Adding a bike to the equation caused fuel consumption to jump by 35 compared to their baseline settings.
Mpg fuel economy roof rack.
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Their study was published recently in the.
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.
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.
How bad is the hit to your wallet.
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.
A close second was the kayak with 28 percent or a.
Epa gas mileage safety air pollution and greenhouse gas estimates for new and used cars and trucks.
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.
Because of this extra energy efficiency diesel vehicles actually get 20 35 better gas mileage than gasoline fueled vehicles.
Diesel fuel actually provides around 10 15 more energy than normal gasoline does which helps make it more fuel efficient.
But with the rack and rooftop carrier installed the overall drop was 19 percent a loss of 9 mpg.
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.
Generally adding a loaded roof rack to your car will lower your gas mileage by at least 10 percent.
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.
Mileage went from 41 mpg at 65 mph to 40 mpg.