Roof Rack Affect Gas Mileage

Roof rails will not effect mpg cross bars may to some degree and mostly is not only while traveling at a freeway speeds.

Roof rack affect gas mileage.

5 6 l 100 km approx. 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. 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. 42 mpg roof rack with thule dynamic 800 aerodynamic cargo box.

Their study was published recently in the. If most of your driving is freeway and you re worried about 2mpg then take the cross bars off when not in use. 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. Gas mileage may drop by as much as 30 percent.

A five percent change in fuel economy is worth 75 each year or 375 in five years. 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. 39 mpg thus the cargo box on the roof increased fuel consumption by about 5 compared to the baseline. A roof rack with bikes attached greatly decreases gas mileage.

Mileage went from 41 mpg at 65 mph to 40 mpg. Since then i dont run around with a rack or crossbars unless i am using them. Removing racks or at least cross members also makes it quieter inside the vehicle especially at higher speeds. Using a roof rack and toting bulky equipment on top of your car isn t the only thing affecting your gas mileage however.

6 0 l 100 km approx. How much does a bike roof rack affect gas mileage. A bike roof rack with bikes may make the largest impact on gas mileage. The same of course applies to roof racks and other cargo accessories.

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. 5 9 l 100 km approx. If you re traveling with your bikes attached to your roof you ll have to stop more often for gas.