Aerodynamics is the study of force and how an object moves through the air.
Fuel economy of roof rack vs luggage box.
6 0 l 100 km approx.
5 6 l 100 km approx.
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.
I have personally tried both options on two different vehicles and i can say positively a cargo box gives you more mpg s.
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.
Adding any rooftop carrier cargo box or ski rack doesn t come free.
The more aerodynamic a car is the better the gas mileage it will have.
Mileage went from 41 mpg at 65 mph to 40 mpg.
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.
42 mpg roof rack with thule dynamic 800 aerodynamic cargo box.
39 mpg thus the cargo box on the roof increased fuel consumption by about 5 compared to the baseline.
In fact it significantly cuts your highway mileage all the time it s installed whether there s weight up there or not.
5 9 l 100 km approx.