Nope. Filled up by house and got on freeway immediately. Trip computer spins up to the 18 range within 20 miles or so. Only reason it was slightly higher coming back is elevation drop. It is approx 3500 ft there and 900 feet in San Antonio, happens every trip.

 

I just got back from San Antonio 330 miles one way from Dallas. I was getting 18.8 on the way down until I got stuck in traffic in Austin. I went about 5 miles in about 45 minutes. When I finally got in San Antonio I was at 18.3 not to shabby. I did notice on my Screw 4x4 3.73LS when you go over 75mph you don't gain much MPG if anything, I think it may even be detremental. But at 65 - 70 the numbers climbed pretty fast.

On the way back with very few if any delays I got 18.9 MPG by the time I was in Dallas.

I will be very interested what I get from the Troyer Stage 2 kit even though I am buying it for performance not MPG.

 

^^^^ see...told ya!

 

I have a hard time thinking that lowering you truck gave better MPG.

I think the best and cheapest fix to get better MPG is to take control of our lead foot that we all have from time to time.

 

Lowering your truck has absolutely no bearing on your mileage. Doesn't matter if you raise it 6 feet or drop it 6 inches. As long as your still stock, the MPG will never change.

People come up with some rediculous scenarios which in fact don't prove true anyway. I guess it's just a way to waste space on starting threads.

CD

 

Raising any truck reduces gas mileage because it creates more wind restriction. In turn, a lower car or truck is more aerodynamic and better fuel economy is the end result. The Law of Physics; nothing ridiculous about that!

 

Very true Im with jpdadeo, also what I noticed ,I used Castrol GTX 5-20 syn blend and my MPG dropped to 11- 13mpg I went back to Motorcraft 5-20 Syn Blend and started getting 15.5 average, never have had more than 16mpg, even when I take of my lead boots off, im working on it though.

 

Yep, just ½ a mile per gallon gain no big deal but its something.

 

I'm in Santa Fe, NM on vacation. I towed our motorcycles here on our trailer. This was my first towing experience with my Supercab 4x4. We loved the way the vehicle ran and the ride was awesome. I was blown away by how bad the mileage was. I've only got 1500 miles on the truck, but have been getting 15.5 mpg combined around town. It dropped to 8.5 pulling the trailer!!!! I admit I went 75 all the way, but I was hoping to get at least 12mpg. Am I being unrealistic? Do I need an Xcalibrator??

 

Reducing the ride height reduces the frontal area and makes the truck more aerodynamic. Entirely plausable.

 

The wind is still flowing over the top of the roof and around the sides of the truck. You can not justify dropping your car 1.5 to 2 inches that you will notice anything in gas mileage. My example may have been a littel exaggerated, but so little of an ajustment would hardly prove anything noticable.



A few questions that you might answer:

How would the truck be restricted?
Is the wind stronger when higher up off the ground that it is closer to the ground?
What is restricting the truck when it is higher up than when it's closer to the ground?

CD

 

If our theretical barn door is 72 inches wide and 72 inches tall (the width I believe is close; it's probably taller than that), reducing the ride height by two inches would reduce frontal area by around 2.5%. Your argument was not whether it was worth it to drop your truck it was that there was no difference in fuel mileage by dropping your truck, and that is a false assumption. How much it actually affects your mileage is the question.

As far as your second comment, when the truck is higher in the air there is more air shoved underneath, hitting mechanical parts, and generally causing significant turbulance.

Would I drop my truck just to increase fuel mileage, no way. But it does make a difference.