A little mythbusters to the "Leveling kit reduces mpg due to aerod

[LilDave]

After hearing I would lose 2mpg from tons of people by leveling my truck (not adding larger or heavier ply rating tires) I was on the fence about doing it.....but I work at an automotive shop, and the kit was so cheap I figured I would guinea pig it. Worst case scenario, it killed mpg, and I took it back off....... So on a slow Saturday at work, I left here and hit the freeway setting the cruise at 70mph and cleared trip A.......went 20 miles one way (40 mile round trip) and took a picture of the MPG on my trip A. Then leveled, aligned, and repeated the same trip. Here are my results.....

 

Truck before the leveling kit

 

 

MPG on the stock height 40 mile trip @ 70mph

 

 

Truck after the leveling kit

 

 

MPG after leveling kit......Same 40 mile trip @ 70mph

 

 

So......After the 2" front leveling kit, I have changed my hwy mpg none....

[00Silverado4x4]

My previous truck had a leveling kit in it for around 4 years and never seen any significant gas mileage change. Glad to hear the newer truck are continuing to perform as well.

[newdude]

I think if any difference were noticed, and not too much of a difference but still noticeable, is if you pulled the lower air dam off. I had ripped mine off my 2012 (from snow somehow lol) and left it off, then leveled the truck. I put a new one on, picked up about .5mpg, maybe a tad more. You could feel it in the way it drove, less wind effect directly on the tires and suspension causing drag.

[gone_fishing]

Curious what level kit you used?

[RyanbabZ71]

Level kit will not affect mileage, larger heavier tires will

 

 

Ryan

[robvas]

You're getting more air under the truck when you lift the front - and it makes the front air dam less effective. more air hitting the front tires as well.

 

How much so is the question. I have hit almost 23mpg for a 'last 50' in my leveled+33" BFG equipped truck going 70+ on the highway, and that's without the air dam. It would be better at the stock height with the stock tires and the air dam put back on, but how much? 1mpg? 2mpg? 3mpg?

[Chris]

Larger heavier tires will cause change as will going from a highway tread to an AT or MT.

[tnchevy]

As mentioned, heavier and more aggressive tires are what kill gas mileage. I see it every few years when I get a new company truck. We keep the stock tires on till they either wear out or have to be replaced because of sidewall punctures. As soon as the larger, heavier, and more aggressive tread tires go on I lose about 2.5 mpg. My current work truck is a 2012 F150 that came stock with small hancook "AT" P rated tires. I got around 19.5 mpg in summer driving the first few months I had it. Replaced those with larger Goodyear Kevlar AT LT tires and I an now getting around 16 to 17 mpg in summer driving and the speedo was also re-calibrated..

[kstruckcountry]

I didn't lose any mileage with the bumper or 10 ply tires.

[ikaika1984]

Question.. What are your opinions on a level kiss for a 2015 Sierra Denali.. With Magna ride? Just a thought

 

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[CptMcSaug]

yeah When I went from stock to 2" level and stayed with 4 ply tires I got good mileage....my 10 plys/ MTs killed it... kinda wanna switch it back

[LilDave]

Rough Country is what I used. They're all pretty much the same.

 

 

ikaika...... You can do a leveling kit with magnetic ride, you just have to extend the sensor arms so they still function correctly.

[LilDave]

I've done wheels/tires since this post, but made sure to stay the same height and stay 4ply to get as close to stock as possible mpg. I have 20x9 Moto Metal M976's in chrome with a +18mm offset and Toyo Open Country ATII 305/50r20's.......I have yet to make the same round trip @ 70mph, but I feel like I've lost around 1mpg

[Roader]

I lost 1-2 mpg with 2.5" level and 275/65/20 open country AT2s

[TxTruckMan]

Test again with the lower valence removed and see what you get.