mpg on lifted tahoe/yukons? (help!)

alright, i have a 96 2 door tahoe, 5.7, lifted 6" with 35x12.50 tires on 16x10 rims. i have the AEM Brute Force CAI installed on it, and the headers and exhaust to come hopefully soon.

before i lifted it i was getting between 15 and 18mpg (18 when driving it easy). after the lift im getting around 10 mpg*.

if you have a lifted truck what mpg are you getting? i wouldn't think i would loose THAT much just by lifting it.

I've read a few "how to improve mpg" articles.
-im using the correct oil, fuel, clean air filter, correct tire pressure, etc etc. is there anything i can do to improve the mpg that actually works?

will plugs, wires, O2 sensors, high flow MAF sensor, and like "upgrades" really help it out? i plan on updating them all anyway, but if it will help i'll go ahead and do it now. (02 sensors with exhaust) im even open to aditives that people have actually used (Z-max, etc.)


I'm going to drive my truck whether theres any change or not, but i'd love to get some more mileage out of a $75 tank of gas...:Chevy:

*btw i haven't had the speedo/odomiter corrected yet. we calculated it out to be off by 10%. the mpg above after lift is estimated but should be very close to correct.

I use to get similar MPG as your tahoe. After the lift I also started getting about 13 mpg on the highway :mad2: but hey at least it looks good.

I would guess that your poor mileage is more from the bigger tires you are running now than from lifting it. The engine has to work harder to turn those bigger tires.

I have to say that it does look pretty good now though.:thumbsup:

less than 10 MPG Hundreds in gass, crushing small Hondas= priceless!:smilielol:

4 door with 4" SuperLift, and 33X10.50's, K&N intake, Flows (Super 40): City about 12...a 500 mile trip to Kentucky last weekend: almost 19 MPG. This is with my "summer" tires: BFG All Terrain. When I put the winter tires on (Dunlop M&S) mileage drops about 2 mpg. I believe its a weight issue...

the lift and bigger tires go hand in hand. i'd expect to pick up 1-2mpg once the exhaust is done and it has new 02 sensors put in it. (not sure its ever had new ones put on it, pushing 164000mi...)

SPXTrader- weight issue? minus the sub box (90 pounds max) the truck is empty. (other than a small tool kit, spotlight, and recovery straps) the rims and tires weigh more of course but it shouldn't be enough to kill that much milage.

Rotational mass of larger heavier tires and wheels is a huge drain on MPG. Before I lifted mine, 17 city was the norm. New wheels and tires were an additional 55 pounds of rotational mass...

96ProCompTahoe said:

the lift and bigger tires go hand in hand. i'd expect to pick up 1-2mpg once the exhaust is done and it has new 02 sensors put in it. (not sure its ever had new ones put on it, pushing 164000mi...)

SPXTrader- weight issue? minus the sub box (90 pounds max) the truck is empty. (other than a small tool kit, spotlight, and recovery straps) the rims and tires weigh more of course but it shouldn't be enough to kill that much milage.

Click to expand...

Actually, unsprung weight signifigantly affects your mileage and performance, and the larger diameter tires also makes your engine work harder. Yes, it could be enough to kill your mileage.

did you ever regear your ride after the lift and bigger tires? once i put on my lift and 37s, i'm expecting HORRIBLE mpg, but, with the regear, it will hopefully add 2-3 mpg

no regear yet, still plan on lifting it further, possibly a straight front axle. (to bad i didn't go ahead and swap axles indstead of the IFS lift)

a regear shouldnt cost too much. if it's still gonna be awhile before to swap axles, i would recommend you bite the bullet and regear now

where's the best place to pick up a new set of gears? and moreso, i couldn't find any kind of tag on the rear end, how do i find out what gears i have in it now?

I got quotes on new gears for my 95, and it was about $1500 for front and back. If you have the stock gears you are probably running 3.73