Lifted Truck Fuel Mileage

[Boozer]

I just picked up a 2014 Ram and I want to turn 35's on it. I'm thinking a 4" lift should get it high enough to turn 35's and not impact the ride but I'm curious what I should expect to see fuel mileage wise after Input the lift on it. Right now I'm averaging around 17 MPG and would like to stay pretty close to that number if possible.

If I throw 35's on it and add a bullydog tuner should I be able to stay close to my current mileage?

Im not sure that it matters but it's a Crew Cab Laramie Limited w/ the Hemi gasser.

 

[Terminal Velocity]

I just picked up a 2014 Ram and I want to turn 35's on it. I'm thinking a 4" lift should get it high enough to turn 35's and not impact the ride but I'm curious what I should expect to see fuel mileage wise after Input the lift on it. Right now I'm averaging around 17 MPG and would like to stay pretty close to that number if possible.

If I throw 35's on it and add a bullydog tuner should I be able to stay close to my current mileage?

Im not sure that it matters but it's a Hemi Quad Cab.

What size are the tires on it? Diesel or Gas? are you planning to swap the gears in the diff(s)?

 

[rrrr]

Why do people spend five or six grand to make their truck ride like shit, get poor gas mileage, and go through tires faster than a twelve pack disappears from Dave's refrigerator?

I don't understand the logic behind it.

 

[hallett21]

Lift and mpg don't go together

 

[pronstar]

There's no possible way MPG won't suffer with 35s and a lift.
You're adding rolling resistance, aero drag and rotational mass.

I'm surprised you're averaging 17.
Thats what I averaged with my 2007 5.9L CTD Ram on 35's and 3.73 gears...it went down when I swapped to 4.56 gears.

 

[Enen]

I'm lifting my new truck. Going with a Kelderman air ride lift. Supposed to ride better than stock.

[video=youtube_https;3_i9U0J5E8U]https://youtu.be/3_i9U0J5E8U[/video]

 

[Mikemc1269]

I have a Duramax running 4.10 gears on 35's that I mainly use for towing that gets 12 mpg...non towing I was getting closers to 15 mpg.

 

[Singleton]

I have a Duramax running 4.10 gears on 35's that I mainly use for towing that gets 12 mpg...non towing I was getting closers to 15 mpg.

Same. If I keep my foot out of it, I get 16.5 freeway

 

[82daytona]

Why do people spend five or six grand to make their truck ride like shit, get poor gas mileage, and go through tires faster than a twelve pack disappears from Dave's refrigerator?

I don't understand the logic behind it.

When done correctly it doesn't ride as bad as you'd think. My truck is diesel and on 40s with a tuner and MPG is mid-high teens when driving nice. It's not very practical but looks good [emoji12]

 

[pronstar]

Why do people spend five or six grand to make their truck ride like shit, get poor gas mileage, and go through tires faster than a twelve pack disappears from Dave's refrigerator?

I don't understand the logic behind it.

They're doing it wrong, that's why.
My 3/4-ton Ram rode WAY better after I had my Carli-valved Kings and progressive coils/leafs installed (among a shitload of other things) :thumbsup
All suspension, no blocks.

The good shit is never cheap.

 

[Boozer]

Why do people spend five or six grand to make their truck ride like shit, get poor gas mileage, and go through tires faster than a twelve pack disappears from Dave's refrigerator?

I don't understand the logic behind it.

For the same reason people spend 100's of thousands of dollars on boats they only use a couple times a year and blow up something very expensive every time they take the boat out. Because we're MEN!

 

[Boozer]

What size are the tires on it? Diesel or Gas? are you planning to swap the gears in the diff(s)?

Gas and 33's stock so not a big difference in rotational mass. Looks like it's a 3.20 gear ratio stock but whoever had it previously had the integrated trailer brake controller installed so I'm guessing it's probably geared a little lower than 3.20.

 

[TLAW719]

I've got a 12 ram 3500 cummins with 3:73's. I did a bds 3 inch lift, the actual lift not the spacers, and am running nitto terra grappler g2's 35x12.50-17. It rides and towes better than stock and I only lost 1 mpg.

 

[Big B Hova]

Gas motors suffer more with big tires a lift kits compared to diesels. I'd expect to loose 1.5 to 2mpg if you drive it normal.

 

[rrrr]

When done correctly it doesn't ride as bad as you'd think. My truck is diesel and on 40s with a tuner and MPG is mid-high teens when driving nice. It's not very practical but looks good [emoji12]

So spacer blocks made from pieces of treated 4 X 4 and painted black to match aren't a good idea?

 

[Bigbore500r]

Gears are a must. Nothing will help more than gears, and a corresponding tune adjustment to get the speedo reading correct and Trans shifting correct. Choose a tire with smaller lugs and a tighter tread pattern, like a mild all terrain. That is about the best stuff u can do to keep mpg from getting hurt too much

 

[BigMike]

I have a 2011 Ram 1500 Sport Crew Cab with the 5.7L Hemi and it has a 4 inch lift with 35 BFG A/T's and I get 12-13 mpg city, 15-16 mpg hwy (towing is terrible on the fuel mileage though). When I put the diablosport trinity 1000 programmer on it, the mpg and performance went up.

 

[CHECKERED_PAST]

Stock 12-14 combo city/hwy
Lifted 11-13 combo city/hwy
Next is to delete the dpf and cat and should go to 14-16. Those are numbers from a friends truck with mods.

 

[TPC]

Expect a 15 to 20% drop in mileage,, and range towing with big tires.

We like range between fill ups when on the road so we stay stock.

 

[ridebig]

I'm lifting my new truck. Going with a Kelderman air ride lift. Supposed to ride better than stock.

[video=youtube_https;3_i9U0J5E8U]https://youtu.be/3_i9U0J5E8U[/video]

Call and talk to Craig at Strapt Performance 602-751-5158. He did my 2016 with a Carli suspension and I am amazed at the ride quality.

 

[dtp92648]

I agree that larger tires can increase rolling resistance and unsprung weight... hence possibly affecting fuel economy. But... those who have seen a drop in mileage post-lift. Did you make a speedo calibration when calculating MPG's?

I have lifted every truck I've ever owned... and when you factor in the larger tire size... The drop in MPG's hasn't been that great in my case.

 

[bobbytheboozer]

Shit, my ride is lifted 6 inches on 35's with the Edge CTS2 Evolution turner and I can see 13-15 mpg on the street and 25mpg if I cruise. Without the tuner I was getting 9 in the city and 15 on the highway

 

[willowvalley]

My weekend rig when the truck isn't being used
97 land cruiser went from stock 16s to Walker Evan 17s running cooper discovery st max 35x12.50 and a 3 inch OME lift

My 4.5L straight six is a dog to begin with 212hp and 225ftlbs I think

It's now even more of a dog around town and mileage went from about 14 to 9... Was down to 6mph when the o2 sensors was faulty from Bosch and made it run rich and ate fuel.


Gas engines don't like big tires unless you re gear
My f350 doesn't notice the 35s and it's a diesel

 

[bartel]

I rock an F350 on 38x15.50s I get 14 city and up to 17 on the hwy.

 

[dread Pirate]

I like my truck even more after reading what you guys are getting with newer ones.

My 97 12V Cummins averages 18-20 and gets 12+ towing a 7500# trailer across mountain roads. I'm running 35" BFG's.

My 93 Ford with the 7.3 IDI on 37's will pull 22 on the freeway if I keep it under 70mph. I can watch the fuel gage move at 75. Gets about 15 average.

All my trucks have a clutch, so that probably helps a little.

 

[Taboma]

There's no way I can lift my truck and toss big meats on it ---- I've given my son way to much shit for doing that to his

 

[Enen]

Call and talk to Craig at Strapt Performance 602-751-5158. He did my 2016 with a Carli suspension and I am amazed at the ride quality. View attachment 487557

Thanks for the referral, there are members who won't give those anymore.. The Carli suspensions are IMO the best you can get with a spring suspension. I chose to go with air this time, and am committed and down the road with Kelderman.

BTW, you got a good looking truck.. :beer

 

[squirtnmyload]

Lifted truck......check
Mpg?.........who cares

 

[Mikemc1269]

I know the OP was asking about mpg but if you're also worried about loss of range, you can put a replacement fuel tank in. I installed a Titan 56 gallon tank on my DMax. I can now make it from Ventura to Glamis towing heavy and I don't have to worry about finding a gas station big enough to pull my rig through. Hope this helps.

 

[Yellowboat]

if you are not doing gears and a custom tune to make the changes you made work... you are wasting money.

 

[pronstar]

Call and talk to Craig at Strapt Performance 602-751-5158. He did my 2016 with a Carli suspension and I am amazed at the ride quality. View attachment 487557

They're a good size distributor for Carli. What did you have installed?

 

[SCV2RVR]

My 2005 2500HD with the 8.1L Gas engine got shit mileage. Had 35's on 6inch lift. Normal driving at about 9 - 9.5 mpg. Towing down to like 6 - 7 mpg. I bought it brand new and finally sold it last July. Bittersweet, but it just wasn't worth it. One trip to Needles and back to Santa Clarita was about $200 with $3 gas.

 

[NicPaus]

Just sold my 06 Duramax 7" lift 35s. Did great on freeway but lost 3-4 mpg in town. Last trip from River I avg 18.8 on cruise control doing 72mph at 1600 rpm.

Now the new trucks no where near that. Friend just avg 8.8mpg in 2016 Ford 6.7 with 6" lift towing 2 seadoos. Called me thinking something was wrong with the truck. His 07 Dodge was 15-16 mpg towing same skis with 4" and 35s.

 

[Tooms22]

Miles per gallon?... I only know smiles per gallon

Disclaimer: If the freeway is open, I usually drive 75-80. So The

My old 2012 Dodge 1500 Hemi on 33s with a leveling kit
13 city/16-17 highway



2004 F350 diesel on 35s with a 4" lift
10 city/14-15 highway depending on traffic
A few weeks ago I drove Corona to 29 Palms and back. It was windy as hell (truck was shaking at stop lights)... I got 13 mpg.

 

[NicPaus]

if you are not doing gears and a custom tune to make the changes you made work... you are wasting money.

I thought I would need gears. My 06 started life with a 12" lift and 40s. Towed my toyhauler better than any of the other trucks stock. Basic tuner on tow safe mode that allowed programming the tire for the 40" tires. Never geared it and glad i did not. With 35s towed my Skidsteer no problem. Just rode out in a 05 Duramax that has my old lift on it with 38s with hot tune no gears around 14mpg when towing his 30' 10k trailer around 10mpg

 

[28Eliminator]

2011 Raptor with 35's (stock), and the best I've seen is 14 on the highway.. 11 around town.



I also think there's a lot of optimism in this thread... Lol[emoji6]

 

[ridebig]

They're a good size distributor for Carli. What did you have installed?

They did the Back country system, added the Carli torsion sway bar and installed Carli fabricated radius arms.

Great guy's and customer service is unreal. The truck rides like a car and really soaks up the bump's.

 

[pronstar]

They did the Back country system, added the Carli torsion sway bar and installed Carli fabricated radius arms.

Great guy's and customer service is unreal. The truck rides like a car and really soaks up the bump's.

Very cool!
I know Sage, my truck was a test-bed for their Backcountry setup and Commuter Kings.

He developed a special 5-port piston that he installed on my 2.5" front Kings, and he made some custom triple-bypass 2.5" Kings for the rear.
I had their coils / full leafs, torsion bar, radius arms, hydrobumps, ball joints and some other stuff that I can't remember...I hated selling that truck.
It rode very well on-road, and was even better off-road.
We sold all of our toys and just mobbed the truck, that's how good it was :thumbsup

I will say that their 3" Kings rode/performed even better, but it was more coin than I wanted to drop.

 

[Abc123]

Leave the gears alone with 35s unless you plan on towing a very heavy trailer.

I would tow this 26' trailer with a buggy on 37s with no problem. Truck was tuned, but with that weight, I kept it on a very low setting to keep the EGTs down. With the trailer, I averaged 14 mpg. 17-18 daily driving (unloaded).

 

[shreve"T"]

Here is my 2014 2500 on 37's.. I'm actually getting better mileage with the 37's than I did with 35's after calibrating the speedo/trans.... My average is between 16-19.. keep in mind we don't have hills in Louisiana.. Took a trip to Biloxi MS doing 80 and the EVIC read 20-22

 

[CHECKERED_PAST]

Speedo is recalibrated on mine, hand calculations between fill ups so no fibbing. Can't expect to much from 11,000 lb truck. As for ride quality, it's 1000x better then it was stock! 12 average pulling this home from havasu uphill with head/cross wind for over half the distance and climbing elevation dropped it to 10 but was going 75+ still better then my 8.1 gasser @6-8 no matter what.

 

[rrrr]

2011 Raptor with 35's (stock), and the best I've seen is 14 on the highway.. 11 around town.

I also think there's a lot of optimism in this thread... Lol[emoji6]

No kidding.

 

[Your ad here]

Speedo is recalibrated on mine, hand calculations between fill ups so no fibbing. Can't expect to much from 11,000 lb truck. As for ride quality, it's 1000x better then it was stock! View attachment 487624 12 average pulling this home from havasu uphill with head/cross wind for over half the distance and climbing elevation dropped it to 10 but was going 75+ still better then my 8.1 gasser @6-8 no matter what.

11k lbs. with the trailer or just the truck?

 

[Andy01]

When done correctly it doesn't ride as bad as you'd think. My truck is diesel and on 40s with a tuner and MPG is mid-high teens when driving nice. It's not very practical but looks good [emoji12]

Post a picture Eric, truck is bad ass.


Gears, gears, gears. If you do any towing gear it. It will help the life of your trans and everything else will stay cool. Not gearing causes stress and heat other places. I have a 2500HD 6.0 with a few mods, spindles, camburg arms, deavers. Truck sits in Havasu to run around town, has 35's on it. I did 456's as I will never drive it on the freeway or hardly ever tow with it. Truck is 10x's faster with the gear swap. I know of Duramax's heating up with gears and heating up the allisons. For comparison to the lifted duramax post I to had drove my 2005 duramax back to California for a trip and averaged 19.9mpg, was the same on the return. Averaged 77-80mph on the return. I always say bigger is better, if GM wasn't IFS my truck would have 40's under it. :thumbsup
s

 

[Struv]

Post a picture Eric, truck is bad ass.


Gears, gears, gears. If you do any towing gear it. It will help the life of your trans and everything else will stay cool. Not gearing causes stress and heat other places. I have a 2500HD 6.0 with a few mods, spindles, camburg arms, deavers. Truck sits in Havasu to run around town, has 35's on it. I did 456's as I will never drive it on the freeway or hardly ever tow with it. Truck is 10x's faster with the gear swap. I know of Duramax's heating up with gears and heating up the allisons. For comparison to the lifted duramax post I to had drove my 2005 duramax back to California for a trip and averaged 19.9mpg, was the same on the return. Averaged 77-80mph on the return. I always say bigger is better, if GM wasn't IFS my truck would have 40's under it. :thumbsup
s

You have a 6.6 duramax. 6.0 is a whole different level of expense and fun but it can be done.

 

[rmarion]

2004 & 2006 F350 6.0, CC 4x4, both 4" edge lift, 325x20, 14 mpg average (68k on 2004(lemoned), 227k on 06, truck was dieing, I traded in to ford, IMO head gaskets)

2015 F350 CC 4x4, 6.2l (gasser) no lift, stock tires, 12 mpg averaged, 26k miles to date (will be getting replacement 1/2 ton truck SOON!!)

 

[BajaMike]

I just picked up a 2014 Ram and I want to turn 35's on it. I'm thinking a 4" lift should get it high enough to turn 35's and not impact the ride but I'm curious what I should expect to see fuel mileage wise after Input the lift on it. Right now I'm averaging around 17 MPG and would like to stay pretty close to that number if possible.

If I throw 35's on it and add a bullydog tuner should I be able to stay close to my current mileage?

Im not sure that it matters but it's a Crew Cab Laramie Limited w/ the Hemi gasser.

Lifting the truck and putting over size tires will only reduce your mileage, ruin your towing ability and destroy your brakes, engine and tranny......and good luck trying to re-sell it in the future. I would never buy a truck that is lifted and has oversize tires......it's ruined.

 

[CHECKERED_PAST]

11k lbs. with the trailer or just the truck?

Well it's a 1 ton and gvw says 11.5 trailer was 11ish with load.

 

[Strabo]

I rock an F350 on 38x15.50s I get 14 city and up to 17 on the hwy.

X2.......

 

[padge]

My buddies truck. It's got a 6" bds lift with fox coil overs and shocks. Has retrax bars in the back with fully adjustable coil overs in the front. 37" mud grapplers with 20x12 fuel 2 piece Mavericks. Has a spartan tuner and has been deleted with an intake and exhaust. He says he's getting 16mpg.