Does Leveling a New Pickup Truck Reduce Fuel Efficiency?

Originally Posted by JohnG
Anyone looking for fuel economy should not buy a pickup. They are the worst for many reasons, even Toyotas. But I think you would get the same amount of improvement by just removing the tailgate.


Thanks for that tip
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However, I chose the F150 w/ 2.7 due to it carried the highest EPA estimated mpg among full size half ton trucks. If I wanted a hybrid or an economy car I would have chose one. I wanted a full size pickup truck. As MNGopher stated, just because one has chosen a particular platform, does not preclude consideration of the effect of various modifications on efficiency.
 
I use a truck as a truck, so i leave it as it is. I don't " fill up the wheel wells" with bigger tires, or mess with leveling. I keep the suspension travel as it was intended as well as carrying capacity by not leveling.
 
i left the stock rims and tire size on my Silverado and it gets better mpg than all my friends who have same truck. 18 city with the 5.3
 
Originally Posted by MNgopher
But those driving them should just accept whatever low fuel mileage and worse? In my world, its OK to ask what comes of making changes to the vehicle whether thats a good idea or not including based on fuel mileage. And removing the tailgate these days isn't going to help.

Yes, leveling by raising the front will reduce fuel mileage. You are allowing air to move under the truck in a different way - the air dam is there for a reason. Will it be enough to notice? Maybe not. Ford put the air dam on there for a reason at the height it is, and if it didn't matter, you can be sure they would take it off to pinch pennies (and not deal with all the "its too low" calls on the internet).

Personally, if on a 4x4, I'd not level it as I don't want to increase the angles on the drivetrain in the front - the higher the angle, the lower the projected lifespan of the part...


A Level is not going to affect geometry enough to put that much added strain on other parts at all. Never in my life have I had issues with any driveline parts with a level or minor lift. You have to get into 3-4 inch lifts where you then have to change driveline geometry.
 
Originally Posted by domer10


A Level is not going to affect geometry enough to put that much added strain on other parts at all. Never in my life have I had issues with any driveline parts with a level or minor lift. You have to get into 3-4 inch lifts where you then have to change driveline geometry.


The arguement here is "oh, its just minor, so it won't affect the lifespan of the part" does not match manufacturer guidance. Not Ford, but the drivetrain component manufacturers, like Dana-Spicer, etc...

The joints are designed to operate at a certain power level and rpm for an expected number of hours. Dana-Spicer for U-joints specs 5000 hours at 3 degrees maximum for U-joints as an example. Doubling the angle halves the lifespan approximately.

Modifying the geometry may cause these issues. Go ahead and do so if you'd like (and I have in the past), but recognize that there are tradeoffs just like there is with fuel economy. (And that's fine if you accept that).
 
2002 Silverado Z71 here. Rough Country leveling kit and installed 285/75-16 tires...up from 265/75-16 factory size.

Custom tune, K&N FIPK, long tube headers with offroad Y-pipe and Magnaflow muffler. Speedometer was calibrated for taller tires. I get 20mpg on the highway....up from 18mpg stock. Truck is about 300 miles shy of 200K miles on the odometer. Leveling kit and tires have had zero negative impacts on suspension, drivetrain or steering components...and I DO go offroad occasionally.
 
Originally Posted by MNgopher
Originally Posted by domer10


A Level is not going to affect geometry enough to put that much added strain on other parts at all. Never in my life have I had issues with any driveline parts with a level or minor lift. You have to get into 3-4 inch lifts where you then have to change driveline geometry.


The arguement here is "oh, its just minor, so it won't affect the lifespan of the part" does not match manufacturer guidance. Not Ford, but the drivetrain component manufacturers, like Dana-Spicer, etc...

The joints are designed to operate at a certain power level and rpm for an expected number of hours. Dana-Spicer for U-joints specs 5000 hours at 3 degrees maximum for U-joints as an example. Doubling the angle halves the lifespan approximately.

Modifying the geometry may cause these issues. Go ahead and do so if you'd like (and I have in the past), but recognize that there are tradeoffs just like there is with fuel economy. (And that's fine if you accept that).



Oh I know even modifying geometry doesn't solve issues,And still creates others that's why I myself never go anything over a level plus a inch to inch and a half lift.
Just enough to add bigger tire/rim combo, like I did recently with Jeep, 20 inch rims with 33x12.5x20 could of got away with stock height but looks wrong and leaves no room for even minor off roading.
 
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Last month, I installed the leveling kit that I got from 4wheelonline. I didn't notice any loss in my MPG until I put on bigger tires.
 
I have all my trucks lifted. With the larger tires and more aggressive tread pattern you will lose some MPG. I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
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