Surprising Loss of MPG After Leveling Kit Install - AT4 with 5.3L

loud_pipes · June 18, 2020

Also, FWIW, I lost about 0.5 mpg on my 2015 All Terrain just from removing the air dam. Not exactly the same vehicle, but it did contribute to mpg loss.

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rikhek · June 18, 2020

1 minute ago, loud_pipes said:

Also, FWIW, I lost about 0.5 mpg on my 2015 All Terrain just from removing the air dam. Not exactly the same vehicle, but it did contribute to mpg loss.

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Interesting. I might reinstall mine just to see if there is an increase in my mileage. A 0.5 mpg differential due to just the air dam is significant. Thanks for the info.

rikhek · June 18, 2020

25 minutes ago, Snowcamo said:

You drive and tow freaking truck man. You start a thread about being suprised about a "quantitative diff" in mileage when your IQ should of told you it was gonna drop.

Now my ignorance is showing... Come on wit it bruh.. Chit makes zero sense that someone who claims to be sooo smart is shocked about loosing a mpg when he lifts his truck.

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Okay macho man Randy Savage, I'll play but I need to understand what "you are" saying in order to respond. Please translate into the English language "your" comment:

"Now my ignorance is showing... Come on wit it bruh.. Chit makes zero sense that someone who claims to be sooo smart is shocked about loosing a mpg when he lifts his truck."

I'm struggling with the translation of "come on wit it bruh.." I think I know what you meant with "wit" but I'm lost on "bruh"? Please educate me on the definition of "bruh". You state I claim, "to be sooo smart", however, in rereading my post(s) I fail to see where I reference my level of intelligence?

While we're educating each other I see another teaching moment/opportunity. The word you should have used is "losing", not "loosing". As a pro wrestling fan I can appreciate your ignorance of the difference between the two words.

Boy, this "chit" is getting to be fun. I sense in a battle of wits "you're" defenseless....

Edited June 18, 2020 by rikhek

Snowcamo · June 18, 2020

Okay macho man Randy Savage, I'll play but I need to understand what "you are" saying in order to respond. Please translate into the English language "your" comment:

"Now my ignorance is showing... Come on wit it bruh.. Chit makes zero sense that someone who claims to be sooo smart is shocked about loosing a mpg when he lifts his truck."

I'm struggling with the translation of "come on wit it bruh.." I think I know what you meant with "wit" but I'm lost on "bruh"? Please educate me on the definition "bruh". You state I claim, "to be sooo smart", however, in rereading my post(s) I fail to see where I reference my level of intelligence?

While we're educating each other I see another teaching moment/opportunity. The word you should have used is "losing", not "loosing". As a pro wrestling fan I can understand your ignorance of the difference between the two words.

Boy, this "chit" is getting to be fun. I sense in a battle of wits "you're" defenseless....

Dude you are an ignorant smart a$$ you know exactly what is meant by my comments. There's no getting around it.

Since your very first comment in regards to grammar you have been trying to show your wits??? To hell with it and your being shocked. I hope your mph goes when you put 35s on it and tow. Good luck with that. Im done wit the bull chit.

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rikhek · June 18, 2020

Yes, I am ignorant specifically to the definition of the word "bruh" and was hoping you'd educate me. Is it a millennial snowflake term or ???

Edited June 18, 2020 by rikhek

cltsig · June 18, 2020

Alright kids, back to our regularly scheduled programming....

Did you lose this much mileage (10%) while not towing? Towing mileage is crap to begin with but 10% is a chunk. Assuming you were 20ish while not towing, dropping to 18 (-10%) would be a lot for just a level. I've read people don't lose any or a minimal amount from a level. Now a lift is another story.

rikhek · June 18, 2020

12 minutes ago, cltsig said:

Alright kids, back to our regularly scheduled programming....

Did you lose this much mileage (10%) while not towing? Towing mileage is crap to begin with but 10% is a chunk. Assuming you were 20ish while not towing, dropping to 18 (-10%) would be a lot for just a level. I've read people don't lose any or a minimal amount from a level. Now a lift is another story.

Damn Dad, I'm just starting to have fun!

To address your post, I don't drive a consistent route for comparative purposes that would allow me to offer insight on MPG when not towing. I can attest to the fact that I've never achieved 14 mpg when I'm not towing and I reset my trip gauge every time I fill the tank. I average about 13 mpg when I'm not towing. Truck has 20k miles on the clock.

I will admit that I drive quite differently than most. I'm of the mindset that 90%+ of the drivers of cars/trucks on the road have NEVER had the accelerator of their vehicle to the floor, let alone to the floor in a very aggressive manner. I'm not a part of that 90%...

Edited June 18, 2020 by rikhek

cltsig · June 18, 2020

10 minutes ago, rikhek said:

I average about 13 mpg when I'm not towing. I will admit that I drive quite differently than most.....

Damn, 13mpg? I've eked out 26 on the highway with my 6.2 but I go easy on it. On average I think I'm around 18-19 mixed driving. No level or lift...yet.

gearheadesw · June 18, 2020

Lifting the truck at all gets more air under and around the suspension and undercarriage bits that are in no way aerodynamic. May not seem much, but you're also pushing that much more air over the truck....

newdude · June 18, 2020

1 hour ago, rikhek said:

Interesting. I might reinstall mine just to see if there is an increase in my mileage. A 0.5 mpg differential due to just the air dam is significant. Thanks for the info.

So you are leveled and you removed the lowest most air dam? I'd start with throwing that back on and re-test your loop and see what happens. With that off and the level, lots of airflow is hitting the underbody components and also hitting your tires. Taking the rake out obviously raises the front which that alone in turn will mess the aero.

A perfect example of aero difference would be a Colorado Diesel Z71 vs. a ZR2. ZR2 takes a mileage hit because of the aggressive front end design and lots of air hitting the front tires.

As much as people hate rake, its there for aero (puts the air dam low) and for when adding weight to the back end.

Jac365 · June 18, 2020

1 hour ago, rikhek said:

While we're educating each other I see another teaching moment/opportunity. The word you should have used is "losing", not "loosing". As a pro wrestling fan I can appreciate your ignorance of the difference between the two words.

THANK YOU!! Seeing this mistake continuously made in multiple forums drives me nuts.

topgear1224 · June 18, 2020

Umm, maybe read you should read my post again. The fact that a large, non aerodynamic BRICK (i.e., a crew cab truck) would realize a 10% differential in a measurable metric like mpg by just raising the front end 2" is surprising. If it were one of my race cars or my Corvette or other aero sensitive machines I wouldn't be surprised.

BTW, it's "You are", not "Your".....

You are tracking that trucks, particularly Crew cabs, are one of the most aerodynamically improved vehicles in any segment?

2019 Ram 1500 has a CD of 0.357. that like most sedans!!!

They play with the air now days. some manufacturers throw the air over the bed, other manufacturers have designed the bed to capture air. creating a bubble of non turbulent air that allow air to flow freely over it and cleanly off the tailgate. That's why we have that little lip spoiler. It isn't for downforce.

Also the 5.3 doesn't breath properly at higher RPM (low hp compared to torque) so I'm not surprised it got thristy.

What did your trailer manufacturer rate it at? Most trailers are rated for 65mph. I have yet to find a trailer tire rated for more than 75mph. Remember speed is exponential. To double the speed requires 4x the power.

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ullose272 · June 18, 2020

10 mpg! Glad i got the duramax

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rikhek · June 18, 2020

Yeah, I didn't realize the amount of wind tunnel time they must have utilized on these "new" trucks. I've leveled all my previous trucks without seeing a measurable drop in mpg. My most recent leveled truck was a 2010 Tahoe. Pretty impressive engineering considering what they have to work with (i.e., a big square brick).

Regarding speed rating of trailer and/or more importantly trailer tires I run Maxxis M8008 ST tires. Following is Maxxis's speed rating position. Despite the antiquated trailer tire trade industry position that thou shalt not exceed 65 mph Maxxis tires are Q rated which means they're good to go at a sustained max speed of 99 mph. The Maxxis tires are more expensive than most of the competition but IMHO they're worth the cost. I bit the bullet and switched to Maxxis on all 5 of my various trailers due to bad experiences with other brands, especially the junk Goodyear Marathon trailer tires.

Our M8008 ST radials have a "Q" speed rating. However, according to the Tire & Rim Association, the U.S. tire industry authority, inflation pressures and load specifications in general for any ST Radial trailer tires, regardless of the tire manufacturer, are designed and rated at 65 MPH. However, if the speed is higher than 65 MPH, the pressure and load need to be adjusted according to the following guidelines:
From 66 to 75 MPH - the tire inflation pressure needs to increase 10 PSI (not to exceed the maximum PSI the tire is rated for) and load should be reduced by 10%

From 76 to 85 MPH - the tire inflation pressure needs to increase 10 PSI (not to exceed the maximum PSI tire is rated for) and load should be reduced by 10%

Please refer to our web site for detailed dimensions and specifications on our M8008.

For information purposes only, The Maxxis M8008 ST Trailer Tire is manufactured in our company owned state-of-the-art factory in Thailand.

rikhek · June 18, 2020

12 minutes ago, ullose272 said:

10 mpg! Glad i got the duramax

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I used to get 10.0 mpg, now I get 9.0 towing the specific trailer and load mentioned above. FWIW, I could give a damn what I get as gas is damn near free at current commodity pricing. I just wish I had a larger fuel tank . Even if gas pricing raises up to where it should be I could care less as it's a minimal/insignificant amount of money. I'm actually attracted to vehicles that have the "worst" fuel economy as they generally offer higher performance.

I track my Z06 Corvette on a regular basis and I get right at 3.8 mpg on track which only allows me to run ~40 minute track sessions on a full tank of fuel. I wish the car had a larger capacity so I wouldn't have to pit so frequently/early for fuel. FWIW, I get right at 24 mpg from the Corvette cruising down the highway with the cruise set at 83 mph with 650 hp/650 lb-ft available.

Edited June 18, 2020 by rikhek