How Much Do Roof Racks Affect Gas Mileage

Your fuel cost is ten cents mile or 1 500 year.

How much do roof racks affect gas mileage.

A two bike rack with wind deflector will increase your gasoline costs by 36. A five percent change in fuel economy is worth 75 each year or. I am somewhat suspicious of this first figure but it s possible. 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.

Even though they might look like they cut through the wind they could be introducing some mileage robbing turbulence. If you re traveling with your bikes attached to your roof you ll have to stop more often for. As you get ready to hit the road this summer with the kids loaded inside and the bikes strapped to the roof of your car you may want to stop and consider that the roof rack on your car may be costing you as much as 25 percent more in gas. Beyond that the two items tested with the least impact on gas mileage were the paddle board and thule luggage carrier both of which caused about a 19 percent decrease in fuel economy or 5 5.

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. A roof rack with bikes attached greatly decreases gas mileage. Mileage went from 41 mpg at 65 mph to 40 mpg. Gas mileage may drop by as much as 30 percent.

Drag coefficient increases by speed squared. How much does a bike roof rack affect gas mileage. 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 same of course applies to roof racks and other cargo accessories.