Westin roof rack....real world experiences?

[TLO]

Curious if anyone has some experience with the Westin roofrack.
Specifically, any issues with how it clamps on at the clampshell?
Thanks

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[3 Pedal Ronnie]

Following. I'm probably going to buy one of these this month if they tell me it will fit my painted top ok.

 

[Unfortuitous]

I've had the Westin Mesa rack for about a year on my two door. It's a solid option for the price point imo, but I am honestly not sure I would buy it again.

Clamping system seems ok. I've had it on and off a few times, (I put it on and take it off solo, which takes time to get it right, but it's manageable). The clamps have a fairly fine threaded bolt for tightening, so over tightening could probably be an issue, even with only using a handheld hex key tool - it is easy to bend the top out of shape if you over tighten it.

It rides very high, allowing removal of the roof panels while installed, but being so high there is a lot of drag, I was fairly shocked at the hit my MPG took after installing. I usually run it without the windscreen deflector now and I seem to get one extra MPG without. (-5 MPG with the deflector on and -4 MPG without).

Brackets are heavy duty iron, but they are packed terribly. I had to unbend a lot of them as they are just wrapped in plastic and loosely thrown in a large bracket box where they bounce around during shipping. Expect the powder coat to have some chips. I touched mine up and they have held up well.

The rack part is thinner gauge aluminum than the rack I have on my pickup (upTop Overland), but I carry lumber and all kinds of building materials on the bronco regularly and it is still pretty solid.

All in all, if you get it on the Black Friday sale, I think it is a fairly solid value option, but if I did it again, I might look to spend more and go with a different rack.

 

[3 Pedal Ronnie]

I've had the Westin Mesa rack for about a year on my two door. It's a solid option for the price point imo, but I am honestly not sure I would buy it again.

Clamping system seems ok. I've had it on and off a few times, (I put it on and take it off solo, which takes time to get it right, but it's manageable). The clamps have a fairly fine threaded bolt for tightening, so over tightening could probably be an issue, even with only using a handheld hex key tool - it is easy to bend the top out of shape if you over tighten it.

It rides very high, allowing removal of the roof panels while installed, but being so high there is a lot of drag, I was fairly shocked at the hit my MPG took after installing. I usually run it without the windscreen deflector now and I seem to get one extra MPG without. (-5 MPG with the deflector on and -4 MPG without).

Brackets are heavy duty iron, but they are packed terribly. I had to unbend a lot of them as they are just wrapped in plastic and loosely thrown in a large bracket box where they bounce around during shipping. Expect the powder coat to have some chips. I touched mine up and they have held up well.

The rack part is thinner gauge aluminum than the rack I have on my pickup (upTop Overland), but I carry lumber and all kinds of building materials on the bronco regularly and it is still pretty solid.

All in all, if you get it on the Black Friday sale, I think it is a fairly solid value option, but if I did it again, I might look to spend more and go with a different rack.

A 4-5mpg hit is crazy. What speed is that at?
I didn't buy my Bronco because I was worried about fuel economy, but that big of a difference is a deal breaker for me.

 

[Unfortuitous]

What speed is that at?

That's just general driving

It's unfortunately the nature of these racks on this style of vehicle. Had a Wrangler with a Gobi ten years ago and I estimate it knocked off over 5 MPGs. I drive fairly mellow, but the steep angle of the windshields throws the wind right up into the racks and creates a ton of drag.

I've had a couple of pickups with roofracks that have more arrow dynamic windshields, and with the windscreens they fair a bit better,(maybe a 3MPG drop unloaded), but I was part of an offroad-club a long time ago and the general consensus among bronco/wrangler style vehicle owners was to expect a 20-25% drop in MPGs with a roofrack.

On my 2.3 2-door, I generally get 20-21 MPGs unloaded driving around town without the rack on. If I turbo a lot and drive like a lead foot, it drops to 18-19. If I drive very conservatively, with the manual transmission and keeping RPMs low, I can stretch it out to 22-23 MPGs. When I I bought the rack, I was hoping for a 3`ish MPG drop with the windscreen, but unloaded, I am at 16-17 with the rack without the windscreen, and a bit worse with the windscreen on, (loaded on the freeway, the windscreen actually helps from my limited testing.)

 

[3 Pedal Ronnie]

That's just general driving

It's unfortunately the nature of these racks on this style of vehicle. Had a Wrangler with a Gobi ten years ago and I estimate it knocked off over 5 MPGs. I drive fairly mellow, but the steep angle of the windshields throws the wind right up into the racks and creates a ton of drag.

I've had a couple of pickups with roofracks that have more arrow dynamic windshields, and with the windscreens they fair a bit better,(maybe a 3MPG drop unloaded), but I was part of an offroad-club a long time ago and the general consensus among bronco/wrangler style vehicle owners was to expect a 20-25% drop in MPGs with a roofrack.

On my 2.3 2-door, I generally get 20-21 MPGs unloaded driving around town without the rack on. If I turbo a lot and drive like a lead foot, it drops to 18-19. If I drive very conservatively, with the manual transmission and keeping RPMs low, I can stretch it out to 22-23 MPGs. When I I bought the rack, I was hoping for a 3`ish MPG drop with the windscreen, but unloaded, I am at 16-17 with the rack without the windscreen, and a bit worse with the windscreen on, (loaded on the freeway, the windscreen actually helps from my limited testing.)

Wow. Shows you how much I know.
On my wife's Explorer, I get 1-2mpg worse on the freeway with the cross bars and a fully loaded, 13cuft box on top. I may need to adjust my expectations.

 

[Unfortuitous]

Wow. Shows you how much I know.
On my wife's Explorer, I get 1-2mpg worse on the freeway with the cross bars and a fully loaded, 13cuft box on top. I may need to adjust my expectations.

Mileage may vary, (pun intended).

Only losing 1-2 MPG with a cargo box on top of your wife's explorer is pretty great, proves that some companies still do have competent engineers. Most of the data I have seen says that the drop off is normally around 3 MPGs on wagons and hatchbacks and a bit more on taller SUVs for storage systems like Thule.

I think if you get a really low profile arrow dynamic rack, like the Prinsu style that everyone originally copied, you might find it to be less drag. My truck has that style and the MPG loss is probably somewhere around 12% range (empty).

The Westin rack is really tall, but if you want to still be able to remove the roof panels, then that height is necessary. My 34" tires and wheels on my Bronco only weigh a bit over 70 lbs each, and unloaded the rig is super peppy. I can definitely feel the difference in drag on the throttle when I drive with the roofrack on vs off - driving on the freeway into a headwind and you punch the throttle to pass a car, there is a noticeable difference.

 

[TLO]

Thanks for the detailed write-up...

I've had the Westin Mesa rack for about a year on my two door. It's a solid option for the price point imo, but I am honestly not sure I would buy it again.

Clamping system seems ok. I've had it on and off a few times, (I put it on and take it off solo, which takes time to get it right, but it's manageable). The clamps have a fairly fine threaded bolt for tightening, so over tightening could probably be an issue, even with only using a handheld hex key tool - it is easy to bend the top out of shape if you over tighten it.

It rides very high, allowing removal of the roof panels while installed, but being so high there is a lot of drag, I was fairly shocked at the hit my MPG took after installing. I usually run it without the windscreen deflector now and I seem to get one extra MPG without. (-5 MPG with the deflector on and -4 MPG without).

Brackets are heavy duty iron, but they are packed terribly. I had to unbend a lot of them as they are just wrapped in plastic and loosely thrown in a large bracket box where they bounce around during shipping. Expect the powder coat to have some chips. I touched mine up and they have held up well.

The rack part is thinner gauge aluminum than the rack I have on my pickup (upTop Overland), but I carry lumber and all kinds of building materials on the bronco regularly and it is still pretty solid.

All in all, if you get it on the Black Friday sale, I think it is a fairly solid value option, but if I did it again, I might look to spend more and go with a different rack.

 

[3 Pedal Ronnie]

I recently learned the Westin rack is made in China. While not necessary a deal breaker, I certainly would prefer a domestic product.

 

[TLO]

I recently learned the Westin rack is made in China. While not necessary a deal breaker, I certainly would prefer a domestic product.

I've seen instances of some sketchy welds on it

 

[threebanger]

It's very well made but the instructions suck. Do not torque the clamps beyond OEM specifications. I ended up selling mine as it's just too tall for me.

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