Has anyone tried carrying tires on a trunk strapped bike rack? I can fit 4 wheels in my car no problem but I'm thinking of getting a set of wet tires and still have my passenger seat empty. Would those bike racks be strong enough to carry 4 x 285 wide wheels?

 

I doubt it. Even if the rack was, it would buckle you trunk/bumper where it sits against the car. They're only designed to support ~100lb or so.

You're better off getting a hidden hitch and a small tire trailer.

 

I have a Jeep and am on Cherokee Forums. One person did modify a bicycle rack to carry one wheel/tire. Welding was required.
My rack hold 4 bikes and fits into a class III receiver. I don't know if I would trust it with the weight of more than two at the most.

 

The one I had in mind says 145 kg (320lb)... don't know if I can trust those numbers though:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/VehicleRacksCarriers/BikeRacks/PRDOVR~0401070P/SportRack+Euro+Trio+Bike+Rack.jsp?locale=en

 

try it and tell us how it goes!

 

I wouldn't trust that rack to hold my 20lb road bike on my beater. That rack would never touch my 8.

I have a Saris Bones 3 bike that has never even touched my 8. It's rated at 105lbs. I've had 3 (~80lbs) bikes on it before and it sturdy, but swayed and creeked and bounced more than i was comfortable with.

 

Why do you not want to go the initial route of putting it inside rather than the trunk-bike rack? Anyway, if you really must, a Yakima roof rack for the RX-8 has a load rating of 75 kg. I've used mine quite a few times since I installed it two months ago.

 

Because I'm carrying 8 wheels now and event without a passenger, I don't think they would fit.

Other options are fitting a hidden hitch (too much trouble), Strapping them to the trunk opening with the trunk door open.... miatas do this all the time but I could get a ticket... or getting a roof rack.

How much did your roof rack cost?

 

Yakima's site shows that the whole setup will be ~$580.

The hitch mounting instructions don't appear to be especially complicated.

 

its not 550.00. I didn't even pay 300.00 for mine.

 

I made a special rack that allowed me to carry four wheels via a hitch on an FD3 way back in the early-mid 90s

the problem you will have for your scenario is total weight of eight wheels, four of which are hanging out on a long lever arm behind the rear axle, plus whatever other stuff you take with you. You will likely be bottomed out on the bump stops the entire trip and potentially damage your rear shocks.

 

The roof rack was used and I bought all for $230 in eBay, the basket was $40 from a local seller through Craigslist.

Here's a Miata you spoke of:

 

I tried a home-made tire tail on my RX-8 and it was WAY too much load. I wasn't very comfortable with the amount of suspension travel that I had remaining. The weight distribution and alignment change also makes for some pretty floaty highway driving.

I have successfully put 2 full sets of tires in the car before though. I put 5 across in the back seat, 2 in the passenger seat and 1 in the trunk. There was still a bunch of floor space available for other stuff like a jack and tools, and there was a bunch of room around the one wheel in the trunk too. Not enough for a passenger though. I don't think it would be great for a long drive though, as I had to compromise my seating position quite a bit and the tires in the passenger seat blocked a lot of visibility and impinged on shifting a little.

Perhaps some combination of the two would work? 2 tires on the trunk, one in the trunk and one in the backseat between your race tires.

 

Actually this is what i had in mind:



I'm going to go with the only other option for now, have a friend bring them to the event for me. The roof rack seems to be the long term option.

 

*shrug* just going off Yakima's site ($315 for posts/bars, $265 for basket) and what I know of prices when we bought a rack system for my wife's car. $300 all in for posts, bars and a basket is a good deal.

 

Thread bump. Might benefit someone interested of how the tires would look on the roofrack, both with a basket and just the crossbars.