just buy foot packs and fit kits (plus the bike racks!) (I also have old Thule triangular "load stops" which I like and could continue to use occasionally for carting stuff.)

2. The Mazda OEM fixed-point removable rack.

Of course, if I were to leave the rack on all the time, the Mazda rack would be the choice. But assuming I don't, I'm wondering which rack would be easier to put on and take off quickly when I need it?

I found (I think) the Mazda instructions online, and it didn't look like you can leave the feet in place and just remove that crosspieces. Is this correct? If leaving the feet in place were an option, I might do that, since that would presumably allow for the quickest and easiest set-up, without causing significant drag.

I'm wondering if I could leave the roof rack and bike racks assembly together, hang it on my garage wall, and plunk the whole thing on the car at once, rather than rebuilding the assembly each time. Do you think this is workable for either the Thule or Mazda rack?

Any thoughts are welcome!

Ditto here! I plan to use a roof rack probably only a half dozen times a year for carrying my kayak on vacation and/or local trips to the lake. Would want to use the rack style that is easiest/quickest to take on & off. Debating on the Mazda fixed point or one that clamps to the rain gutter.
 
Most newer cars don't have rain gutters. I have an old Thule rack for rain gutters and I would continue to use it if I could -- I could put it on my old car in 5 mins, take it off in 2. If you have rain gutters I would suggest going with that. But I have the impression that, without rain gutters, racks are harder to put on and don't hold as well. Hence my quandry.
 
Great post Precision Man. After reading the post a few times installation was a breeze. My rack came with 6 mounting pads. 2 of them are marked 4D and 5DRR and LR. 2 are marked 4D and 5DFR and RL. I used these in the designated spots and they fit the gutter and the post perfectly. The 2 remaining pads are marked just 4D RL and RR. Thanks again for the post. I'll postpictures when I get the bike mounts. Going with Yakimas wheel on.

Gene
 
Gene R, thanks for the compliment.

bill3, sorry for getting back a full month later, I presume you have made a decision at this point. Just in case you have not or others are wondering, I would say that it would probably take me 10 minutes to take the rack off, and another 10 to put it on, especially if I had a second person. The whole thing is held on with only 4 bolts, which use wing nuts, so it should be a fast job. I am hoping to leave my bike racks on this winter when i take the whole thing off in one piece, we will see if that works or not later. It may therefore be quite possible to set up a something in your garage to lift it off and store it when it is not needed.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Mazdas, I have been loving mine and the roof rack has been working superbly so far, I have put a max of three bikes on it.
 
On the oem mazda roof rack is there any way you can put he wind fairing onto it? I mean it is a Yakima roof rack but what size fairing the 44" or smaller? Thanks any info would be great also the oem rack is aero and I think the fairing only fits on round, bars, any way around?
 
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No, the beauty of sliding tabs is that you can easily remove rack when it s not needed because it hurts gas milage by 5MPG!
I do not want to have exposed holes or much less use Yakima "landing pads".
BTW Yakima towers (option on 2013 M3) are extremely ugly compare to rack option on, say, Subaru wagon, made by who knows who,but nice.

But Serge, I drove my Mazda3 2012 hatch with the Yakima Whispbar with a Yakima Cargo box on top and was getting 43 mpg on the highway driving 65 (through flat Indiana, not much wind then) just last summer.
 
I just leased a 2014 Mazda 3 today. I had a 2012 3 that I traded in. I have had the Yakima Whispbar on it the last two years. I average 40+ mpg highway. I took it to Indiana over the summer from NYC with the Yakima box on top. In flat Indiana with little wind that day I tested the milage. 43 mpg with the box on top. I drove 65 most of the way. That's good enough for me.

Now I see I have to look under the stripping on top of my 2014 and drill some holes were the post mounts are. Not a big deal. It's just that when I return the car in a few years I have to replace the plastic stripping. How much could that be? $30?
 
I just leased a 2014 Mazda 3 today. I had a 2012 3 that I traded in. I have had the Yakima Whispbar on it the last two years. I average 40+ mpg highway. I took it to Indiana over the summer from NYC with the Yakima box on top. In flat Indiana with little wind that day I tested the milage. 43 mpg with the box on top. I drove 65 most of the way. That's good enough for me.

Now I see I have to look under the stripping on top of my 2014 and drill some holes were the post mounts are. Not a big deal. It's just that when I return the car in a few years I have to replace the plastic stripping. How much could that be? $30?

Most places that sell the OEM roof rack include new plastic striping that has access ports with plastic covers for the roof rack bolts to mount onto, and if you dont get them included they can be ordered for pretty cheap from most of the online parts places that sell the roof rack.
 
It may be that the roof rack from http://www.mazdaparts.org/mazda-3-roof-rack-crossbars.html includes the left and right roof molding. I'm making this guess based on the part #: 00008LL20-BHY2509L0-9H0. (00008LL20 is the part # for the roof rack, BHY2509L0 is the part # for the left hand molding, and BHY2509H0 is the part # for the right molding.)

The other places, http://stores.revolutionparts.com/oemmazdaparts.com/oe-mazda/00008ll20?search_str=00008LL20 and http://www.partswebsite.com/mazdapartswholesale/oemparts/mazda-136/00008LL20-00008LL20.html only list the roof rack part # as 00008LL20.

This may explain why the mazdaparts site is $25-$35 more than the others. So buying from them may be a better deal.

That said, I'm not sure if you need new molding or you can reuse the the molding installed with your car. Also I'm not sure if BHY2509L0 and BHY2509H0 is in any way different than what was installed with your car.

I just ordered from Med Center Mazda using this link I can I can confirm that Mike had it exactly right; the package includes the left and right roof molding with the rack. The molding included in the package has access panels for the rack mounts (little plastic doors that can be taken on and off when you install or remove the roof rack), unlike the factory molding with was just solid strips.

I'm couldn't be happier with the way the OEM rack worked out; this forum saved me a few hundred dollars and I have a nicer rack as a result! Shipping from Med Center Mazda was also free, and fast.

One word of advice:

Installing the new molding can be fairly tricky. Of the two kinds of clips under the molding, one of the kinds can slide around. You have to make sure to line these up with the little elevated bumps in the groove on the roof. It's really, really easy to have them slide around while clipping the first few in, so be careful. If they slide too much, the molding won't be supported right, and it will sag in the middle. While figuring this out, I actually broke the front-most clip. Luckily, I was able to salvage another clip from the original molding and all was well. So, like I said, be careful!

Once the molding is (properly) installed, installing the rest of the rack is super, super easy.

Here's the end result:

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