Bike rack adapter kit for G37/G35
09-12-2010, 02:02 AM
#31
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I can't imagine how I would ever fit a bike in the trunk. Would never put a roof rack on, esp with the frame-less doors, I just know there would be bad wind whistle (I had a Subie that was bad because of that). And I certainly wouldn't do a trunk-mount. Hitch is the only way to go IMHO.
They do NOT make a kit, but if you're brave, you can jerry-rig the G37 sedan kit onto the coupe. In short, the pics are self explanatory. I've seen some on other Infiniti and G37 forums where they took the bumper off and had to cut some of the plastic to work around the receiver, but that just made me sick. The way I did it, while the hit is 3" more recessed, it still works fine with my rack.
Parts list was as follows:
* G37 Sedan hitch kit (see Trailer Hitch for 2008 Infiniti G35 - Curt 11499 or Trailer Hitch for 2008 Infiniti G35 | etrailer.com , any of them should work, but I bought the Curt. You WILL have to cut the tab off on the right side to keep it from rubbing on the muffler.
* 5/8" and 1/2" drill bit to drill through the hitch mount plate, as well as put four holes through the aluminum bumper subframe.
* (qty 2) Grade 8 5/8" x 4" long bolts
* (qty 2) Grade 8 5/8" flat washers
* (qty 2) Grade 8 5/8" lock washers
* (qty 2) Grade 8 5/8" nuts
* (qty 2) Grade 8 1/2" x 4" long bolts
* (qty 4) Grade 8 1/2" flat washers
* (qty 2) Grade 8 1/2" locking nylon nuts
-- I got all my nuts and bolts at Lowe's, but make sure to use Grade 8!!!
Basically, I made a template of the new holes to work around the license plate bracket. The tricky part here is making sure when you drill the holes that they line up so that the holes line up through the bumper when the hitch is lifted and held flush with the bottom of the bumper. The pictures help show this, but once you hold it up under the car, you can tell what you have to watch closely. What I did was make my template so that the bottom of the template would be the bottom of the hit mount plate.
I transferred the template to the hitch and marked where the two new holes would be. I drilled the two holes through the hitch mounting plate where the openings inside the license plate bracket would be (these take the 1/2" bolts) and then drilled the larger 5/8" bolt holes for the lower mounting holes already present in the hitch mount plate. In effect, I'm using the two lower holes, drilling higher holes slightly closer together for the 1/2" nuts, and not using the top two holes originally on the mount plate.
From there, using the template, mark and drill the holes through the aluminum box beam behind the bumper. This has the highest pucker factor as you have to drill the holes both level and straight through the bumper of the holes won't line up on the other side. I used a stick on bubble level and a laser sight and was still off a tad on the top holes that needed some reaming, but I got the bottom holes spot on. If you're not handy and accurate with a drill, I don't know if I would attempt this. I've done woodworking for years, so I'm handy drilling blind.
Once the holes are drilled through the aluminum bumper box, you can run the bolts through the back, and then loose-mount the hitch on the backside (license plate side). Once all the bolts and flat washers are through the back, place the washers and free-hand the nuts on the muffler side. Once they are all on, use your ratchet and wrenches to tighten all the nuts down. I don't think you could, but I wouldn't over-crazy-tighten the bolts. But the locking nylon nuts on the 1/2" bolts on the top and the locking washer on the lower 5/8" bolts will keep the nuts from working loose.
the nicest part of this is you don't have to take anything off the car, you don't have to disconnect the bumper or bumper hangars, no muffler detachment, etc. The only drawback is the top of the receiver pushes on the bottom of the plastic bumper, so I just found some single-sided rubber bumpers and put some between the bumper and the top of the receiver. But even if it does rub a little, it will never be seen.
All in all, works great, and took about 2.5 hours. I could have saved about 30 minutes if I had cut off the right-tab before mounting, instead I had to take the sawzall to it after it was mounted. I don't see ANY reason why a competent hitch installer couldn't make it work based on what I did, and do it likely better than I did.
You can see the pictures from the install at the following link:
Images on the G37 Hitch Installation
Hope that helps someone out there...
They do NOT make a kit, but if you're brave, you can jerry-rig the G37 sedan kit onto the coupe. In short, the pics are self explanatory. I've seen some on other Infiniti and G37 forums where they took the bumper off and had to cut some of the plastic to work around the receiver, but that just made me sick. The way I did it, while the hit is 3" more recessed, it still works fine with my rack.
Parts list was as follows:
* G37 Sedan hitch kit (see Trailer Hitch for 2008 Infiniti G35 - Curt 11499 or Trailer Hitch for 2008 Infiniti G35 | etrailer.com , any of them should work, but I bought the Curt. You WILL have to cut the tab off on the right side to keep it from rubbing on the muffler.
* 5/8" and 1/2" drill bit to drill through the hitch mount plate, as well as put four holes through the aluminum bumper subframe.
* (qty 2) Grade 8 5/8" x 4" long bolts
* (qty 2) Grade 8 5/8" flat washers
* (qty 2) Grade 8 5/8" lock washers
* (qty 2) Grade 8 5/8" nuts
* (qty 2) Grade 8 1/2" x 4" long bolts
* (qty 4) Grade 8 1/2" flat washers
* (qty 2) Grade 8 1/2" locking nylon nuts
-- I got all my nuts and bolts at Lowe's, but make sure to use Grade 8!!!
Basically, I made a template of the new holes to work around the license plate bracket. The tricky part here is making sure when you drill the holes that they line up so that the holes line up through the bumper when the hitch is lifted and held flush with the bottom of the bumper. The pictures help show this, but once you hold it up under the car, you can tell what you have to watch closely. What I did was make my template so that the bottom of the template would be the bottom of the hit mount plate.
I transferred the template to the hitch and marked where the two new holes would be. I drilled the two holes through the hitch mounting plate where the openings inside the license plate bracket would be (these take the 1/2" bolts) and then drilled the larger 5/8" bolt holes for the lower mounting holes already present in the hitch mount plate. In effect, I'm using the two lower holes, drilling higher holes slightly closer together for the 1/2" nuts, and not using the top two holes originally on the mount plate.
From there, using the template, mark and drill the holes through the aluminum box beam behind the bumper. This has the highest pucker factor as you have to drill the holes both level and straight through the bumper of the holes won't line up on the other side. I used a stick on bubble level and a laser sight and was still off a tad on the top holes that needed some reaming, but I got the bottom holes spot on. If you're not handy and accurate with a drill, I don't know if I would attempt this. I've done woodworking for years, so I'm handy drilling blind.
Once the holes are drilled through the aluminum bumper box, you can run the bolts through the back, and then loose-mount the hitch on the backside (license plate side). Once all the bolts and flat washers are through the back, place the washers and free-hand the nuts on the muffler side. Once they are all on, use your ratchet and wrenches to tighten all the nuts down. I don't think you could, but I wouldn't over-crazy-tighten the bolts. But the locking nylon nuts on the 1/2" bolts on the top and the locking washer on the lower 5/8" bolts will keep the nuts from working loose.
the nicest part of this is you don't have to take anything off the car, you don't have to disconnect the bumper or bumper hangars, no muffler detachment, etc. The only drawback is the top of the receiver pushes on the bottom of the plastic bumper, so I just found some single-sided rubber bumpers and put some between the bumper and the top of the receiver. But even if it does rub a little, it will never be seen.
All in all, works great, and took about 2.5 hours. I could have saved about 30 minutes if I had cut off the right-tab before mounting, instead I had to take the sawzall to it after it was mounted. I don't see ANY reason why a competent hitch installer couldn't make it work based on what I did, and do it likely better than I did.
You can see the pictures from the install at the following link:
Images on the G37 Hitch Installation
Hope that helps someone out there...
02-11-2012, 09:05 PM
#32
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Will this work with a 29" mountain bike
Hi,
I have my eye on a 2008 G37 coupe. I love your bike rack idea. Will this rack accommodate a 29" mountain bike, so that the right handlebar of the bike will not touch the back of the car? I don't want to scratch the paint.
Roger
rlg455@hotmail.com
I have my eye on a 2008 G37 coupe. I love your bike rack idea. Will this rack accommodate a 29" mountain bike, so that the right handlebar of the bike will not touch the back of the car? I don't want to scratch the paint.
Roger
rlg455@hotmail.com
Bike rack adapter kit for G37/G35, designed to work with the Rocky Mounts Pitchfork
After months of searching for a solution, I finally had a discrete bike rack fabricated for my G37. The main mount is heavy duty, made of 3/16" plate steel, slides behind the rear license plate, and has dual 1" square receivers extending just below the license plate. The bike is secured with a Rocky Mounts Pitchfork roof rack tray mounted at 90 degrees. Twin 7/8" solid steel bars are bolted to the tray. The bars slide into the receivers and are secured with two bolts. With zero side-to-motion and minimal fore/aft motion, the setup is superior to any hitch mount bike rack. The final look is exceptionally clean. When mounted, the bike appears to float behind the car. When not mounted, the two receivers peer below the license plate, I color matched the paint, so it's not really noticeable.
The base plate requires four 3/8” holes drilled into the G37/G35 aluminum bumper. The holes are behind the license plate, so they are never noticeable. Basically, this design will work for any car where the license plate is mounted in front of a metal bumper.
The kit is solid. Didn’t budge when the 180 lb. welder stood on it! Will fit either a road bike or a mountain bike.
If you are interested, send me a PM.
Pics at http://cid-0825aeaebaf9533b.skydrive...G37%20or%20G35
After months of searching for a solution, I finally had a discrete bike rack fabricated for my G37. The main mount is heavy duty, made of 3/16" plate steel, slides behind the rear license plate, and has dual 1" square receivers extending just below the license plate. The bike is secured with a Rocky Mounts Pitchfork roof rack tray mounted at 90 degrees. Twin 7/8" solid steel bars are bolted to the tray. The bars slide into the receivers and are secured with two bolts. With zero side-to-motion and minimal fore/aft motion, the setup is superior to any hitch mount bike rack. The final look is exceptionally clean. When mounted, the bike appears to float behind the car. When not mounted, the two receivers peer below the license plate, I color matched the paint, so it's not really noticeable.
The base plate requires four 3/8” holes drilled into the G37/G35 aluminum bumper. The holes are behind the license plate, so they are never noticeable. Basically, this design will work for any car where the license plate is mounted in front of a metal bumper.
The kit is solid. Didn’t budge when the 180 lb. welder stood on it! Will fit either a road bike or a mountain bike.
If you are interested, send me a PM.
Pics at http://cid-0825aeaebaf9533b.skydrive...G37%20or%20G35
04-15-2012, 07:35 AM
#33
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Vixx,
Thanks for these detailed instructions. Worked great for me. A couple of notes:
I had to go to Lowes also to get the grade 8 bolts cause Depot didn't have them. I think grade 5 would be more than enough though.
I didn't make a template - just drilled one hole and attached it and then drilled the others through the aluminum and steel at the same time.
I'm not sure how much additional stability the arm gives and was worried about taking it off but it seems to be fine for just one bike. I think I will try attaching a strap to the trunk next time to reduce the up and down motion though if I put more bikes on.
Thanks for these detailed instructions. Worked great for me. A couple of notes:
I had to go to Lowes also to get the grade 8 bolts cause Depot didn't have them. I think grade 5 would be more than enough though.
I didn't make a template - just drilled one hole and attached it and then drilled the others through the aluminum and steel at the same time.
I'm not sure how much additional stability the arm gives and was worried about taking it off but it seems to be fine for just one bike. I think I will try attaching a strap to the trunk next time to reduce the up and down motion though if I put more bikes on.
08-28-2012, 12:07 PM
#35
I think the roof rack looks far better than the one in the pic...and more rugged looking...but to each his own...just my opinion...I can undersatnd the "garage thing" though...
08-29-2012, 12:25 AM
#37
The bike tray is designed for both Mtn and Road bikes. The fork mount, which is what I believe you are referring to, is highly stable and commonly used. My bike is just under 15lbs, but I designed the kit such that a 30lb mtn would fit.
Someone asked about my group. As in grouppo? I ride SRAM red.
And no, the bike tray is not mounted except rarely, when I don't ride from home. The pic below is what the car looks like without the bike tray.
Someone asked about my group. As in grouppo? I ride SRAM red.
And no, the bike tray is not mounted except rarely, when I don't ride from home. The pic below is what the car looks like without the bike tray.
I also ride with SRAM red group.
Nice bike!
08-29-2012, 10:57 AM
#38
...latches on the cross bars connect underneath the top of the door seal beneath the roof. There is a pic of a white G37s coupe with a roof rack on this search results page: G37s Yakima Roof Rack
03-26-2013, 11:59 PM
#39
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