Does lifts affect mileage even you don't change tires?

Does lifts affect mileage even you don't change tires?

Yes. Your brick is now higher and has increased drag.

Depends on what tires you have now.

There is very little a driver can do with regard to the suspension of his truck to increase gas mileage, but there is a lot he can do to decrease it. Being smart about the lift kit and tire combination chosen can save gas mileage without too much performance loss. There are several factors to consider.

The most important decision to make is the tires. All-terrain tires are all-purpose tires designed for both street driving and strong handling in moderate off-road conditions. For casual off-roaders, all-terrain tires offer better gas mileage and longer tread life.

Wider, heavier mud terrain tires have a more aggressive tread which increases rolling resistance to put more tire on the ground, which is great for off-road but can significantly reduce gas mileage. For weekend off-roaders, a set of middle ground all-terrains should be sufficient without hurting on-road gas mileage too much.

If you are running a highway tread tire, that's going to be optimum as far as helping to preserve your current fuel mileage.

One other affect of lifting a truck is introducing more air flow under the truck, which is not as aerodynamic as the top so some losses will be experienced.

What type of 'lift' would you be doing that you wouldn't be doing larger tires?

A level?

Not that tall. Maybe 2-3inches

With no tire Change you shouldn't see much if any difference.

I put bills on the front. 2.8 lift. Lost about 2-3 mpg. Then added bfg ko2 lost about 2 mpg bc of weight.


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I did the lift on my last truck in 2 stages, just because the tires were back ordered a couple months. This gave me the chance to check out the mileage differences.

I went from 10.5L/100 KMS stock height (engine mods) to 11.5 L/100 kms with just the 5" lift. Then with the 35's it dropped to around 13 L/100 kms. These were all recorded on the same route.

Stock to lift lost 2 mpg
Lift to 35's lost 2 mpg
Total loss of 4ish mpg

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brianw0048 said:

yes. Your brick is now higher and has increased drag.

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this!

Mine lost 2 - 3 mpg when I leveled it. I can't get 22- 23 like I did on my 14 big horn that was stock.

It also comes down to the stance of the lift. Surprisingly the engineers are Ram are pretty clever. Having the nose down a tad adds less drag under the body and also angles the front end for air to "roll" off instead of hitting a brick wall. There is a lot that goes into it. End of the day, most lifts alone will net a loss, the heavier tires will do more damage. Most people do not know the difference in sprung and unspring weight. 100 pounds of tire between the 4 is a lot different than a 100 pound person in the truck. It seems silly but its exponentially harder to get it rolling.

Idk...maybe it's just me but if you're (in general)considering any type of modification that "might possibly" contain the potential for increased mpg efficiency loss..oh let's say...a "lift"....

Any concerns about mpg loss shouldn't be relevant in the same conversation of said potential modifications one is pondering upon doing....ESPECIALLY if you have a Hemi

Of course....just my opinion lol

With my 4 inch I actually am seeing a 2 mpg INCREASE. Now I'm keeping the 33s but get wider with 12.5 tires. So I'm assuming the increase will now decrease ever so slightly. Granted I don't drive my truck hard at all


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I don't see anybody getting better mpg with any kind of lift. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that. They use a taller air dam and grill shutters just for mpg.

clh1220 said:

I don't see anybody getting better mpg with any kind of lift. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that. They use a taller air dam and grill shutters just for mpg.

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Then my truck lies and so does my gas tank.


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I gained 4 MPG with my 4 inch lift with 35s. Lol

I just paid $2.22 for Marathon 89. Gas is cheap. Moderate lift should not put you in the Poor House.

A tune and CAI ( more money!) may get you close to back to stock fuel economy. Or not....

My truck is still capable of 19.6 if i go the speed limit. That's no fun. A few extra minutes of Over Time each week offsets any mog loss. It all in how you look at things.

My sister, the accountant says "what number do you want?"

I installed bilstein front shocks set at 2.1 with hankook atm stock size tires. I did not notice any gas mileage change whatsoever. My trucks computer shows 18 mpg after 5k miles. 50/50 mix of highway/city. I dont get on it much though

So what if I lower the rear with springs to level?? Will I lose mpg also??


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I didn't buy my big a$$ diesel to have good mpg...so I dont even try to calculate it now that I lifted it with the these big wide tires. When the tanks low, I put more in.

Do what makes you happy. Life is too short to worry about mpg...if thats the case...I hear Honda Fit's get high MPG