Gas Mileage and Roof Racks

[foofighter]

I dont know if many of you put much thought into this but a couple months ago i put some yakima racks on my car to haul my bike around. Shortly after putting it on i noticed that my gas mileage went to the shitter...where i would normally get 340 miles with 1/4 tank left now i get 340miles when the light comes on. My morning commute where i would average 24-25 mpg i saw 19-20 mpg avg w/ the racks on.

With the way gas was i took off my racks last night and i'll just deal w/ putting it on when i need it...it's a hassle but filling up hurts more especially when i can get another 50+ miles out of the car.

Anyone else notice their mileage decrease? or have you all just gotten used to it and dont give it a 2nd thought.

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by foofighter

I dont know if many of you put much thought into this but a couple months ago i put some yakima racks on my car to haul my bike around. Shortly after putting it on i noticed that my gas mileage went to the shitter...where i would normally get 340 miles with 1/4 tank left now i get 340miles when the light comes on. My morning commute where i would average 24-25 mpg i saw 19-20 mpg avg w/ the racks on.

With the way gas was i took off my racks last night and i'll just deal w/ putting it on when i need it...it's a hassle but filling up hurts more especially when i can get another 50+ miles out of the car.

Anyone else notice their mileage decrease? or have you all just gotten used to it and dont give it a 2nd thought.

It is the bike. Go back to a 26'er (less wind drag)

[Kid A]

not sure specific mileage differential but noticed the same on my jetta years back. gas was cheap so just left it on. altough it was crazy loud when i had the sun roof open

[station]

Originally Posted by DeeZee

It is the bike. Go back to a 26'er (less wind drag)

hahaha.

[autoduel]

I noticed a 2mpg difference when I had a roof rack on the car. Even worse with a bike up there. I only use it to haul kayaks now. I think there was an article in Grassroots motorsports that mentioned that improving a car's aerodynamics 30% saw an improvement in gas mileage(don't remember the number) all the way down to 30mph.

[northshore]

Funny. I was just reading an article about that. The article mentioned even if your car comes with just the rack/rails only from the factory (not the bike rack itself) removing them can increase your mpg by 1%. May not seem like much but I guess any gain no matter how minimal is better than nothing.

[jeffj]

Yep, same issue on both a 1985 Honda Civic and 1988 Maxima wagon I owned with a roof mount bike rack. Definitely worse with a bike actually on the rack.

[foofighter]

totally agree and in my case having to fill up on 91 sucks even more so i appreciate the increase in mileage rather than an increase in consumption...and YES when the bike was on it dam it sucked

[Rawhead]

Yes, roof racks will reduce your fuel mileage. So much so, that car manufacturers are removing them from most models now that MPG's is a huge selling point.

The new Saturn Vue Greenline had roof racks in concept... after wind tunnel tests they promptly removed them due to drag.

I wouldn't think it would reduce your MPG by 5 though. That seems excessive. Maybe you have something else going on contributing to the issue.

[L8 APEKS]

Yes, racks make a substantial difference.

[foofighter]

Originally Posted by Rawhead

Yes, roof racks will reduce your fuel mileage. So much so, that car manufacturers are removing them from most models now that MPG's is a huge selling point.

The new Saturn Vue Greenline had roof racks in concept... after wind tunnel tests they promptly removed them due to drag.

I wouldn't think it would reduce your MPG by 5 though. That seems excessive. Maybe you have something else going on contributing to the issue.

i friggin better now, this dam thing has 13k on the odometer LOL seriously though the car gets great mileage so i'll watch the MPG now that it's off and verify

[station]

Foo, get a trunk rack? Or just ride Aliso only.

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by station

Foo, get a trunk rack? Or just ride Aliso only.

[HUGH]

Man!!! Now ya tell me... Well that explains the low MPG



All jokes aside, on my motorcycle I could ride from HB to phoenix AZ on a tad less than a tank of gas. Load up the bicycle and I would have to stop just outside of Phoenix. Same as Saddle bags vs. a huge duffel bag right behind me. Saddle bags would not make it and the duffel bag would.



Wind drag is a MPG killer!


HUGH

[foofighter]

if my back seats folded down i would do that in a heartbeat

[Rockinthecasbah]

i gained 3 or 4 mpg back when i went to a hitch rack on my xb

[mfoga]

I guess I have had racks for so long I don't notice, but then I have no choice really I use it for the bike and surfboards. But I do hate hefting the bike up there when I am tired.

[JimmyJ]

Do you think that a faring helps out? It sure reduces the wind noise.

[mfoga]

Originally Posted by JimmyJ

Do you think that a faring helps out? It sure reduces the wind noise.

It should help some but I am not sure you will see a huge difference with or without it.

[foofighter]

the fairing did help w/ wind nooise but i do notice that as my speed goes beyond 70mph the noise is REALLY noticable. without the fairing sometimes you get howling; just as annoying