Tested Valence MPG Before/After

[Donstar]

There is good discussion here. I did buy my truck for its good gas mileage and wouldn't want to unnecessarily reduce its efficiency. I do like the looks without the valance but if I chose to give up some mpg I would rather it go to bigger tires!

[crushNchowda]

 

That is anomaly...

 

 

Actually it does, how much is up for discussion but independent tests as well as manufacturers have shown otherwise.

 

Thanks for the correction on Valance, since there are two spellings auto correct didn't catch which one.

 

I will try to remember to do another test (though it will be different weather) after I trim it.

 

Remember this is strictly highway, no city. If you run averages with any city mixed in the difference will be less pronounced, much less depending on the amount of city driving/idling.

 

The reason I would remove are a few reasons. One because this truck leaves the pavement and it is a hindrance, two it looks better and three it has already been scratched up a few times around the city and I don't want this to break and have it rip out the center "skid plate imitation design thing" piece at the bottom of the bumper that it is attached two. It was 16 bolts and clips to remove, if it gets ripped out other pieces very well might come with it.

 

Doing multiple runs to average no doubt would have been best but I wasn't investing that much time in to this. I think just over 5% is a little out of the error range but it certainly could be much closer. Weather shouldn't have changed much as storm were long past and it was fairly calm.

 

Some good ideas out there fellas.

 

Tyler

 

I don't think its an anomaly so much as it's probably due to the superior 8 speed tranny and the fact that under "normal" driving conditions all else being equal the torquier 6.2 is working less than the 5.3 @ all speeds/rpms so probably don't have to get on throttle as much for similar response (particularly w/ the 8 speed)

[ata3001]

Actually a tonnaeu cover does not improve fuel mileage.

 

I agree. Every truck I've owned (Toyota, Ford, 2 Dodges & Silverado) never saw a bit of difference in mpg with or without a tonneau cover. Advertising hype only!

[Rkaroll953]

tonneau cover made a huge difference on my 04 2500 hd this truck not as much

[tnchevy]

I agree and let us know but couldn't you comply 7 months for now and see a difference or not?

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

I can and so far there has not been much of a difference. Yes the first year is break in but I am not sure how much that matters these days. My first year of owning the truck I averaged 19.1 mpg. This is not a running average but the total miles driven for the year divided by the total gallons of gas. The last 7 months has been at 18.6 mpg but this will go up by the time my year with the air dam off due to the warmer temps. I have already gone up to 20 mpg on my last 2 tanks of gas. I also only fill up once a month (drive 5k miles a year). It is not an exact estimation but it is something to go by.

[Rawyzf]

I like threads like this, good discussions.

[tnchevy]

I think it mainly boils down to if I drove on the interstate a whole lot and was really trying to get the most mpg's I could out of my truck then I would leave the air dam (valance) on. The biggest drag on mpg's for trucks is the choice of tires. The factory GY's are very light and not an aggressive tread. Put on a heavier LT tire with more aggressive tread and that is where your mpg's go. I do this every few years when I get a new work truck. My current work truck (ford with the 5.0) was getting close to 20mpg on the interstate in the summer with the small street tires it came with. Put on bigger and heavier GY AT with kevlar LT tires and now it gets 17 mpg on the interstate (speedo was corrected by the dealership). That is a 15% drop in mpg's just by going with a heavier and more aggressive tire.

[rjpoog1989]

I've been thinking about trimming my valence, but with the front end leveled itll clear most things. I wish that it was easily removable with no tools for off-road use.

[fondupot]

Finally got around to removing my air dam. Made a short video:

 

 

[sdog4127]

As probably stated before, lots of engineering goes into these trucks to reduce as much drag as possible. Cue the little flaps in front of the rear wheels. I am not an off-roader and use my CC as primarily a people mover for when I need to haul things so it's nearly all paved, highway speed driving. So to me every MPG matters.

 

I really like the idea of air ride on Ram trucks which drops ride height at highway speeds to reduce underbody drag. Cool feature, I think, and on the highway you don't notice a difference. (How much this improves MPG, I don't know, but every little bit matters).

 

It has to be a huge challenge for engineers to find a "marketable" balance between a capable truck in most road conditions and still provide enough efficiency to not kill their CAFE rating. The half-ton market is kind of tricky cause some people use them as real trucks and put them to the max of their abilities, and other people use them gently like me and hardly use any of the trucks toughness!

Move up to the HD light trucks and you see most of these little aero tricks are not installed, because clearly if you spring for the HD you have a job to do and ride quality and MPG are a little further down your priorities list.

 

Great thread, though. Appreciate the effort put forth to try and validate somewhat scientifically instead of all opinion and personal biased claims.

Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6s Plus using Tapatalk

[tnchevy]

The HD trucks are just as bad. We have two 2015 2500's at my job and have already ripped off the air dam on both of them. An update on mine is that I got 19.18 mpg with the air dam on and up till now 18.97 mpg with it off. Still have about 4 more months to make it an even year with the air dam off so I will have a better ideal then.

[Boardmember]

I like the air dam well enough and trust the engineering because operating efficiency WAS part of my buying decision. Just one of the many considerations.

 

Now on the tonneau cover adding to my rolling efficiency - nah. Not today, not on my previous trucks. Love the Extang, but their "+10% mpg" claim is hooey.

 

Not to high jack a useful discussion, how about lowering your tailgate when on the highway? Without tonneau, of course. Some years ago, I read a technical analysis of this theory and it proved not to be true. Leave the tail gate up.

[L86 All Terrain]

Thanks for the good read. Looks like i will keep mine on. Perhaps sand and paint it to match the truck.

[Eddie 70]

Any one in the East Tennessee are that wants to get rid of theirs I might be interested in taking it off your hands. Mine has seen some curb abuse from the previo5owner and is in pretty sad shape. I'd like to replace f

Thanks.

[j-ten-ner]

Many people removing the valance for aesthetically reasons.
I don't mind the look of it. But that's a matter of personal taste.

I'm all into fuel economy. The reason for me having a truck with a V8 goes back to where I come from. Driving a truck with a V8 in Germany can be very expensive.
Here in Canada, it's not much of a big deal (financially).

Having said that, I'm not fond of the AFM. I disabled it for better drivability.
Therefor, I'm even more grateful for every non-technical effort to gain as much mpg as possible, like a valance.

Thanks to the OP for taking the time and effort to test out the difference of having the valance removed.

 

so long

j-ten-ner