I have an 07 SCab 4x4 with the 5.4. I'd really like to put a 2" leveling kit on it to help it's stance, but don't want to suffer worse fuel economy with gas prices near $3/gal.

Can any of you who have installed a leveling kit tell me what effect it had on your MPG?

Thanks!

 

this truck has a 2" autospring kit and 305/70/17 buckshot mudders and gets around 17 mpg

 

Hardly noticable, I still get up to 18 mpg hwy. You just have to drive these truck's a little slower to get decent mileage.

 

Any MPG difference will be negligible. Lets say, for the sake of discussion, that it lowers your MPG by 0.5. If you burn 24 gallons from 27 gal tank, that's 12 miles per tank less, ~1 gallons worth. So normally you'd fill up 24 gallons at $3/gal for a total of $72/tank. Now with 1 gallon per tank less you're spending an additional 4% on gas. If you fill up every week that's a total of $3744/year on gas, 4% of that is $150. If you fill up less often, the amount you'll spend is even less.

To me, an extra $150 a year towards gas when it's already running almost $4k a year isn't worth worrying about. If it is, get a vehicle that gets better milage.

- NCSU

PS: I spent only $2500 on gas this year, so that's only $100 extra if I lost 0.5 MPG by adding my leveling kit.

 

not much change until you add a taller tire........

 

Thanks guys, that basically answers my question. I don't plan to add a taller tire, I just want to level it a tad. I pull about a 3k trailer during hunting season and haul heavier items in the bed on occasion so I'm not looking to change anything drastically.

My first interstate trip with the truck yielded 21MPG which no, I do NOT expect to be the norm, but it was nice! To and from work in heavy stop and go traffic I've been getting high 15s, low 16s which is acceptable to me. I just didn't want to drop it into the low teens just to make an appearance improvement.

Thanks!

 

I doubt if raising the front by 2 inches will change the aerodynamics and wind drag by enough of a margin to make a difference. I did the coil spring spacers and an add-a-leaf. I wanted the add-a-leaf to add a few more pounds of weight capacity in the bed. If I only did the add-a-leaf, without the coil spring spacers, the car would have pitched forward. more in the front Overall, my car is higher than it came from the factory. But, the tail end still sits a little higher. What will really effect your mileage will be changing to larger wheels and tires.

 

FYI....with the leveling kit...you're gonna want bigger tires.....it just happens that way, I don't know why...LOL

 

Amazing how everything is cyclic isn't it? LOL! If that's the case maybe I'd be better off not doing the leveling! My wife tolerated the new truck, she'd deal with the leveling kit cost, but $800+ for new tires? Not a chance!

 

No, only the increase in tire size will ..

 

Sweet Car Thumper!

 

What will going from a 275/65/18 to a 305/65/18 do to my milage?

 

It wont be very noticeable, depending on how you drive.