Help me settle an "argument". In your experience/knowledge which hurts your MPG worse, 35"x12.5" all terrain tires OR a 2.5" level/lift? Can anyone say for for sure??

You have two new F150's. They are identical. Truck "A" has the 35" tires but stock rake. Truck "B" has stock size tires but a 2.5 level on front and 3" blocks on back. Which truck will Avg better MPG, A or B? And just for fun, how big of a difference in MPG would there be between A and B?

 

Tires are worse, you're adding taller diameter (effectively raising your gear ratio) as well as the added rolling resistance, and unsprung weight of them. And going from a 255 (10" wide) to a 12.5" is making it even less aerodynamic.

 

im gonna have to agree with that completely. a level kit will do virtually nothing to impact a trucks mpg because your not changing anything that will essentially make the truck work harder in some form or another. a stock truck with 35's, reguardless of wether you have 3:55's or 3:73's for gear ratio on a 4wd or whatever the 2wd come in(not familiar with those), a 4.6, 5.4 or 5.8 will all lower your mpg to some degree. depending on how and what you drive in, as in city/hwy, will determine how high or low that number turns out to be. it might be 1-2 mpg or even 3 or 4. but adding that 3+ inches of total diameter along with weight and surface contact will have some degree of change in your fuel economy

 

Thanks guys. Anybody else?

 

i agree with above

 

What they have said. However the biggest element on causing MPG to go one way or the other is the driver of said trucks.

 

Agree with above. Tires for sure.

 

Not even remotely true or correct. You take a stock geared truck and put 35's on it, I don't care how two guys drive, the guy with 35's is goign to lose fuel economy. Even if you baby the crap out of it to the point it's not even enjoyable to drive, the truck with stock tires will get better fuel mileage even when driven normally to slightly spirited.

 

Said its a big factor to it. Not that it's the only thing. No need to get angry there chief

 

You may lose a very small amount with the level kit because you are changing the factory aerodynamics.

 

Surely the larger tires.

I have done it all did leveling kit and noticed nothing than slightly larger tire and went down than exhaust and it tanked and lift forget about it.

 

Well, I went from avg 17mpg to avg 13.5 mpg when I did the level and tires. My buddy says its the lift that killed me. I think it was the tires. I mean surely both effect it but the tires have to be a large percentage of that 3.5 miles per gal lost?
Before I switch back to closer to stock size, does anyone have a realistic idea of how many mpg I will gain back by going back to a slightly over stick size AT tire?
Thanks guys!

 

Depending on tire and wheel size, they will cost you 1 to 2 mpg. Weight, width compound and tread are all a factor. The higher you lift the more mpg you lose as well. A level being slight but lifts as much as 2 mpg.

 

Hmmm, well I sure hate to go thru the trouble of a switch to gain 1 mpg. I was thinking/hoping 2-3 mpg. That'd save me over $100 a month in fuel!

 

Did you have the speedometer (and in effect, odometer) recalibrated to adjust fer yer new tire size? If not, you'll be showing that you're traveling slower (and fewer miles) than you really are. A 4 mpg difference (over 22% decrease) sounds excessive even considering yer lift and tires.

I switched to a 275/70/18 Cooper ST Maxx (AT/MT "hybrid") and a 2" Zone leveling kit and dropped around 1 mpg.