Fuel Economy Of Roof Rack Vs Luggage Box

Adding any rooftop carrier cargo box or ski rack doesn t come free.

Fuel economy of roof rack vs luggage box. 40 mpg roof mounted thule xtender 739 ski carrier with skis. 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. In fact it significantly cuts your highway mileage all the time it s installed whether there s weight up there or not. 5 6 l 100 km approx.

42 mpg roof rack with thule dynamic 800 aerodynamic cargo box. 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. 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. The more aerodynamic a car is the better the gas mileage it will have.

Is a fancy low profile ski rack the answer or could a cargo box get me better fuel economy. I have personally tried both options on two different vehicles and i can say positively a cargo box gives you more mpg s. This includes a roof rack bike rack luggage rack pair of bikes or anything else you may strap to your vehicle. 5 9 l 100 km approx.

6 0 l 100 km approx.