Questions about aftermarket roof rack

[Bazirker]

Hey guys, I was thinking about putting an aftermarket (Thule or Yakima) roof rack on my 05 XR and have a few questions.

1.) I have a sunroof. Would an aftermarket rack get in the way of it?

2.) Does anyone have a picture of a Matrix with an aftermarket rack? I'd like to see if it looks horrific before I drop several hundred bucks for a rack setup.

3.) Did adding the rack make freeway driving more noisy? Any noticable change in gas mileage from the wind resistance? I get 37 mpg freeway with my 5-speed manual, which is awesome compared to the 18 I got in my 97 automatic 4Runner.

Thanks!

[mistamatrix]

Found this for you:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/706304/9

[Bazirker]

Awesome!!! Thanks a bunch! Looks pretty nice...

Anyone know if it's noisy or hurts gas mileage?

[toa]

I had similar type thule racks with and without wind deflector. Get the wind deflector, you can tell the difference in wind resistance. I never checked gas milage though. hope this helps.

[Bazirker]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into getting a wind deflector.

One more question (no really, this is the last one!) Is it easy to take the roof rack on and off? Does it mark up your roof at all?

[Toysrme]

3.) Did adding the rack make freeway driving more noisy? Any noticable change in gas mileage from the wind resistance? I get 37 mpg freeway with my 5-speed manual, which is awesome compared to the 18 I got in my 97 automatic 4Runner.

A typical roof rack will raise the coefficient of drag by .5. For refferance, that puts most trucks almost the cd of a semi-truck. Yes, gas mileage will go down, but not a ton.

I took my Aunt's off on her MitsubishiMontero Sport, and it get about a 2mpg increase.

[toa]

Hey why dont you get some of the interior bike racks that mount in the tracks on the back of the rear fold down seats I have those and I can fit two adult mtn bikes. You do lose a passenger seat per bike. No loss in gas milage.

[Bazirker]

Yeah, I'll normally just chuck my bike in the trunk, no mounting system at all. After all, the trunk basically is a truck bed...

But I'm a college student, and I go to school 180 miles from where I live. That means that four times a year, I have to pack all my stuff up and move. I have a fair amount of crap that I carry around with me (I'm into camping, rock climbing, snowboarding, DDR, biking, etc, lots of gear...) so my trunk will be PACKED when I move and likely won't have room to fit a bike too. Hence, the roof rack, and my concerns about the downsides of it at all times when I really only need it four days a year. I could get one of those trunk-mounted bikes racks that sorta ties on, but my dad has one and it messes up the outside of your trunk and I have nowhere to put it when I'm not using it.

Giving me the drag coefficient, eh? Now you're talking my language...

[marioandretti]

Originally Posted by Bazirker

Hey guys, I was thinking about putting an aftermarket (Thule or Yakima) roof rack on my 05 XR and have a few questions.

1.) I have a sunroof. Would an aftermarket rack get in the way of it?

2.) Does anyone have a picture of a Matrix with an aftermarket rack? I'd like to see if it looks horrific before I drop several hundred bucks for a rack setup.

3.) Did adding the rack make freeway driving more noisy? Any noticable change in gas mileage from the wind resistance? I get 37 mpg freeway with my 5-speed manual, which is awesome compared to the 18 I got in my 97 automatic 4Runner.

Thanks!

hi, i have the yakima roof rack. it looks great. it grabs to the roof by the doors. i have the 58" bars because i carry kayaks, and i also have the fairing. i didn't have the fairing last year and gas mileage went down a few mpg. now that i have the fairing, gas mileage is pretty much the same as without the rack. best place to get the rack is either agees.com or toyotapeople.com. agees has a special discount that gives you 20% off everything. check out both. we use mine from spring to fall. it just stays on the car. the only thing i've found is that where it attaches to the car, it can take some of the paint off, but if you put some lite rubber under the grabbers, you should be ok. i wouldn't get a rack installed (unless it's yakima or thule) because the rack attachments for stock racks are just a pain, and they're costly. good luck!!

[Bazirker]

Thanks a bunch man! btw, is your car the yellow matrix in the photo section with all the kayaks? Nicely done, that could very easily be what my car looks like sonn (minus the yellow)

Actually, a friend of mine just traded in his old Accord for a Honda Pilot (which, is really, really nice) and gave me the Thule rack he had one it since the Pilot already had a rack. So, that takes care of my concerns. I'll probably end up buying the fairing thing, but we'll see. I've been closely monitoring my gas mileage (I've been getting 37+ mpg highway!!!!) so I'll let y'all know what happens with it.

Thanks for all the help!

[dnhillracer]

I bought a new bike rack from this company called Rocky Mounts for my Toyota and it works great. It was really easy to put on my factory racks and it didn’t require any special help. I highly suggest The Noose bike rack that they offer since it was only $85 - works awesome and looks great in a variety of colors to match your ride. It was the only rack that actually fit on with no problems at all! Their website is rockymounts.com