Lowering of a 4" Suspension Lift....

[alabamafootball]

No

     As Capt said, you could go stock height and 30" tires and you might get 10 - 11 MPG.  The lift, or wind resistance as you call it does not effect MPG as much as your high gears are.
     Go online and do research by looking up gear ratios Verses MPG.  You will find out the gear ratios has the most dramatic effect on miles per gallon.

why is 3.08 considered high? i would think this is considered low....

[bake74]

     Your right, got my verbiage backwards, it is low geared not high.

[frotosride]

thanks for the info guys. ill look and switching gears. last thing, would manual hubs make a difference as opposed to my automatic hubs?

These are not going to make a bit of diffrence on rather or not you get beter mpg..however if you ever actually use the truck for it's intended purpose and get it off road they would be the best low buck investment you could do to the front axle.
Not sure what other mods you have done to the truck but as earlier mentioned the cold air intake will help minimually but coupled with a better exhaust you can see good inprovements in power and economy. I used flowtech longtubes and my exhaust isn't as good as I want it or need it for now bit I can tell a huge diffrence in power and several mpg over stock. Granted I also have 3.73 gears but they were stock from the factory. Are you sure of the gears you say you have? I've got the same running gear as you should.

[alabamafootball]

well, it says on the original window sticker 3.08.  with that being said, i guess i need to find out for sure. ill tell u this. i have a 45 degree angled driveway, and i cannot reverse up it without it bogging down. im thinkin its low geared. i have exhaust and headers and k and n, and other than that, nothin really. i realize these trucks arent made for mileage, but my gosh i shld be gettin more than 9.....

[frotosride]

Wow yea.. i haven't seen 9mpg in a while. When I first got this truck in '10 (for Free) it was getting just over 6mpg. I have changed the things I have told you about and then a few but I also have 3.73's and I average 14mpg except in the winter where it is more like 12. Not sure how mechanically inclined you are but a good dial indicator, magnetic base, and soem grease are enough to get the results you need to put the greas in yourself. The hardest and most annoying part of the corporate 10 bolts are the pinion crush sleves. You get one shot per sleve you buy. The sleves are for the pinion pree load and once you tighten the pionion nut on it you leave it. The best way to set one up is to pull your old bearings and use a carbide bit to grind the inside of the race so they fit snug but loose enough for you to slide off by hand. This will allow you to mock up as many times as you want/need to get the right amount of shims on the right sides for the best contact patch between the ring and pinion.

[alabamafootball]

thanks for all your effort but everything you just said might as well have been chinese. lol. im not too mechanically inclined. im gathering by greasing the ring and pinion, it may free the gears up and i might get a better ride???

[frotosride]

thanks for all your effort but everything you just said might as well have been chinese. lol. im not too mechanically inclined. im gathering by greasing the ring and pinion, it may free the gears up and i might get a better ride???

Not even close^.. so... if you go the best option to get the power and better mpg's yet ratain your clearance then just pay someone to do the gears.

[Irish_Alley]

verify what ratio you have first.  if you do only have 3.07 thats like having 2.54s with the 35s then pick some up from the junk yard. you want at least 3.73s i wouldnt go more than 4.10s

[81_Chevy]

im getting an avergae of 7.5 -8 with 4.10s 4inch lift and 35's. 350 stock plus headers. not meaning to steal his post or anything but can someone help me out here? my mileage is horrible.

[Irish_Alley]

whats your trans?

[81_Chevy]

turbo 400