Roof Rack suggestions for the Mazda6

[TheMarsVolta]

Do any of you guys have roof racks? I've been finding the need for one lately since I do quite a bit of traveling. Mostly with my dogs. I was wondering what racks you guys have installed. I need a general purpose one, I guess. Not one for like surfing, biking, kayaking, etc. What I would need it for would be mainly for large dog crates, an easy-up, and camping stuff. I have no idea what to look for in a roof rack. I don't have a clue about them so I could use some schooling. Thanks in advanced.

 

[d22av]

here's what i found...

I’ve been looking into this also and found that the two most popular companies are
http://www.yakima.com/
http://www.thule.com/

Neither have an option for the speed6 but I assume the one for the 6 would fit our car too.

The only thing I was wondering about is if we have fixed points to mount the rack to or not.

Anyone that actually owns a roof rack would like to comment?

 

[Evolved]

From searching.....

I may be the first guy on the forum to do this, I needed a rack for my mountain bike (I had one on the P5). Here are some pics on what it looks like in case anyone was thinking of doing the same one day. It looks better than I thought it would. These are Thule load bars and Yakima bike attactments.

 

[Ok Red]

I went with the Thule 460R Rapid Podium Foot Rack with the Rapid Aero Load Bar. Don't have a photo to post here at work. It's a pretty clean looking install (no ears fitting in the door jambs) but it was a bit of a PITA to install. They work fine and are quite quiet for a roof rack - when used with the fairing you only notice at 85+ (not that I would ever consider traveling in excess of the posted speed limit).

However, I'm looking into buying a 4wd truck to go with the Speed 6, and if so I'll be selling this setup. I'll know by the end of summer if I'm going to pull the trigger on the truck, so if you're not in a hurry and interested let me know.

 

[NHspeed6]

I have a Thule general purpose roof rack that i've had for about 10 years on 3 different cars. I have bike holders and ski holders on it, but also use it to haul lumber from Lowe's and stuff to the dump on the regular rack, which is rated for about 150 pounds IIRC. I'd highly recommend picking up a set of ratchet straps if you're hauling irregular stuff around. They work really well, and much easier than rope.

I don't have pictures at work, but send me a PM and i can send you some when i get home if you like. It looks very similar to the Yakima rack pictured above, but i have the front wind deflector, which i highly recommend as it cuts down on some of the wind noise.

The base rack itself should run you somewhere around $400 and installs pretty easily. It takes a bit of time to get it just right, but it all depends on how anal you are. One nice thing about the universal racks is that should you change cars, you can keep most of the rack. Simply buy a new adapter kit (fit kit) for $50 and you're good to go assuming you buy a similarly sized car. Brand doesn't really matter, although i'd go with Thule or Yakima as they're the most popular and have the most options. They're basically the same thing and cost similar amounts.

I don't do anything to it for maintenance. The manual says to remove the rack every month to clean where it meets the car, but i've never bothered. I had the rack on my last car for 90,000 miles and didn't take it off once in 5 years. When i pulled it off to sell the car, there wasn't a single mark or discoloration on the car.

 

[TheMarsVolta]

I like the Yakima setup, Evolved. It makes the car look more unique. I guess I'm partial to roof racks. That one looks like it's for a certain setup, I assume

I'd like to check out your setup, OK Red, if you decide to sell. Wind noise was one of my concerns, but I know the have fairings for them available. If you decide on a truck, I'd definitely be interested. Thanks

NHspeed6, do have a model/part number of the unit you have? If you hauled lumber on it, that's along the lines of what I'm looking for. I was concerned about any damage left on the car after removing it, but thanks for clearing that up. So I take there won't be any holes, residue, or post installations marking left?

 

[NHspeed6]

NHspeed6, do have a model/part number of the unit you have? If you hauled lumber on it, that's along the lines of what I'm looking for. I was concerned about any damage left on the car after removing it, but thanks for clearing that up. So I take there won't be any holes, residue, or post installations marking left?

Mine is older, so the part numbers are different. But i have the equivalent of the 400 XT Aero foot pack, something similar to the 50 Load Bar, Fit Kit 2135, and the 38" Fairing. You can go to the Fit Guide and select the Mazda6 to see your options. I can guarantee the Mazda6 and Mazdaspeed6 are the same, as my last car was a 6i and i'm using the exact same rack, fit kit and all. Basically the fit kit is specific to your car model and adapts to the curve and shape of the roof, so there are quite a few of them.

You can use the rack to carry a decent amount of stuff, although i wouldn't put anything extraordinarily heavy up there. The foot pack looks to be rated for 165 pounds. Any more than that and you could risk denting your roof, though i think it would take quite a bit.

The way my rack works is the Foot Pack basically clamps to the car using rubber feet. It clamps between the rain groove on top of the car and the ridge underneath the door. It fits very tight and will not leave any marks or holes on the car (unless you're Hercules and overtighten the hell out of the bolt).

 

[disturbedfan121]

orsracksdirect.com has the best pricing around for racks i've found.

i missed out on a sale on inno racks, full kit for 187.99 shipped brand new

 

[dave_PEI]

i dont think your dogs are going to like being strapped to the roof.... but i may be wrong haha

 

[OJ Bartley]

There was someone (I think it was on a VRM Speed) who had the anchor points permanently attached in the little existing channels, and the rack mounted to that. It looked totally clean when no bars were on it, just 4 little black tabs that you'd hardly notice. I thought that was a great solution.

 

[d22av]

Roof Rack Update

I just wanted to update the thread in case anyone is still interested in purchasing a roof rack system for their speed6. I was looking for a roof rack because I got tired of trying to fit my snowboards in the car and cleaning all the snow off of them/drying them before I put them back in after riding all day.

I decided to go with the THULE kit. I purchased the type that attaches to the roof with clamps instead of directly to the roof bolt in locations. I didnt like the idea of drilling holes in the channel cover or removing it altogether, plus this way it has a better chance of fitting a different car if I choose to do so. I know it doesnt look as clean but I really didnt mind it.

I purchased the kit from amazon, as I could get a much better price then THULE directly and I could get free shipping. I did consider getting a Yakima system, because I have also heard a lot of good things about them and could have saved about 50$ but, I decided against it simply because a lot of their products were made in China and I didnt like that.

The products I purchased were.
The Feet - 400XTR Aero Rapid Roof Rack Foot Pack https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

The Bars 47 Thule Rapid Aero Aluminum Bars https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

The Fit Kit - 400XT and Rapid Aero Foot (2135) https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

The Fairing 44 Thule Fairing https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

Snowboard carrier - 91726 4 Snowboard Carrier https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

I had gotten a pretty good discount on almost all items but even the current prices are not that bad.

The kit came with very easy to understand instructions and I didnt have any problems installing it in about 2 hours. Once you measure everything out and get it set up correctly you can take the whole roof rack off in about 20 min and Install it in about the same amount of time.

The whole kit is constructed very well but is obviously designed to be as light as possible and thus might appear a little flimsy, but dont be fooled. At first I was worried about going 65-70mph with the boards and everything up there but it didnt shift an inch the entire winter. If you stand next to the car with the boards locked in you can literally move the car by just pushed on the board.

Overall I was very satisfied with this roof rack and snowboard carrier. With the roof rack, boards and fairing my mpg only dropped by 1-2mpg which isnt that bad at all. The wind noise was definitely audible but nothing turning up the volume couldnt fix. It held up well all winter long and looks like it will last many more years.

Hope this info helps any of you guys still thinking about a roof rack.