Mpg Fuel Economy Roof Rack

Some drivers may see their gas mileage drop by as much as 20 percent depending on vehicle type and type of roof rack.

Mpg fuel economy roof rack.

When just the roof rack was added the car s mileage dropped by almost 11 percent or 5 mpg. This editor many years ago in a move across the country to oregon from michigan found that the highway mileage of a four cylinder accord dropped from more than 40 mpg down to 32 mpg with a. Mileage went from 41 mpg at 65 mph to 40 mpg. Epa gas mileage safety air pollution and greenhouse gas estimates for new and used cars and trucks.

So if your car usually gets 30 mpg on the highway and you add a full roof rack your highway gas mileage will drop to 24 27 mpg. Their study was published recently in the. But with the rack and rooftop carrier installed the overall drop was 19 percent a loss of 9 mpg. Diesel fuel actually provides around 10 15 more energy than normal gasoline does which helps make it more fuel efficient.

When consumer reports tested how roof racks affected fuel economy in 2013 they noticed a 5 mpg drop at highway speeds from an empty rack. The gear with the most impact were the dual mountain bikes strapped to the roof which impacted the fuel economy by 31 percent or 9 mpg. 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. Adding a bike to the equation caused fuel consumption to jump by 35 compared to their baseline settings.

This is because diesel fuel motorhomes get better gas mileage than gas ones do. How bad is the hit to your wallet. A close second was the kayak with 28 percent or a. Improve the mpg of your vehicle with our gas mileage tips.

Generally adding a loaded roof rack to your car will lower your gas mileage by at least 10 percent. Because of this extra energy efficiency diesel vehicles actually get 20 35 better gas mileage than gasoline fueled vehicles.