Wow, Gas mileage with a roof rack

[Russell2686]

So i usually average about 300 miles until the gas light comes on. Which from what i understand is low to begin with.

This is my first winter running a Thule snowboard rack and the last 4 tanks of gas I have only gotten 260 to the tank

Does anyone else get that much worse gas mileage when running their roof rack?

[flyromeo3]

when you got 300mpt were you driving on dry roads?

[Dub-lip]

with my roof rack and box on my car i get around 19mpg, with out the box is around 21mpg, without both around 23mpg

[flyromeo3]

how much do these roof racks weigh?

[jm121189]

Weight isn't the issue, the drag they create at highway speeds is a lot more than you would expect especially when they are loaded with skis. I noticed my highway mpg was around 20mpg at 75mph on my last trip back to school.

[Bic-Ball]

ew i have to drive up to school on sunday with my rack. try opening your bindings and flipping the board to reduce some drag. when attached to the avant bars yours looks a lot more profile than the sedan racks:

[Russell2686]

Yeah i guess thats pretty much my average with out the rack 21mpg and with rack its down to about 18.5.
When ever the board is on the rack im just going local i havn't taken any long trips with the rack yet, which is what i was worried about.

It def adds a lot of drag i just thought i read around that people didnt see that much of a loss in MPG

[JaVa]

yeah on my truck the rack knocked off about 3mpg also. its a basket tho

[Jibberific]

i have pretty much the same setup on my avant at the moment... and i'm still getting about 350 to the tank. it whistles loud as fuck though.

[Bic-Ball]

youre making me jealous of the wide racks, mine can only fit 1 board across :(

i'm making the 180 mile trip back to school on sunday, i usually get 25 mpg on the ride, i'll let you know how i do.

[Russell2686]

i have pretty much the same setup on my avant at the moment... and i'm still getting about 350 to the tank. it whistles loud as fuck though.

wtf 350 to a tank! i wish i got that even with out a rack.

[Jibberific]

yeah but your car is seriously a lot faster than mine

[andyrew]

I got 400 to the tank last fill up (all highway)

[Poopie]

i don't think its the rack. i think its the winter fuel and wasted fuel on warm up

[firstars]

i don't think its the rack. i think its the winter fuel and wasted fuel on warm up

agreed. I just filled up last night at 365. That was commuting in traffic all week also.

[firstars]

its those 630cc injectors eating all your gas! actually i have no clue that might help MPG more then hurt...

[Kronic Budz]

ew i have to drive up to school on sunday with my rack. try opening your bindings and flipping the board to reduce some drag. when attached to the avant bars yours looks a lot more profile than the sedan racks:

thats a raw tahoe whip right there. Slam that shit and call it a day.

[Bic-Ball]

i'm not keen on your "raw tahoe whip" lingo but im done putting money into the fucking money pit, i dont give a shit about wheel gap, it dosn't even have quattro, dawg

[speedydragon]

i'm not keen on your "raw tahoe whip" lingo but im done putting money into the fucking money pit, i dont give a shit about wheel gap, it dosn't even have quattro, dawg

I think he meant that your car would be great to go to Lake Tahoe here in CA/NV.

When I went to tahoe 2 weeks back with my avant, 4 boards on the rack and 3 passengers, I averaged 20mpg on my entire trip. On my commute, I usually average around 27mpg.

[4A Play]

Uhhh my jeep was getting 13mpg with the basket. That things a tank though.

[Kronic Budz]

i'm not keen on your "raw tahoe whip" lingo but im done putting money into the fucking money pit, i dont give a shit about wheel gap, it dosn't even have quattro, dawg

oh nevermind then.

[Bic-Ball]

169.8 miles, 7.278 gallons, 2.5 hours, 23.33 mpg. i had 2 extra people and a ton of shit in the car and was going pretty fast the whole time. if i go home by myself without the rack i can get 30. i did undo my bindings and flip my board upside down though

[SFexBOY]

i get roughly 260-300miles highway depending on how windy it is. Def sucks mileage-wise, but i need it for my snowboarding weekends.




and a shameless pic of my new snowboard setup that i picked up last week.

[UGwagen]

i don't think its the rack. i think its the winter fuel and wasted fuel on warm up

It's the rack. As already pointed earlier, it screws up the aerodynamics, causing increased drag.

In the summer time, you'll see decreased mileage also...

[geeky]

yeah my roof rack causes a LOT of drag and dropped my MPG significantly. First time heading up to the mountains today with it on and I was actually kinda angry at how bad the MPG was. I don't know the specific numbers changes.

Winter Setup:


and yes, it is black + green

use to be white and green, but white got dirty too fast/too quick haha

[Bic-Ball]

that white + green looks really cool, and i like dirty cars :) you should have left it.

[AudiTurbo]

yeah my roof rack causes a LOT of drag and dropped my MPG significantly. First time heading up to the mountains today with it on and I was actually kinda angry at how bad the MPG was. I don't know the specific numbers changes.

Winter Setup:


and yes, it is black + green

use to be white and green, but white got dirty too fast/too quick haha

Looks good!

[dougyfresh]

I get 400miles to a tank if I'm on a highway trip (ie: driving up to Vermont to go snowboarding). Avg speed 75mph. Yakima rack with giant cargo box (fits minimum of 4 dead hoookers or a bunch of snowboards).

[InTTruder]

AERODYNAMICS: you have 1) more frontal cross section, and 2) more coefficient of drag. Do the math.

[4ringAR]

Yes racks will decrease your mileage significantly. But as someone else mentioned, winter formula fuels also decrease mileage a bit.

[arorem]

Whats the temp where you are? It was in the single digits here last week, and my milage took a dive. But now that the temp is back up, it has returned to normal.

[BlackLock_A4]

Placeholder here for next week.

I'm doing an actual [mpg, mph, hours, and distance] comparison of fuel economy between racks and no racks. I didn't find any definitive answers (on our specific cars) - just arguments. Haha

2001 1.8TQM
Thule Square 50"

[MetalMan]

Placeholder here for next week.

I'm doing an actual [mpg, mph, hours, and distance] comparison of fuel economy between racks and no racks. I didn't find any definitive answers (on our specific cars) - just arguments. Haha

2001 1.8TQM
Thule Square 50"

Please make sure to comment on speed driven; aerodynamic drag force is proportional to the square of speed, so the losses due to roof rack drag will be quite a bit more at 75mph than 40mph (roughly 3.5 times greater).

MORE PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND ALL THIS! I bet if everyone (not just Audi owners) who didn't need their roof rack took it off, gas prices would go down. It can be that severe. One guy in this thread noted a 4mpg loss with rack + box. On my old car I noted 4-5mpg loss at about 75mph due to just the rack/fairing (no attachments), according to the cluster mpg readout.

[adam044]

I was still getting close to 400 miles on a tank with Thule aeroblades. Kept track of it using fuelly.

[BlackLock_A4]

I was still getting close to 400 miles on a tank with Thule aeroblades. Kept track of it using fuelly.

And with it off...?

[MetalMan]

I was still getting close to 400 miles on a tank with Thule aeroblades. Kept track of it using fuelly.

And with it off...?

Agreed, I usually fill up after about 260 miles (way before low fuel light turns on). So saying you fill up at 400 miles with roof rack doesn't really tell us much.

[coolgraymemo]

My fuel consumption dropped from 25mpg to 22-23mpg when I installed the roof rack (no fairing).

[adam044]

And with it off...?

More. Too many variables really.