thats insane, id say im just under rolling on stock wheels and tires and 3. w/e gears

 

Im running 1500-2000 between 65-75 mph's but I am stuck with 3.55's. I was getting 19-20mpg b4 i got my exhaust and tuner. ( lead foot syndrome)

 

anything over 2000 and my mpg's start going downhill fast

 

Animal, is this from personal experience?
I have had my truck since new and normally get 16-17 mpg at 65 mph and honestly don't know if it wouuld do better at a 2200 rpm cruise. I am running 3:55 gear and don't think it suits the truck for the way I drive it. I drove another truck setup the same as mine with the exception it has a 3:92 gear and it felt more driveable. I drove it a little hard because it was really fun so mileage took a beating but a 4:10 gear, or as I'm thinking now 4:56 gear would really bring the old girl to life. So for those who are actually running deeper gears let me hear your recommendations.
All inputs are appreciated......

 

Wouldnt the mpg's drop even more putting in lower gears? Ive got 3.92's and can pull 18mpg at 70 mph. So with 4.56's it would be worse than that right?

 

Well the sweet spot might be at a higher rpm than where I am at. (1650-1700) I have gotten 18 mpg on a very very rare occassion with a fresh tune and oil change driving carefully on the highway. Absolutely no fun! So from what you are saying with a 3:92 gear you are already doing a little better. So freeing up some more rpm might be less strain and allow even better mileage. I don't know, which is why I am asking the list what their actual driving numbers are. With those input I hope to make my gear selection right the first time and not have to play with it again. We all know the manufacturer's main concern seems to be emmissions rather than performance.

 

in town you will undoubtedly GAIN mpg.....i did. If your highways are very "hilly" you will gain mpg as well. Think about mechanical advantage....the only time its not beneficial is on downhill and flat roads with no wind.

 

Rick, what you are saying makes perfct sense to me. My question goes to what actual rpm will I be running with 285/55-20's? I also plan on changing the converter, but that'll be locked up at cruise so really doesn't matter.

 

i had 3.55s but i was on 35s, and at 65-70 WHEN, IF it ever went into overdrive i would be running around 1500 rpms, and no matter what itd slowly loose momentum and downshift. now i got 4.56s and well im still in the break in period but at 70 mph im running about 2000-2200(gotta get the speedo adjusted)

 

opposite. the lower the gears the better the mpg, it means the engine is doing less work to turn the wheels. the down side is it takes longer to get the power to the wheels.

so our stock 3 gears should be getting way better mileage than these guys with 4.56