Bike rack killing gas milage ....

[mazda3rob]

I had a bike rack installed on my 3 hatch now my gas millage is in the dump. I wonder if the faring for the rack will make a big difference????

Taking the rack off and putting it back on is too much of a pain in the butt.

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Status]

I don't know about on the 3 hatch, as I haven't put one on yet, but I do have experience with a Civic SI hatch. When I put the bare rack with bars and 2 bike holders, my gas mileage dropped about 4-6mpg. I put on a faring and it improved significantly, for a total drop of 1-2 mpg.

 

[mazda3rob]

Thanks!!!

My fairing will be here on Tuesday ... so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for the response.

I am almost thinking of taking the rack off and just buying one that hooks on the back of the car with straps. But those are a pain to deal with all the time.

I don't know about on the 3 hatch, as I haven't put one on yet, but I do have experience with a Civic SI hatch. When I put the bare rack with bars and 2 bike holders, my gas mileage dropped about 4-6mpg. I put on a faring and it improved significantly, for a total drop of 1-2 mpg.

 

[goldwing2000]

Get a trailer hitch and a bike rack that fits into the receiver.

No muss, no fuss.

 

[mazda3rob]

I just don't like having a $6k bike hanging on the back of the car by the top tube ... maybe I'm crazy, but I dunno the roof rack seems more secure.

Get a trailer hitch and a bike rack that fits into the receiver.

No muss, no fuss.

 

[dulog]

I think there is a wide variety of hitch attachements including some that use the bottom of the bike wheels. I want a hitch one too. Less bugs will hit em, less drag, and one less thing touching the delicate paint on this $18000car.

 

[Status]

I've been in a bit of a conundrum about a bike rack as well. I previously had a roof rack with my Honda, but it got sold with the car.

Options for the 3 Hatch...

Rear, hanging rack -
Pro's - Doesn't effect gas mileage. Simple and easy to install. Minimal chance of bike causing damage to car. Cheapest alternative.
Con's - Simple and easy to steal. Strong chance, with regular use, of the straps damaging paint. No easy way to secure bikes to car.

Roof Rack -
Pro's - More of a permanent fixture to the car, so it's not going anywhere. Can lock bikes into it. Versatile, can be used for more then bikes.
Con's - drop in gas mileage. One girlfriend/wife/friend oops and you now have dents and scratches on your roof. These can be very pricey by the time you are done.

Trailer Hitch Rack -
Pro's - Can be secured to car and relatively easy to put on/off. No worries about bike damage to car.
Con's - Price? I haven't priced out a trailer hitch and mounts. I'm guessing it's inbetween. Only able to use this for bikes and well trailers (hauling trailers with a front wheel drive car = bad).

 

[dulog]

I've been in a bit of a conundrum about a bike rack as well. I previously had a roof rack with my Honda, but it got sold with the car.

Options for the 3 Hatch...

Rear, hanging rack -
Pro's - Doesn't effect gas mileage. Simple and easy to install. Minimal chance of bike causing damage to car. Cheapest alternative.
Con's - Simple and easy to steal. Strong chance, with regular use, of the straps damaging paint. No easy way to secure bikes to car.

Agreed. The damaging the paint issue is the one that rules this option out for me. We actually have a rack that hangs on the back using straps from my wife's previous car, but don't use it at all with the new 3.

Roof Rack -
Pro's - More of a permanent fixture to the car, so it's not going anywhere. Can lock bikes into it. Versatile, can be used for more then bikes.
Con's - drop in gas mileage. One girlfriend/wife/friend oops and you now have dents and scratches on your roof. These can be very pricey by the time you are done.

Another Pro - This option unlike the others wouldn't obstuct your rear view at all. Parallel parking in a tight spot would be worry free unlike the others.
More Con's - In addition to the accidental drop possiblity I worry about the actual mounts attaching to the painted surface on the top of the car and if they could cause damage as well. Also, would the rack obstruct the view from the moonroof at all, especially with a faring?

Trailer Hitch Rack -
Pro's - Can be secured to car and relatively easy to put on/off. No worries about bike damage to car.
Con's - Price? I haven't priced out a trailer hitch and mounts. I'm guessing it's inbetween. Only able to use this for bikes and well trailers (hauling trailers with a front wheel drive car = bad).

Thread for Mazda3 trailer hitch Looks like around $180 shipped for just the hitch itself. I swear that etrailer site was cheaper a week ago when that was first posted. I guess that's what I get for waiting to see what people think of it. Any cheaper or better hitch options? Looks like the guy who got one is happy with it. As far as a rack for the hitch - it looks like that could run anywhere from about $70 to $200+ depending on how nice of one you wanna get.

 

[Status]

Re: Cons for the Roof Mounted rack...

Damage from the mounts - legitimate concern. What I observed from my '91 Honda with a roof rack mounted 99% of the time, NO significant damage. When I removed the rack and did a full cleaning (once every 3-4 years), I'd do a double dose of wax under where the pads went and made 100% sure they were clean and dust/dirt/debris free, before putting them down. If you have concerns about scratching, get some clear Paint Protection Film "feet". Apply them yourself to where the feet attach. Uber simple and would protect your paint.

Re: Blocking the sunroof. Looking at the front window locations and sunroof placement, I seriously doubt there would be much blockage of the sunroof. Again, my previous car (91' Honda Civic SI), had a sun/moonroof, sunroof deflector, rack and deflector faring on the rack. I positioned the front bar to overlap the rear edge of the sunroof deflector, thus there was no blocking of the actual open sun/sky/moon space.

One extra bonus that I forgot to mention about the hitch rack and rear hanging rack...you can use them on different vehicles. Roof rack, not as easy to do that with.

 

[dulog]

Yep I'm familiar with clear paint protection films since I had it put on the front bumper, grill, lower hood, mirrors, back of wheel well, door edges, top of back bumper and door handles. Not a bad idea to put it underneath mounts like you said. Good advice regarding preparation too. Since you mentioned waxing though that reminds me another reason why I'd rather not have things mounted up on the roof -- if there are more obstacles and details to work around on a panel it seems to make cleaning, polishing and waxing tougher imho. The more I think this through the more I want the hitch option.