So... we took a vacation to see the inlaws and planned on a 700 mile trip so with gas prices slowly climbing, we tossed the yakima roof rack with Fairing up on top and threw the Thule Sidekick box up there as well. We packed the vehicle moderately and loaded up my son, my wife and myself for the trip.

The first leg of the trip (down the NorthWay - 87 to Rt 88 and into PA) ended up with just over 34mpg. I kept the car right around 65-70mph for the 300+ mile trip. The temperatures were pretty good for traveling as the outside temp was in the 50's (Fahrenheit)

Right before our planned returned, I got a call that we lost my grandmother so our plans changed involving us heading to NJ. (sidenote, what a wonderful woman who lived an incredibly full life. In November, she turned 100 years old and was still completely with it. An infection and the Flu finally took it's toll. The funeral service was really nice and it really was a celebration of 100 years worth of accomplishments.)

The next 250 miles was short trips out to visit friends & family for a few days before heading to NJ. Some of the time the box was on the roof, other times, not. for this, the average was just below 35mpg with temps ranging from the low 40's up to the mid 70's (F).

The trip to NJ was about 180 miles with about a third at 60mph another third at 70mph and the rest at 80mph. The average for that leg/tank ended up being just over 31mpg and the temps were right in the low 60's (F)

Saturday was the day of the Funeral service and for that, I took the cargo box off as we were expecting (and got) nasty rain and wind both coming and going (the return trip was much worse). With high gusts, lots of downpours, and without the cargo box, (as well as a 15 mile funeral procession to the cemetery at 30mph) I averaged a little under 32mpg traveling right around 65mph. The temps hung around 45F for the day. Although the fit got bounced around a little bit and I did keep both hands on the wheel for most of the journey, it did handle pretty well considering the amount of rain and wind (thank god for RainX).

Sunday was the return trip and with around 950 miles already on the odometer, I was more concerned about getting home than saving money so I spent a lot of time on Rt 287, the NY Thruway & Northway (Both Rt 87) at about 75+ mph. It was a little windy but realistically a beautiful day (sunny and about 65 degrees F) until I hit the lake George area where it rained all the rest of the way home. For that we were again, fully loaded with the Cargo Carrier and the three of us and here's where the economy suffered a bit. I ended up with that tank averaging 29.44mpg. This is by far the lowest tank I've ever had (Prior to this trip, the lowest I had was almost 2mpg higher and that was Mid January here in VT.)

Needless to say, I'm glad to be home and happy we took the FIT. Fully loaded with a cargo carrier (and fairing) on the roof, we averaged just over 32mpg. Not bad as the Ridgeline would have been just over half of that. we used about 38 Gallons of Gas in the FIT which ended up being about $140. The Ridgeline would have easily cost us $260+ in Gas although it would have been a bit more comfortable.

The next test for me is running the FIT for the week with the roof rack on and just the fairing. After that, I'll remove the fairing and run just the rack to see what the difference is in economy.

Thought some of you might be interested.

~SB

PS. My Grandmother's Roommate from college turned 100 in November as well. How often can anyone say they've know another individual for 80+ years...

 

Cool! Got any pics?

 

Looks like you didn't do too bad. Those low return trip MPG's are more a result of crappy weather and being more concerned with getting home than saving money. I'm wondering if the higher numbers heading down are a residual MPG as the Fit's ECU is trying to adjust fuel flows to the 'new' load set-up.

 

My Thule rack and MOAB roof basket devastates the Fit's gas mileage. Your mileage on this trip was pretty good, considering - I'm sure the rack and box are more aerodynamic than the MOAB basket is.

 

Here's a few photos:

Just the Rack:



Rack & Cargo Box.



Cargo Box:



Another one with the Rack & Cargo Box.



~SB

 

Any pics with the MOAB? we were trying to find someone that had one a couple weeks ago.

 

Sorry to threadjack, OP.









And a few of the rack in use:









I've used it many, many times with it loaded to the gills with everything from bags of mulch to lawn mowers to cat furniture. It's a pretty great add-on.

 

Honestly, I don't think the issue is as much with the MOAB basket as it is with the fairing on the front. Is it detachable? If so, try it without the fairing to see how economy is. The only reason I still have my fairing on is because I'm actually doing a test. This week I'm running with... Next week, without. Going to compare the MPG as my commute is essentially identical weekly. Hopefully next week, one Windjammer per bar will keep the noise down but I have a bad feeling it won't be enough. (the spread between towers is wider on this than the integra by a noticeable amount. I'm considering the Hyundai SantaFe basket for the roof of the fit as it is much more aerodynamic looking. I just don't have the need right now (or the $$)

~SB

 

Update: Had the Fit with roof rack (with Fairing, no cargo box) on with a week's worth of commuting. and I got 37.38mpg. Fairing came off (actually it came off yesterday) and I'm doing the commute this week without it - I already saw the economy go up today without the fairing. I have to do something about the howling bars... one windjammer per rack DOES NOT work well. I am going to move both jammers to the front bar and if that doesn't work, may have to put one of the bike carriers on to cut down the noise.

~SB

 

Another Update: Took the fairing off of the roof rack for this week's test. AVG MPG for this week was 41.15mpg and that was with 150 miles worth of family travel to burlington VT. Headwind on the way up... brought the economy from 42.3 down to 40.5 but back up to 41.3 on the way back with a tail wind. Errands today dropped it down a little.

~SB

 

Thanks for the info. I'm looking at racks right now and mileage is definitely a concern. I'm getting about 34mpg (sans rack) with an automatic tranny and that's driving like a little old lady, no jack rabbit starts and easy on the brakes. I assume you've got a manual transmission with the mileage you're getting.

 

I do have the 5MT but a good portion of my commute is 50mph -60mph road where the fit REALLY likes to be. if I get behind a minvan or something similar that cuts the wind for me, I get above 50mpg (without tailgating) on the computer during my commute. Recently we've had a number of storms with higher winds and for some reason, I'm ALWAYS going against the wind on my commute to/from work and it has taken it's toll. I'm at 43mpg on the computer and driving like a serious granny. (the fun roads to work are being paved so I'm in commuter mode, not driver mode )

if you go with round bars, definitely get the windjammers (and get 4 if you aren't going to keep some sort of accessory attached to half of the rack. This will minimalize the noise. I had 2 on the front and none on the back and it was tolerable but only for a few weeks. It took the rack off.

~SB

 

Sorry to threadjack +1

Great pictures on here on how the rack system looks on the Fit. The rack system has so many purposes


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those roof rack picts are awesome! gets the extra utility while passengers sit in comfort. nice job.

 

Looks good biz.

I love the look of the Hyundai Cargo Basket and think it would look good on the roof of the FIT. Cargo Basket | Hyundai Accessories | Hyundai Parts | Hyundai Shop If only it weren't so expensive.

~SB

 

Thanks! The Hyundai Cargo Basket would look nice on the Fit. That price is steep. I cannot tell from the picture, but the Hyundai basket does not seem to have much of a bottom compared to the Yakima basket. Than again, it depends on the load of items. Good find!

 

The design of the Hyundai basket is what draws me. It's got a smooth flow. that said, style & function often do not ever meet. Unless the word FIT is in the sentence.

~SB