Richard C2S

I'd appreciate any pointers from anyone who has transported track wheels/tires on a roof rack. I'm thinking of installing the appropriate Thule roof rack (just two crossbars) and lashing two wheels/tires to it with ratcheting tie-downs. I will either put the other two on top and lash them down, or try to get at least one of the front wheels into the car, on the passenger seat.
Any tips, comments, suggestions? Any experiences that may be shared so I may anticipate potential problems?

Thanks in advance.

Richard

Tom T.

Hi,

I see people do this all the time at the track. Make sure you get six tethers, and good ones with the ratchet tie down ends. Use one tether for each wheel, and the other two to tie all four together.

Tom

88clbsport

Check, double and triple check before you take the long trip....
A buddy of mine had the set-up on his M-Coupe and lost a wheel into the windshield!

Chris in Detroit

As an alternative - these guys will supply you with hitch and trailer - hitch goes on and off in 10 mins.

<a href="http://www.southsporttrailers.com/track.html" target="_blank">South Sport Trailers</a>

No affiliation etc. but this is the setup I use with great results !

Greg Fishman

You are asking for trouble by using a roof mount. Get a tire trailer or build one like EJ did. EJ has a nice set up to carry a large tool chest, and 4 track tires. What speed is it rated to EJ?!

Richard C2S

Thanks for your responses. I have seen some guys bring their track tires on a roof rack. I really don't want to tow a trailer and don't need the tool chest. I am concerned about a loose wheel/tire as well as whether the track debris that is picked up may damage the paintwork on the way home. I will try to clean the wheels and tires as thoroughly as I can before putting them back up on the roof.

Thanks again.
Richard

Flying Finn

can't you (I'm not arguin, just asking) fit the wheels into your car?

One on each rear seat and two in passenger seat?

Has anyone tried this?

Obviously you'd put them inside the plastic trash bags.

Robert Henriksen

Inside is a good question; now that I've got a rollbar, the back seat is out of the question. Before that, it might have been possible. There is another safety issue in that approach, though. In an accident (god forbid), you'd have a bunch of damn heavy objects flying around unsecured in the cabin!

Richard C2S

FF

Good idea, but no go. Even without my harness guide bar, I wouldn't be able to get a tire/wheel through the door and behind the front seatback.

Richard

Flying Finn

I think someone needs to try it:

You'd tilt other seat all the way back and other tilted forward, then it might fit?

Greg Fishman

[quote]Originally posted by Flying Finn:
<strong>I think someone needs to try it:

You'd tilt other seat all the way back and other tilted forward, then it might fit?</strong><hr></blockquote>

I wouldn't suggest it, but you can do it if you try hard enough. It isn't pretty but I saw a friend do this in his C4S. One tire up front, one in the passenger seat, and two in the back. Also carried a tool box and jack.

Richard C2S

I may actually try to get the two front wheels/tires into the passenger seat area. I'll bag each and try it. As long as I'm not going to damage my seat in any way, it may work.

Richard

PeanutinCA

Interesting, I did this minus the wheels just yesterday!! <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" /> O.k. start at the beginning. I had to carry just my street tires to replace the worn out track tires. I have roll bar and race seats. I removed the front passenger seat to fit the tires in. The prblem I see is that I had to stand the two tires in the passenger well of the car upright and turn tham at an angle to close the door. I can't imagine you can successfully put two wheels/tires on the passenger seat without interfering with the gear change. Don't forget that door pocket protrudes into the car. I have some roof racks with I will fit a board to. I'll make sure that the board is slightly raised at the rear to provide downforce on the rack, not lift.

I'll see how it goes in the future?

Cheers,
Dylan.

Flying Finn

Just be careful out there...

E. J. - 993 Alumni

Richard,

Take this for waht it is, but I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I tried the roof rack approach once - JUST ONCE! I made it about 3/4 of the way home and on a 50 mph speedlimit road the rear bar broke loose from the stress and luckily for me, all the straps held and nothing actually fell off the roof.

The rear bar ended up perpindicular to the way its supposed to be with the hard metal brackets digging into the fine SY paint. The rear edge of the 2 stacks of tires was now resting on the roof - also causing damage. The stacks were no longer uniform and one of the tires was hanging on by a single strap about to slide down the rear window. If you're wondering why the whole thing didn't brake loose, the front bar held and I used enough ratcheting tie down straps to actually keep the load on the roof.

I ws luucky not to have caused a major problem on the road - imagine 4 wheels bouncing down the highway - not a pretty sight.

I used the Yakima bars with the raingutter attachment - the best and strongest roof rack on the market. The people I see that make it work use 15 or 16 inch wheels and are able mount 4 across the roof standing up. With the MUCH wider 17 and 18 inch tires I was not able to do that so I had to have two stacks of 2 tires - one on each side. I think it's the pressure of the tight straps pulling up on the bars (what else are you going to attach the straps to) combined with 50 or 60 mph frontal wind that ultimately led to my failure. But really, I don't care what caused it because I will never ever even think about putting that much weight on the roof again. Someone really could have gotten hurt if my bouncing tires had caused an accident.

Be smart and don't risk it. Get a small trailer - you'll just end up with one later anyway after you learn the hard way like I did.

E. J.