Gas Mileage on 5.3 V8 engine on a 4x4

[Wintersun]

With older pickups the vortex at the rear of the bed added drag and reduced fuel economy. Leaving the tailgate down or taking it off the truck fixed the problem. A shell reduces this turbulence but it also adds weight and if it sticks up past the cab it will also create more drag. For me the gain it usable space in the bed that is protected from the weather and from thieves is far more important that saving a few pennies in fuel costs.

 

Newer trucks have cabs designed to improve airflow and the new Ram 1500 has an air foil design for the rear tailgate on their trucks. Some new trucks have taller sides for the beds to also make them more aerodynamic.

 

But putting on heavier tires or ones with more scrubbing action or that stick out past the fenders or raising the truck will negate all these improvements. So will driving faster than necessary as air drag increases exponentially. Drive 2x faster and air drag is 4x greater.

 

My new Traverse gets 34 mpg at 55 mph and 28 mpg at 62 mph and 24 mpg at 70 mph on the highway. So I have to decide whether the conditions warrant the speed at which I am driving.

[mistaare]

I got 1500 miles on 2020 AT4. Drive easy, lucky to get 14.5 mpg. 

[flat3500]

60-65 drafting with a tonneau cover 30.1 for 50 miles,going to St louis this weekend see what it does then

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My best so far is 25.5. Regular city / highway combined is 21.  Pretty reasonable.

[BlancoSilverado]

On 3/20/2019 at 10:42 AM, Controller23 said:

You never got 28mpg in a v8 Silverado. Would someone ban this ****ing troll?


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I personal got 27.6 MPG for a 50 mile duration (99% highway). 5.3 L84 4x4 8-speed. 

[Doolin-Dalton]

On 3/20/2019 at 1:42 PM, Controller23 said:

You never got 28mpg in a v8 Silverado. Would someone ban this ****ing troll?


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Dude attached a sail in the back of his bed, then he was rolling downhill for 1-2 miles and called it 28.  On the reality side of things, mine (5.3V8, AFM, 6spd) easily gets the 22mpg at 65-70mph cruise control, relatively flat terrain on the interstate all day long, and that's excellent for this size truck.  

[madconcept]

2019 Sierra Elevation 5.3 4x4.

Best I ever got was 10.7L per 100km

which converts to 22mpg.

That was taking it easy on a flat Hwy.

My daily average is 16-17 L/100km(14mpg) mix of Hwy and city stop and go driving.

I’m also running BFG KO2 LT265/65/R20’s and a level kit which I’m sure eats into the fuel economy a bit.

Also doesn’t help that I love opening it up frequently, love the power!

Living in a hilly area doesn’t help either!

My last truck, 2007 Silverado 5.3 was hovering around 19 L/100 km and it had less power.

[Dunn]

5k miles on 19 RST 4x4 and avg 16.9 mpg

50/50 freeway and street in so cal traffic

[Wiggums]

On 11/22/2019 at 6:17 PM, Doolin-Dalton said:

Dude attached a sail in the back of his bed, then he was rolling downhill for 1-2 miles and called it 28.  On the reality side of things, mine (5.3V8, AFM, 6spd) easily gets the 22mpg at 65-70mph cruise control, relatively flat terrain on the interstate all day long, and that's excellent for this size truck.  

Then how did the DIC show 50 mile trip at 28 mpg? I was the one who accomplished that. Very flat surface all the way to SNA airport and back. This time, I drove to LAX and got 31 mpg. That was going 55 mph in Los Angeles, 100% highway, absolutely no stopping anywhere, just a steady foot on the gas pedal.

[Wiggums]

On 11/19/2019 at 4:42 PM, flat3500 said:

60-65 drafting with a tonneau cover 30.1 for 50 miles,going to St louis this weekend see what it does then

I am really curious to see what gas mileage you get. Also a 5.3 V8 with 3.23? Mine is and driving 100% freeway without hitting the gas pedal going 55 mph got me 31 mpg.

 

It seems the Chevrolet is much easier to hypermile on compared to other cars. My Ford was pretty good but the Chevrolet takes the cake. I have been debating with myself.. should I get a tonneau. When I put the shell on my Ford F-150 (2016 4x4 with V8), gas mileage dropped from 22 to 19. I was not pleased, it wasn't a heavy shell or anything.

[Wiggums]

On 11/22/2019 at 9:17 AM, BlancoSilverado said:

I personal got 27.6 MPG for a 50 mile duration (99% highway). 5.3 L84 4x4 8-speed. 

 

I had him blocked ever since he couldn't handle me badmouthing my new Silverado when it handled poorly on rough surface with the twin-tube shocks (I have an RST with Z71).

[Wiggums]

On 11/23/2019 at 6:20 AM, madconcept said:

2019 Sierra Elevation 5.3 4x4.

Best I ever got was 10.7L per 100km

which converts to 22mpg.

That was taking it easy on a flat Hwy.

My daily average is 16-17 L/100km(14mpg) mix of Hwy and city stop and go driving.

I’m also running BFG KO2 LT265/65/R20’s and a level kit which I’m sure eats into the fuel economy a bit.

Also doesn’t help that I love opening it up frequently, love the power!

Living in a hilly area doesn’t help either!

My last truck, 2007 Silverado 5.3 was hovering around 19 L/100 km and it had less power.

"eats into the fuel economy a bit.." Only a bit? I have had bigger tires put on cars in the past and the difference was huge in all three of them! That was why I stopped doing that when I was in my 30's. No way I will consider bigger tires.

[mistaare]

21 minutes ago, Wiggums said:

When I put the shell on my Ford F-150 (2016 4x4 with V8), gas mileage dropped from 22 to 19. I was not pleased, it wasn't a heavy shell or anything.

That’s what I’m afraid of. I have a cap ordered and I am dreading the hit in mpg, I am only getting 14-15 mpg driving easy, with 70% city/30% highway. 2-3 mpg hit when I’m only getting 14 mpg is gonna suck. 

[Wiggums]

13 hours ago, mistaare said:

That’s what I’m afraid of. I have a cap ordered and I am dreading the hit in mpg, I am only getting 14-15 mpg driving easy, with 70% city/30% highway. 2-3 mpg hit when I’m only getting 14 mpg is gonna suck. 

City miles can be a killer on the gas mileage, same thing with mine. I try to use my truck for long-distance such as to Vegas, Hermosillo, or to the airport. For short trips, I have the Peugeot which gets almost identical highway mileage.

Edited November 25, 2019 by Wiggums

[MacLaren]

Man, I cant get over how much I love this new Silverado. The days of 17 city and 19 highway are lone gone! ( actually that mileage in a V8 ain't nothin to sneeze at anyways! )

In my 07 Classic, I would usually get about 375 miles to the tank before I would need to fill up.

I maybe have really, really, pushed it to 400 a couple times, but that's runnin on fumes, or at least that's how I remembered it. Its mighty nice to get a range of at least 500 miles now.