slater
08-11-2014, 11:52 AM
we just got back last night after a 10-day working vacation to VT/NH/ME. it was our first trip with a roof rack and carrier for the ZHP's litmus test as an 'Avant-replacement'.... (see sig for details)
it passed! woohoo!
the pic below is of our 7-year old son and the ZHP, with roof rack and storage. i just installed some 10mm front/12.5mm rear spacers (thanks connor!), which really improved stability and reduced initial body roll in corners. you can see how loaded the trunk is (completely :) - we had about 250lbs of stuff in there!).
big thanks to sean (pip) for the thule feet and load bars - they were in great shape and installed in 10mins - i love BMW's feet-mounting system.
i scored the 13 cubic-foot thule soft roof carrier locally for $50 - it was new and unopened! this has recently been discontinued by thule but it was about $350CAD new. i was pumped.
it installed easily and was very quiet, provided key additional storage space, and was easy to access if we needed anything. i did notice a pretty dramatic drop in MPGs on the highway though - about 5MPG, which is pretty significant. i wonder if the hard-shell thule carriers are any better, or if an 'aero-ramp' in front of the soft carrier would help?
we are taking the ZHP to PEI (Prince Edward Island) in september for our family vacation this year - it's about 3000KM (1925 miles) round-trip, and a lot of the driving will be through remote quebec and new brunswick, so i am going to be taking it off the road in a couple of weeks to do the following... the car is at 110K miles, so now is a good time:
- cooling system overhaul
- replace drive belts
- VANOS rebuild
- OFHG (it's weeping anyway)
- OEM M3 engine mounts
- UUC trans mounts
- replace DS center-support bearing
- rear subframe mounts (AKG 90A)
- RTABs (powerflex 95A)
- rear diff carrier bushings (ECS poly - soft)
- replace ebrake shoes
- replace rear rotors
- replace rear diff and trans fluild
- PS fluid flush
- replace fuel filter
- replace spark plugs
- replace CCV with catch can
- rear seat cupholders and 12v outlet for my kids :)
:)
peter
it passed! woohoo!
the pic below is of our 7-year old son and the ZHP, with roof rack and storage. i just installed some 10mm front/12.5mm rear spacers (thanks connor!), which really improved stability and reduced initial body roll in corners. you can see how loaded the trunk is (completely :) - we had about 250lbs of stuff in there!).
big thanks to sean (pip) for the thule feet and load bars - they were in great shape and installed in 10mins - i love BMW's feet-mounting system.
i scored the 13 cubic-foot thule soft roof carrier locally for $50 - it was new and unopened! this has recently been discontinued by thule but it was about $350CAD new. i was pumped.
it installed easily and was very quiet, provided key additional storage space, and was easy to access if we needed anything. i did notice a pretty dramatic drop in MPGs on the highway though - about 5MPG, which is pretty significant. i wonder if the hard-shell thule carriers are any better, or if an 'aero-ramp' in front of the soft carrier would help?
we are taking the ZHP to PEI (Prince Edward Island) in september for our family vacation this year - it's about 3000KM (1925 miles) round-trip, and a lot of the driving will be through remote quebec and new brunswick, so i am going to be taking it off the road in a couple of weeks to do the following... the car is at 110K miles, so now is a good time:
- cooling system overhaul
- replace drive belts
- VANOS rebuild
- OFHG (it's weeping anyway)
- OEM M3 engine mounts
- UUC trans mounts
- replace DS center-support bearing
- rear subframe mounts (AKG 90A)
- RTABs (powerflex 95A)
- rear diff carrier bushings (ECS poly - soft)
- replace ebrake shoes
- replace rear rotors
- replace rear diff and trans fluild
- PS fluid flush
- replace fuel filter
- replace spark plugs
- replace CCV with catch can
- rear seat cupholders and 12v outlet for my kids :)
:)
peter