1. Welcome to Jeeps.net!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Jeep discussion topics
    • Transfer over your build thread from a different forum to this one
    • Communicate privately with other Jeep owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

How bad will a lift and bigger tires hurt my gas mileage?

Discussion in 'General Jeep Discussion' started by Spartan13, Dec 6, 2017.

  1. Dec 6, 2017 at 5:09 AM
    #1
    Spartan13

    Spartan13 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2017
    Member:
    #2029
    Messages:
    2
    Gender:
    Female
    First Name:
    Kari
    Georgia
    Vehicle:
    Artic
    I have a 2012 artic and it's my everyday driver, my husband wants to put a 3 1/2 in lift and bigger wheels and tires as a Christmas gift.. my question is how bad will it kill my gas mileage? I do drive about 33 miles one way to work everyday.. I know it's gonna look good, but economically is it worth it for an everyday driver?
     
  2. Dec 6, 2017 at 6:59 AM
    #2
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2016
    Member:
    #2
    Messages:
    4,068
    Gender:
    Male
    welcome! Most MPG gains or drops depend on the driver. Aggressive driving styles generally will see more of a drop. I'm kind of "in the middle" with my driving, and have only seen a 1-2 mpg drop from switching from 32" tires, to 34" tires. 25 mile one way commute here.
     
    JKBob 25, aggrex and OFFGRID like this.
  3. Dec 6, 2017 at 7:00 AM
    #3
    OFFGRID

    OFFGRID Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Member:
    #317
    Messages:
    2,018
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Peter
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    1979 Jeep CJ7, 258, TH350, NP208
    Howell fuel injection, header, HEI distributor, TH350, NP208, SOA lift with YJ springs in the front & GW springs in the Rear. AMC20 with G2 1 piece chromos trussed, Dana 30 with G2 chromos and 760x ujoints and MM Stainless Hubs, Geared 4.56. Tom Woods shafts, Metal cloaks, Caged, 37" Toyo MTs.
    HOw big of a tire are you thinking? 33s, 35s, 37s. I have seen 38s on a 3 in lift. You may not need 3.5in lift. Big tires kill MPG, but you can make some of it up regearing for the bigger tires. You can run 33s on a stock jeep. 35s with flat fenders, and 37s with Metalcloak overline fenders all with no lift. If you are really worried about mpg I would not go over 35s and regear to maybe 410 gears. IMO 35s look best on a 2in lift with Flat fenders. Anybody else have any thoughts?
     
    JKBob 25, aggrex and chris4x4 like this.
  4. Dec 6, 2017 at 10:46 AM
    #4
    boondoc89

    boondoc89 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2017
    Member:
    #912
    Messages:
    772
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    alex
    Vehicle:
    08 JKU
    3 inch zone lift. Fox 2.0 shocks. 35 inch nitto ridge grapplers. Bushwacker flat fenders. No name steel bumpers front and back for now.
    I'm a fan of staying as low to the ground as possible with the biggest tire I can fit(lowest center of gravity). However I do have a 3.5 inch lift with 35's as a daily then I throw my 37's on when we decide to hit the trail.

    Basically if you're gonna pound pavement no lift and flat fenders with 33's or 35's will make for a bad ass lookin ride. Or if you wheel your rig maybe a small lift and 35's will work better for what you need your jeep to do

    **edit**

    A regear will definitely help in the MPG and torque loss from the gain in tire size and weight. Like @OFFGRID mentioned... a regear to 4.10 or even 4.56 like I have will bring all your shift points and RPM's closer to stock.
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2017
    JKBob 25 and OFFGRID like this.
  5. Dec 6, 2017 at 1:31 PM
    #5
    Billy1234

    Billy1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2017
    Member:
    #1131
    Messages:
    924
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    William
    Vehicle:
    1997 XJ 2 door
    None yet
    I have horrible gas mileage but its all apart of the fun and welcome!!!!
     
    JKBob 25 and Spartan13[OP] like this.
  6. Dec 6, 2017 at 2:20 PM
    #6
    Spartan13

    Spartan13 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2017
    Member:
    #2029
    Messages:
    2
    Gender:
    Female
    First Name:
    Kari
    Georgia
    Vehicle:
    Artic
    Doing 35's... The off road center swears I will only lose 2-3 MPG.. I can live with that if it's true..
     
    JKBob 25 and chris4x4 like this.
  7. Dec 6, 2017 at 2:51 PM
    #7
    Billy1234

    Billy1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2017
    Member:
    #1131
    Messages:
    924
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    William
    Vehicle:
    1997 XJ 2 door
    None yet
    I go with what Chris said it’s all about how you drive and tire size. I have 35s and a 3 inch lift and some times have a lead foot lol. I get anywhere from 10 to 15. 10 is when I’m towing my work trailer
     
    JKBob 25 and chris4x4 like this.
  8. Dec 6, 2017 at 6:48 PM
    #8
    JKBob 25

    JKBob 25 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2017
    Member:
    #1197
    Messages:
    3,890
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Bob
    Jersey Shore, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2016 JK Wrangler Sport
    Welcome to the forum Spartan13.

    Agree with above posts. The lift doesn't hurt gas mileage. Larger than stock tires and wheels do.
    Here's my experience. I had 285 x 16 stock tires and wheels. I was getting 20 + mpg.I upgraded to 33s on 17" wheels. But, with a Superchip. I recalibrated the tranny shifting points and was able to keep my 20 + mpg. But I also drive my Jeep like an old lady. 65 on a 65 mph highway for 25 miles also.
    Appearance wise. Here's my JK with 33s and stock fender flares.20171007_150003.jpg
    And here's it with flat fender flares with the 33s. 35s in my future.20171203_144345.jpg
     
    aggrex and chris4x4 like this.
  9. Dec 7, 2017 at 3:50 AM
    #9
    Billy1234

    Billy1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2017
    Member:
    #1131
    Messages:
    924
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    William
    Vehicle:
    1997 XJ 2 door
    None yet
    And for a 3 inch lift and 35s this one I can find threw the 1000s of pics I got lol8F6E875F-B85E-4CCE-817A-4E538CA68F64.jpg
     
    JKBob 25 and chris4x4 like this.
To Top