When I put a bike on my 87 300D using the hitch mounted Yakima, I net a whopping 15 mpg. Without, 27mpg. Even though Im running on free fuel, 15mpg seems wasteful, and really limits my mtn biking adventures to N. Georgia on the weekends. I wonder if a roof mounted rack would do better, since the bike isnt sideways. It feels like a parachute behind the car at 80. Anyone use roof mounted bike rack and do better on mileage?

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Paul
Benz-less
I need an SDL !

I've got a Yakima roof rack and have noticed ne real reduction in mileage.

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Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

My father has a Yakima roof mounted rack on his 87 300TD, 28mpg with 2 road bikes. It seems like a possibility that a hitch mounted sideways configuration really does act like a parachute. 15mpg?! Have you tried your mileage on diesel fuel instead of the bio fuel? You may get an improvement.

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Allen Kroliczek
Oak Grove Autosport | Oak Grove Autosport
01 G500, 82 300TD, quite a few more.....

but his is hitch mounted so its sitting behind the car.

That could add a lot of drag since the bike is acting as an air brake the entire time.

I would say the rack mixed in with the free fuel is probably the reason your fuel economy sucks. There is a lot less potential energy in vegetable oil so you will see lower MPG.

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

I use a roof-mounted Yakima with road and mtn bikes, but never really check the mileage to compare (no long trips). No big difference when I fill up referencing the trip-odometer, seems about the same.

However, I do really notice that speeds above ~90 or so seem to work the engine harder, really takes more time to accelerate so there definately is considerable drag. No way I'm losing more than 1-2mpg though.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

how about an 87 300TD with four bikes on the roof, for on a hitch rack, and one in the trunk. i think i got about 16 or 17 MPG for that trip.

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Current
2006 E320 CDI, 57K bought at 67K "Liesl"
1986 190E 2.3-16, 198K bought at 56K "Brigitta"
1987 300TD (Chuggin Along), 292K "Friedrich"
1995 E320 Wagon, 200K "Louisa"

Past
1987 300SDL, (sold) 125K, bought for 1$ "Kurt"

how do you ride all those bikes at once???

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It's hard for me to imagine that a single bike on a bike rack can reduce mileage by that amount. Are you sure your numbers are correct?

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

i was the tote car. i had all the bikes and my gf, the rest road it the other wagon. the E320

it was just logical to make the diesel the hauler

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Current
2006 E320 CDI, 57K bought at 67K "Liesl"
1986 190E 2.3-16, 198K bought at 56K "Brigitta"
1987 300TD (Chuggin Along), 292K "Friedrich"
1995 E320 Wagon, 200K "Louisa"

Past
1987 300SDL, (sold) 125K, bought for 1$ "Kurt"

The low Cd of the W124 body is well known and is probably the main reason that owners enjoy good fuel economy. It follows, then, that anything that disturbs the airflow will reduce mileage. From 27 down to 15 is a 50% reduction, which seems a little excessive (I assume that both quoted numbers were with the veggie system in use). OTOH, I know that a canoe (much slipperier than a bicycle) on top of my car knocks off 2-3 mpg.

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

And put the whole Bicycle in the trunk.

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'84 300SD sold
124.128

Funny thing, the whole reason I chose a TE in '91 was because I was tired of carrying my bike either on the roof or in the back seat with the wheel off.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Even when I pull my 375lb utility trailer with some stuff on it (not aerodynamic at all)....my SD only goes from 25ish mpg down to about 22-23.....When I use my receiver mounted bike carrier I lose about 1mpg or so.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Running 70 instead of 80 will help a lot too. The extra drag works exponentially.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.