Thanks for answering my question! I tried to do a cursory search of MPG/Efficiency and "Rack" or "Baja Rack" but there were too many threads to look through and I sort of gave up after the fifth or sixth thread. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone had completed the rack addition only and calculated efficiency changes from the addition of the rack.
I was hoping for a 1, 2 MPG hit at most =(. I'm too poor to afford the fuel premium for the rack installation if it's more of a hit than that.
I think the 1-2mpg hit is what it is. I drove from PHX to SAN to buy the rack. I put the cruise on 80mph for 10 miles going and coming. I avg'd btwn 17.2 and 16.9 coming back (with the rack) over 10 miles (in different spots) and 18.5 - 18.1 (in different spots) going out (without the rack). Wind, elevation, grade, etc. play into this factor, so it is a "rough" guess. The faster you drive, the bigger diff you will notice, as drag from wind resistance becomes exponentially greater. You will not notice a difference city driving. I am going to remove the wind deflection plate and see if there is an increase in MPG.
Last edited: