Leveling Kit w/ gas mileage expectations

jond983 · May 2, 2016

I'll reply to this as well. 14' High Country 4x4 w/5.3 6spd, 2" level w 305/55/20 Nitto Grapplers. I averaged in the neighborhood of 16.5-17mpg mixed when it was stock babying it. Now with it being leveled w/tires I'm averaging 14.5mpg driving the speed limit w/cruise control everywhere I go.

Shu · May 3, 2016

I have a 2016 GMC Sierra crew cab with standard bed, 5.3L 4x4 Z71, 3.42 ratio, 8 speed.

Will I hate the feel of a leveling kit and take much of a hit on gas mileage? I would just do a 2" level kit for now but I just don't want the stock drivability to go away, this is my main concern for me!

I added the RC leveling kit and I swear handles better. Stock it tended to push in the corners not near as much leveled. I have loaded the bed pretty good and it handled it fine although stock probably would be better if you regularly tow heavy hitch weight trailers or load the bed up.

I read through the first part of this thread with all the posts telling the OP that he shouldn't level and increase the tire size on his V6 powered truck. My 2005 was a V6 and I leveled it with the torsion bars and then added larger tires. I still got 14.6 mpg average city/hwy (only a 1.5 mpg loss) and it never felt underpowered. This new DI 4.3 makes the 2005 4.3 look anemic. Hopefully the OP was swayed out of the mods.

ridethedesert · May 16, 2016

his thread had a 2 year gap there, 2014 to 2016, brought it back to life. I'll chime in, 2014 5.3 3:42 Crew Cab Standard Bed Z71 4x4, haven't seen too many standard beds but mine weighs a little more. I went with the Fox 2.0 Coil Over's in the front and 2.0 shocks in the rear. It leveled the front 2 inches and gained 2 inches of travel. I have the steel control arms so the Fox shock is longer on my particular model than on the aluminum arms which are travel limited from GM. As far as I know, RC level kits actually reduce your travel 2 inches. Maybe they've changed their design and I'm not up to date but that's what I read. I know the Bilstein 5100's work like the Fox do, they use all the travel the correct way. The increased clearance in the front is way worth it. I used to drag the front air valance through whoop sections on dirt bike trails and now it clears it no problem. I left the valance on after the level.

As for the tires, mine came stock with P265/65R18 Goodyear Wrangler SR-A's. What a joke these trucks come with those tires. It should come with Michelin LTX MS/2's. Anyways, I went with the Nitto Terra Grappler G2's in a euro hard metric 275/65R18. The Goodyears weighed 32 pounds and these tires weigh 42 pounds. Overall diameter is 32.09 inches up from 31.6 on stock. They cleared before I even got a level. I didn't go with the LT275/65R18 because they weigh around 52 pounds and you have to run around 47psi to carry the same weight my euro metrics do at 37psi.I wanted to avoid the rough ride. As it stands, the truck can't even handle any more weight on the axles than my euro metrics offer. So the only real benefit to the LT's is getting 17/32 of tread to start with vs 13/32nd of tread. Puncture resistance is the same on LT and Euro Metric, no tire is exempt from nails, tree roots, etc except military bullet proof tires. I've contemplated getting LT285/65R18 Nitto G2's but as I've read on here people are getting 15-16mpg on the freeway and as good as they look, I'm not sure it's worth it. Plus the added strain on all the components. Coming from 22's on my old truck, I know how quickly wheel bearings, tie rods, brake pads, ball joints and on and on get destroyed. Unless they've significantly upgraded these trucks, which they may have because so many come stock with 20's and 22's now.

I also added the Air Lift ultimate air bags in the rear after the level. Stock these trucks sit stink bug so when you load up the bed or put on a trailer it sits level with the front. Well after you level the truck it sags in the rear and looks like a pre runner of sorts, so fully loaded I add about 30 psi into them and everything is super smooth. No load, I air them out completely, it has a built in bump stop so there's no danger to running 0 psi.

So completely stock my truck got 22.1 MPG on the freeway over a 300 mile distance. Leveled and 275 Nitto's I now get 21.5 MPG on the same trip, that's on cruise control at 73 mph.

If I drive it without babying it, going uphill and passing cars etc I'll get 18.5 MPG. Around town is terrible, I average 15mpg but we literally have a traffic light every 200 feet here in thousand oaks and they take 5 minutes to turn green so even stock it got terrible mileage here in town.

If you do the level and 275's, it really won't change your mileage at all. I've found Shell 91 octane gets me 60 miles more per tank than say chevron or other brands. I run 91 because here in California they like to make our gas as crappy as possible to meet emissions. CA 91 is like Arizona 87.

crushNchowda · May 16, 2016

his thread had a 2 year gap there, 2014 to 2016, brought it back to life. I'll chime in, 2014 5.3 3:42 Crew Cab Standard Bed Z71 4x4, haven't seen too many standard beds but mine weighs a little more. I went with the Fox 2.0 Coil Over's in the front and 2.0 shocks in the rear. It leveled the front 2 inches and gained 2 inches of travel. I have the steel control arms so the Fox shock is longer on my particular model than on the aluminum arms which are travel limited from GM. As far as I know, RC level kits actually reduce your travel 2 inches. Maybe they've changed their design and I'm not up to date but that's what I read. I know the Bilstein 5100's work like the Fox do, they use all the travel the correct way. The increased clearance in the front is way worth it. I used to drag the front air valance through whoop sections on dirt bike trails and now it clears it no problem. I left the valance on after the level.

As for the tires, mine came stock with P265/65R18 Goodyear Wrangler SR-A's. What a joke these trucks come with those tires. It should come with Michelin LTX MS/2's. Anyways, I went with the Nitto Terra Grappler G2's in a euro hard metric 275/65R18. The Goodyears weighed 32 pounds and these tires weigh 42 pounds. Overall diameter is 32.09 inches up from 31.6 on stock. They cleared before I even got a level. I didn't go with the LT275/65R18 because they weigh around 52 pounds and you have to run around 47psi to carry the same weight my euro metrics do at 37psi.I wanted to avoid the rough ride. As it stands, the truck can't even handle any more weight on the axles than my euro metrics offer. So the only real benefit to the LT's is getting 17/32 of tread to start with vs 13/32nd of tread. Puncture resistance is the same on LT and Euro Metric, no tire is exempt from nails, tree roots, etc except military bullet proof tires. I've contemplated getting LT285/65R18 Nitto G2's but as I've read on here people are getting 15-16mpg on the freeway and as good as they look, I'm not sure it's worth it. Plus the added strain on all the components. Coming from 22's on my old truck, I know how quickly wheel bearings, tie rods, brake pads, ball joints and on and on get destroyed. Unless they've significantly upgraded these trucks, which they may have because so many come stock with 20's and 22's now.

I also added the Air Lift ultimate air bags in the rear after the level. Stock these trucks sit stink bug so when you load up the bed or put on a trailer it sits level with the front. Well after you level the truck it sags in the rear and looks like a pre runner of sorts, so fully loaded I add about 30 psi into them and everything is super smooth. No load, I air them out completely, it has a built in bump stop so there's no danger to running 0 psi.

So completely stock my truck got 22.1 MPG on the freeway over a 300 mile distance. Leveled and 275 Nitto's I now get 21.5 MPG on the same trip, that's on cruise control at 73 mph.

If I drive it without babying it, going uphill and passing cars etc I'll get 18.5 MPG. Around town is terrible, I average 15mpg but we literally have a traffic light every 200 feet here in thousand oaks and they take 5 minutes to turn green so even stock it got terrible mileage here in town.

If you do the level and 275's, it really won't change your mileage at all. I've found Shell 91 octane gets me 60 miles more per tank than say chevron or other brands. I run 91 because here in California they like to make our gas as crappy as possible to meet emissions. CA 91 is like Arizona 87.

Wow you are one of the first people on here calling it like it is when it comes to lifting trucks & adding all that unsprung weight w/ bigger wheels/tires & the coinciding drop in MPG/performance. All you ever here is "it doesn't make that much of a difference", or constant discussions on how big a tire you can fit without rubbing w/ no discussion whatsoever of weight.

My truck is '15 6.2 4x4 CC short bed w/ Bilstein 5100's riding @ top setting in front and added extra 1" w/ 3,25" block kit to give the stance just a little rake (less than stock tho) - also removed lower valance. Did not notice huge drop in mileage but tough to say because i did it so early on in the truck's life the engine was still breaking in. As it stands I average 16.1mpg over course of 11,000 miles. If I had to guess maybe I lose .5-1mpg max

I will be swapping out the stock goodyear SRA's to 275/60/r20 Nitto Terra Grapplers - and like you, I am opting to forego the 275/65 LT version because the weight per tire jumps from 41-42 up to 57-59 lbs (depending on tire brand - thats the general ballpark) - the extra 1/2" isn't worth the extra nearly 20 lbs of weight per corner for the very reason you mention. If I was going 4"+ in lift then @ that point all bets are off you just try and keep weight down as best you can, but regardless you'd be going w/ some heavy ass AT or MT's,

Shu · May 16, 2016

Anyone know if the angle sensor has any affect on AFM?

steviegx333 · September 11, 2017

his thread had a 2 year gap there, 2014 to 2016, brought it back to life. I'll chime in, 2014 5.3 3:42 Crew Cab Standard Bed Z71 4x4, haven't seen too many standard beds but mine weighs a little more. I went with the Fox 2.0 Coil Over's in the front and 2.0 shocks in the rear. It leveled the front 2 inches and gained 2 inches of travel. I have the steel control arms so the Fox shock is longer on my particular model than on the aluminum arms which are travel limited from GM. As far as I know, RC level kits actually reduce your travel 2 inches. Maybe they've changed their design and I'm not up to date but that's what I read. I know the Bilstein 5100's work like the Fox do, they use all the travel the correct way. The increased clearance in the front is way worth it. I used to drag the front air valance through whoop sections on dirt bike trails and now it clears it no problem. I left the valance on after the level.

As for the tires, mine came stock with P265/65R18 Goodyear Wrangler SR-A's. What a joke these trucks come with those tires. It should come with Michelin LTX MS/2's. Anyways, I went with the Nitto Terra Grappler G2's in a euro hard metric 275/65R18. The Goodyears weighed 32 pounds and these tires weigh 42 pounds. Overall diameter is 32.09 inches up from 31.6 on stock. They cleared before I even got a level. I didn't go with the LT275/65R18 because they weigh around 52 pounds and you have to run around 47psi to carry the same weight my euro metrics do at 37psi.I wanted to avoid the rough ride. As it stands, the truck can't even handle any more weight on the axles than my euro metrics offer. So the only real benefit to the LT's is getting 17/32 of tread to start with vs 13/32nd of tread. Puncture resistance is the same on LT and Euro Metric, no tire is exempt from nails, tree roots, etc except military bullet proof tires. I've contemplated getting LT285/65R18 Nitto G2's but as I've read on here people are getting 15-16mpg on the freeway and as good as they look, I'm not sure it's worth it. Plus the added strain on all the components. Coming from 22's on my old truck, I know how quickly wheel bearings, tie rods, brake pads, ball joints and on and on get destroyed. Unless they've significantly upgraded these trucks, which they may have because so many come stock with 20's and 22's now.

I also added the Air Lift ultimate air bags in the rear after the level. Stock these trucks sit stink bug so when you load up the bed or put on a trailer it sits level with the front. Well after you level the truck it sags in the rear and looks like a pre runner of sorts, so fully loaded I add about 30 psi into them and everything is super smooth. No load, I air them out completely, it has a built in bump stop so there's no danger to running 0 psi.

So completely stock my truck got 22.1 MPG on the freeway over a 300 mile distance. Leveled and 275 Nitto's I now get 21.5 MPG on the same trip, that's on cruise control at 73 mph.

If I drive it without babying it, going uphill and passing cars etc I'll get 18.5 MPG. Around town is terrible, I average 15mpg but we literally have a traffic light every 200 feet here in thousand oaks and they take 5 minutes to turn green so even stock it got terrible mileage here in town.

If you do the level and 275's, it really won't change your mileage at all. I've found Shell 91 octane gets me 60 miles more per tank than say chevron or other brands. I run 91 because here in California they like to make our gas as crappy as possible to meet emissions. CA 91 is like Arizona 87.

Ahh, and there it is. I've got a 2015 Midnight Edition Z71 DC with 3:73's. I've been wondering how everyone else's mpg is regularly in the 20's with stock tires. On highway trips in northeast Georgia and around the metro Atlanta area I see about 20 mpg with cruise set at 78-80. My average to work and back and around town is about 17.5. My truck's overall average over it's 26k mile lifetime is 17.3. My dad's truck is slightly higher, but he's on highway terrain and drives it like he stole it 90% of the time. The midnight comes with 265/65r18 Wrangler Duratracs, which after looking are 43 lbs. I'd like to move up to 275/65's just for a little added height and width. Originally I was worried about the added diameter and such, but the weight is only 45 lbs as opposed to 43. Pair that with the 3.73's and I don't think I'll see much of a change. I'm slightly tempted to go 275/70, but really don't want to pass the 50 lb barrier. Glad I stumbled across this thread.