Roof Racks and MPG

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05-28-2008 | 08:11 AM

D VADER

Thread Starter

Senior Member

Joined: May 2007

Posts: 1,473

From: Central Ohio

Roof Racks and MPG

I just saw an TV news interview with a Consumer Reports writer. It had to do with gas mileage. The editor said a new Camery with and without a roof rack showed a 5 mpg difference at speeds of 65 or greater.

I have the factory roof rack. I never use it. I may remove it for longer trips.

05-28-2008 | 08:28 AM

Gunz

Joined: Nov 2007

Posts: 140

From: Havelock NC

RE: Roof Racks and MPG

I do not have a roof rack (yet) on my H3. I did have them on all my Land Rovers and yes they cut the gas mileage down considerably. I cannot say by 5 MPG but I would say yes to 3. Take it off and see what happens. I got 20 plus on the highway in my H3 then I raised the front end (leveled) and I lost 2 MPG! So I gess the more you do the more you suffer at the pump!

05-28-2008 | 08:38 AM

D VADER

Thread Starter

Senior Member

Joined: May 2007

Posts: 1,473

From: Central Ohio

RE: Roof Racks and MPG

I dropped my H3 by 3" at the corners so my elderly Mother could get in. I imagine that should help my MPG also. I improved the intake and exhaust plus a PCM tune. I need to check my MPG so I can see where I'm at. But I think 20mpg would be a stretch for me.

05-29-2008 | 09:49 AM

rhill20

Senior Member

Joined: Oct 2007

Posts: 4,547

From: Delaware, Ohio GO BUCKS!

RE: Roof Racks and MPG

Anything that adds "drag" to the truck is going to affect the MPG. That's alot though. I don't have one on my 3 but my wife has the OEM cross bars on hers. No difference that I can tell. Of course they are pretty streamlined and light. It was posted in the FAQ's section at the top of the H3 section about brushguards. I believe someone quoted that for every 100 lbs you add you lose 1 MPG. IDK, I don't have enough on mine to start dropping enough weight to make a difference.

05-29-2008 | 09:57 AM

RealJeep

Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2007

Posts: 730

From: Philipsburg, Montana

RE: Roof Racks and MPG

As has been stated on here many times by many guys, "It's hard to make a brick aerodynamic." Your H3 is build like a brick, it gets the fuel mileage of a brick and just about any weight you add to it or anything you put on it might affect mileage. Some roof racks, like the ones I had on my Ford Explorer, did not adversely affect mileage because they were shaped like a wing and when they were cutting through the air they acted like a foil flowing the air across the top of the truck and not creating a vortex. Some changes are good!

05-29-2008 | 06:33 PM

Evadd

Member

Joined: Feb 2008

Posts: 70

RE: Roof Racks and MPG

Quote:

ORIGINAL: RealJeep

As has been stated on here many times by many guys, "It's hard to make a brick aerodynamic." Your H3 is build like a brick, it gets the fuel mileage of a brick and just about any weight you add to it or anything you put on it might affect mileage. Some roof racks, like the ones I had on my Ford Explorer, did not adversely affect mileage because they were shaped like a wing and when they were cutting through the air they acted like a foil flowing the air across the top of the truck and not creating a vortex. Some changes are good!

i agree. i think on a more aerodynamic car like the Camry they used that you will see a much larger effect from something like roof racks than on a car that has crap aerodynamics to begin with.

anywho, as a starting point, i have roof cross bars and nerf bars/side step bars and get 18mpg, about 1/2 highway and 1/2 city (consistently by my own calculations over several trips to the pump). mind you, i drive very conservatively - slow on the gas and the brake, with coasting whenever feasible. highway speed averages 65-70.