How Much Do Roof Bars Affect Fuel Consumption

Roof racks were the same as having windows open the mpg was not affected enough to cause concern.

How much do roof bars affect fuel consumption. 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. An empty rack has been reported to increase the cost of fuel over time from anywhere from 1 to 15 while a fully loaded roof rack will add 20 to 50 to your fuel bill. Our experiment aired on television during season 2 of whichcar tv and involved three 100 kilometre road loops along melbourne s m1 freeway completed at the same 100km h average speed coming back in between each run to the same pump at the same petrol station to get as accurate a representation of fuel consumption as possible. Mileage went from 41 mpg at 65 mph to 40 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. It depends tremendously on who you ask and what vehicle is used. It s impossible to give an exact figure because it depends on so many factors but britain s biggest roof box manufacturer thule states that your mpg is unlikely to decrease by more than 5. Their study was published recently in the.

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. If fuel consumption is a concern invest in a streamlined box which will cut through the air more efficiently. Does driving slower save fuel. I ll justify these numbers below.

The control test the tourx without roof rails. Their study was published recently in the journal energy policy in a paper titled fuel consumption impacts of auto roof racks. 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.