Roof Rack Affect Gas Mileage

6 0 l 100 km approx.

Roof rack affect gas mileage.

The same of course applies to roof racks and other cargo accessories. How much does a bike roof rack affect gas mileage. The roof rack mpg experiment he compared the gas mileage of his car at 54 7 mph 88 kph with 1 no roof racks 2 an empty roof rack and 3 a mountain bike on the roof rack. Their study was published recently in the.

A few years ago i checked my economy with and without rack over a few thousand miles and i was taking a hwy 10 mpg hit with a rack installed. They found that in 2015 roof racks nationwide were responsible for 0 8 percent of light duty vehicle fuel consumption or 100 million gallons of gasoline. A five percent change in fuel economy is worth 75 each year or 375 in five years. 5 9 l 100 km approx.

Some roof racks have cross members that can be unscrewed and stowed inside. Using a roof rack and toting bulky equipment on top of your car isn t the only thing affecting your gas mileage however. A roof rack with bikes attached greatly decreases gas mileage. If most of your driving is freeway and you re worried about 2mpg then take the cross bars off when not in use.

He found that compared to the baseline of no roof rack the empty rack reduced his mpg by 12 7 and the roof rack with a bicycle reduced it by a whooping 27 3. The empty roof rack had a nearly 2 percent impact on fuel economy which translates to a little more than three quarters of a gallon of gas. Gas mileage may drop by as much as 30 percent. Roof rails will not effect mpg cross bars may to some degree and mostly is not only while traveling at a freeway speeds.

Removing racks or at least cross members also makes it quieter inside the vehicle especially at higher speeds. Since then i dont run around with a rack or crossbars unless i am using them. 5 6 l 100 km approx. Any roof carrier will cut your mpg significantly.

A bike roof rack with bikes may make the largest impact on gas mileage. 40 mpg roof mounted thule xtender 739 ski carrier with skis. 39 mpg thus the cargo box on the roof increased fuel consumption by about 5 compared to the baseline.