For comparison the additional fuel consumption caused by roof racks is about six times larger than anticipated fuel savings from fuel cell vehicles and 40 percent of anticipated fuel savings.
Fuel economy of roof rack vs luggage box.
On my maxima i was able to get 25mpg with no rack at all when i added a yakima fat cat 6 loaded with skis i got approx 20mpg.
For some people the.
Mileage went from 41 mpg at 65 mph to 40 mpg.
But that s where you ve found a dilemma.
I have personally tried both options on two different vehicles and i can say positively a cargo box gives you more mpg s.
Is a fancy low profile ski rack the answer or could a cargo box get me better fuel economy.
Adding any rooftop carrier cargo box or ski rack doesn t come free.
In fact it significantly cuts your highway mileage all the time it s installed whether there s weight up there or not.
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.
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.
Hitch racks or roof racks which one should you choose.