How much does Roof Rack reduce MPG?
 

Just purchased an 07 Sport MT and want to add a thule roof rack. I purchased the feet and fittings, I already had the 50" bars from my old car which is the size thule recommends for this car. How much reduction in MPG should I expect with just the feet and bars alone? Is there a maximum weight capacity for what the Fit can handle on roof? (putting a canoe up there from time to time). Any other cons that I can't forsee?

It will be noisy without the fairing, and the fairing is mainly responsible for mpg reduction. My worst mpg with the rack/fairing in my AT Sport was 27. Without the rack, normal mileage is 35-38 highway.

Are you using the recommended 38" fairing? I have a thule rack and it almost looks like I need the larger 44" fairing to actually cover the front of the load bars.

Doesnt matter. How awesome it will look totally makes up for MPG duhhhhhhh! :)

LMAO!!! i think they look nice, but the price is MUCH more for a roofrack, than it costs for a hitch and rack

It's not just the roof rack, its the stuff you put on it. When I had my Integra i saw my mpg drop anywhere from 1-4mpg. Kinda depended what I had stuck up there (smowboard / bike / luggage) and where I was going.

I was thinking of getting a rack for the Fit, but the back seats fold down so now most of my junk goes back there. I still might get some down the road.

I had a '99 saturn that usually got 36-37 mpg on the highway. I put a Yakima roof rack with a 38" fairing on it and it brought it down to 31-32. It had the same hp as a fit but weighed 400lbs more. Personally, one of the reason I'm buying a Fit is because I don't have to put a roof rack on it. I can fit bikes on the back and my kayak inside.

i use a thule rack on my car and without the fairing, the wind noise is unbearable. ive had racks on all my past cars, and none of them needed fairings.

i average about ~29-30 mpg, which im fine with. i also like the fact that it makes your FIT look different than all the other FITs out there. i was getting into my car from trader joes the other day and someone started asking about it, because they didnt think that you could put a roof rack on it. they had a subaru outback, and were looking for something more fuel efficient.

The fairing improves MPG's as well as eliminates wind howling.

i'm averaging about 33 mpg on my MT fit with thule base rack with fairing. (mixed highway and city driving)

are you saying it im proves MPG over not having a rack at all? or in addition to the rack?

I've logged the mpg on every tank in my cars 22k miles and half of those were with a rack. With the rack on, and 50/50 city highway driving, I still get 32-34mpg. Going mostly highway I can still get 35+ with the rack on.

With the rack off, my average is around the same, especially for mixed driving. However, if you are doing a lot of highway miles, the rack might hurt you more.

So I never owned a roof rack and just recently bought my fit and Thule rack for my wife anf i and it went from 38 to 33-__- (commuting all hughway no fairing[havent put it on])I was pissed. In now taking it off unless used intown or goin on a biking trip. 33 is better than my s2k of 10mpg less but damn haha

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Anything that increases the drag coefficinient, such as a roof rack, will hurt MPG. But it is more of a factor on highway driving due to the higher speed, and thus higher wind resistance. I had a roof rack in line with roof on previous vehicle, but part of reason i got the Fit was the interior room for bulky items, such as bicycles.

The fairing will make your mileage worse. The rack itself huts the coefficient of drag, but adds very little frontal area. The fairing has bad aerodynamics and adds massive frontal area. Total drag = Frontal area * Coefficient of drag.

So that's a double hit. It's just quieter because it makes the air turbulent where the rack sits.