I asked a GM tech today why the GM trucks were set to ride at angles similar to top fuel dragsters and his response was that it was supposed to improve fuel economy. Does raising the front 1-2 inches affect the fuel economy that much? I can't stand the dragster look but I don't want to kill my mileage either. Ride height is about the only thing I'm missing about my F-250 so far.

I much prefer the dragster look to the "butt squat", but that is subjective. I think fuel mileage is part of it. I think the other part is these trucks are capable of carrying 3000 lbs in the bed and that does compress the suspension. With the 2-3" nose down rake we see, a heavy load doesn't make it squat.

Test your mileage now, crank the bars and check again. You should still have better mileage than the F***d anyways so it can't be too bad. ;)

I much prefer the dragster look to the "butt squat", but that is subjective. I think fuel mileage is part of it. I think the other part is these trucks are capable of carrying 3000 lbs in the bed and that does compress the suspension. With the 2-3" nose down rake we see, a heavy load doesn't make it squat.

Yeah I hate that "cali style" like on the lifted trucks. I prefer level or a little nose down.

I just came up with "butt squat"...............I think I'll keep using it.............. :D

Butt squat.....:lol:

I'm sure the mileage will be better once the "new" wears off of my lead foot. I'm a real estate appraiser and I liked the idea of the front end not bottoming out going across a vacant tract of land. I'm looking at several options on the front end. One of the local law enforcement officers has been raising and lowering trucks for years with different pieces he makes himself and atleast a dozen people told me I need to see him. I guess we'll have to check him out.

It took around 5000 miles before my truck started getting good fuel mileage. You can raise the nose just by cranking the t-bars--keep the crank under 2"--and getting an alignment. If you want to run larger tires, start your research here:

http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91242

Thanks and EXCELLENT post BTW!

I talked to a guy at a home I appraised today with almost the same truck I have. His is a 2006 GMC with D/A also but he was running 285/75R16s. I asked him what he did and he said he rased the t-bars and put the tire on. He has had the truck since January and put the tires on the day he bought it. He didn't have to trim any thing and he's got 30K on it now. The only wear he has seen has been in the center of the rears but was quick to point out that this was mostly the result of burnouts and quick acceleration. I still want to get up with the guy that's local and see what he's doing. All I have heard is how great the truck rides after he finishes and he charges less than $100. One guy has an 01 2500 with over 150K that has never even been aligned. He said he averages 50K miles on a set of tires so my curiosity is killing me.

Again excellent post on the tires. I felt smarter after I read it:lol:

Gald to help. Hopefully you will go into this with a bit better understanding of what you are about to do...........

Cognito is best.................. um, I'm just trying to be popular.I really dont know much.

The raised a** is mainly for loading. On the 1500's it's for a bit better mileage. CAFE standards apply to 1500's so if raising the butt nets GM an extra .10 MPG it's worth it. CAFE is also the reason for so many E85 trucks, the gov't only applies the cafe standard to the amount of gas burned, using E85 gives a cafe rating of roughly 33 MPG, GM is allowed to use .9 MPG towards their other trucks that are below the 22.5 MPG rating.

We lifted 2 brand "F" trucks, both with camper package, 4", both needed NO rear lift, trucks were within 1/2" of being level.