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A good aftermarket exhaust and air cleaner will get you into the 21 MPG range on the highway.

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2014 Silverado 1500 double cab, 4x4. Six speed auto, 3:73 gears. Averages around 20-22 MPG highway at 70 MPH. Third 5.3L GM 4x4 I've had since 2006. The only one that did worse on gas, was the 2010 w/3:05 gears and a four speed automatic. The 2014 is the best of the bunch.

When it was brand new and the bed wasn't piled half full of jacks, tools, heavy chains, etc. it hit a "best" of 24.3 MPG on the fuel mileage 'puter display back then. That was for about a 500 mile trip, including local driving at the destination and maybe 300+ miles of highway driving. Lost that display last year, when it was in for repairs to an air direction shutter behind the dash and they apparently disconnected the battery?

Best I've been able to rack up since, is 22.4..Truck averages 14 to 15 around town normally, goes down in the winter. Does not like really cold weather for fuel mileage. Creepin' up on 60,000 miles now, no complaints. Truck is also pretty damn quick from a dead stop.


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Why is it every time my buddies tell me how their trucks are getting 18-20 mpg “all day long” we go on a hunting/scouting trip and they get........maybe 16.......?

Is it because the truck knows we’re sharing gas money?

Last edited by alpinecrick; 06/22/19.

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my 2017 5.3 gets a honest 17 -18 MPG but if you put a trailor on it it goes down from there.i wish Chevrolet still made a 350 V8 best engine ever made


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I just got back from riding 1,100 highway miles in the back seat of a 2016 four door pick up 5.3 with three of us, gear and no cap and Ben said his computer was telling him 21 mpg. Michelin tires one size over standard and sensible 65-70 speeds though slower through Canada.


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Not always, but usually trip computers tend to exaggerate fuel mileage........


Casey

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Having said that, MAGA.
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I thought so too, but Ben was satisfied enough with that read out to only want to charge the three of us $60.00 for fuel and that was sure worth it to me not to need to take my own truck, Thirsty, up there to play with the fish.


My other auto is a .45

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I have a 2014 Silverado crew cab with the 5.3- I average around 19 mpg overall with my driving, I’ve noticed on the highways I get anywhere from 21-23 mpg depending on the speeds (don’t go much over 70 for fuel efficiency). That fluctuates a bit too, depending on how long it’s been since I changed the oil. I have 98,000 miles on mine, this week I put just under $1400 in it for the AC and a window repair, gonna keep it another year or two.

Last edited by JustinL1; 07/04/19. Reason: Missed detail.

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I forgot to mention before this one I had a 2007 with a 5.3- it got around 17 mpg on average (that one was an extended cab).


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Put another 598 miles on the '14 Silverado over the 4th. 18.9 MPG average on that trip.Roughly 200 of that was four lane driving at 70 MPH or a bit more. Cruising between 70 and 75, it regularly ticks off 22 MPG or a tad better.

Had two older Chevy trucks with the 350 V8. One was a 2WD shorty w/two barrel, The other one was a 4x4 shorty w/four barrel. Neither one ever got much better than 17 MPG highway..The 4x4 was an '80 with lock up torque converter and 2.73 gears. Neither ever got close to the fuel economy my 5.3Ls have and neither had the torque and go power that the 5.3Ls do. Although the 2WD one had some serious torque. TRW RV grind cam after a rebuild and 2.5" exhaust system. Duals, ending behind the cab. Miss the sound of that one.

Second guy that owned my old '80 4x4, thought it had 165K on it. Told him that'd be 265K, 'cause it had well over 165K on it when I'd sold it a few years before that. That ol' 350 was still going strong and using little oil.


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my son just got back from Missoula,Montana on July 8th from trout fishin with my 2017 Silverado 5.3 we live in northern Minnesota, my son drives fast always 75-80 miles an hour on freeway his average including in the mountains > son averaged 18 mpg. with 2 kayaks on topper carrier too.


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5.3 in a 4x4 Tahoe some 2,200 miles from Midwest to CO around and back averaged 22.4

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Originally Posted by alpinecrick
Why is it every time my buddies tell me how their trucks are getting 18-20 mpg “all day long” we go on a hunting/scouting trip and they get........maybe 16.......?

Is it because the truck knows we’re sharing gas money?


Because about 16 MPG is typical for many trucks, in the real world, since they all weigh about the same, use similar transmissions, similar axles, and similar engines. Sure, some may have more gears in the transmission, or some may have cylinder deactivation, but they all are doing comparable "work". Drive with an egg between your foot and the pedal, and one might do better than the others but pull a moderate load and turbos will be spooled and cylinder deactivation will be deactivated. There's no free lunch or gimmicks when power demands are higher.

Someone mentioned fuelly.com and I think this is a good resource. It allows you to compare data from dozens or hundreds of users. And more importantly, the distribution of the data. For example, the majority of users with the 5.3L Chevy get 15, 16, 17 MPG. This is the peak of the bell curve. For the Tundra with 5.7L, the peak of the bell curve is 14, 15, 16 MPG.

Those that get much better, or much worse, are the outliers in the bell curve. I think you'll find that the vast majority get 14 - 17 MPG overall, plus or minus in mixed driving. Not 18 - 20 MPG. Similar to your observation about "18 - 20 all day long", right?


Last edited by 4th_point; 07/22/19.
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So, if you've been driving three different GM 4x4s with the 5.3L since 2006, you should just ignore your own experiences with fuel mileage and go with what is posted on a web site then? Okay, got it.


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Originally Posted by dubePA
So, if you've been driving three different GM 4x4s with the 5.3L since 2006, you should just ignore your own experiences with fuel mileage and go with what is posted on a web site then? Okay, got it.


Uh, no. Your experience is just that. It's yours. You can use that information for "you", but that in no way means that it applies to everyone else. Your driving behavior, load, altitude, fuel quality, tires, etc. etc. etc. can and will affect your results.

Instead, the rest of us should look at the results of many people, which should include a wide variety conditions and usage. The data should, and does, show a normal distribution. This isn't the place to teach this concept. But, if you are interested in learning, then I encourage you to educate yourself rather than get offended by the use of data to make objective decisions.

Jason



Last edited by 4th_point; 07/25/19.
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Wasn't offended. Just making the point that the "real world" is generally represented by what actual users have shared here.

A BIL finally got another 4x4 last year, after two years of trying to get by with a 2WD Tacoma. He bought a new Colorado ext. cab with the V6 and is fairly happy with it, except for one thing: Fuel mileage. The V6 has enough spunk (he doesn't tow anything). But in "real world" terms, it really doesn't do any better on fuel, than my Silverado, which has decent towing capability, gets good mileage on trips and has a chitload of stomp, when I want it.

He has a bit longer drive to my hunting camp, than I do, but most of that difference is Interstate driving. When he got to camp last year, asked him what his MPG reading was. IIRC, he got about a half mile per gallon better than I did? But my truck easily has over a quarter ton of gear and tools in it, every day. Nothing but his hunting stuff in his truck. By my calculation, if I left the tools, jacks, chains and other stuff at home, we'd probably get about the same fuel mileage on that trip?


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Three day trip to camp recently, to do some work. Only about 390 miles this trip (far less local driving while there, than over the Fourth). Fuel mileage came in at 19.1 this time and that was with some additional weight in the truck on the way up..When I first got the truck, did the calculation on fuel in/fuel used. Never varied much from what the truck fuel mileage computer showed.


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I have had a number with the 5.3. We have two ranch trucks and trade them fairly often. Generally with crew cab, 4wd we average about 21 on the highway and 19-20 if there is some city mixed in there. Just drove 450 miles this weekend in the 2018 and averaged 23.6 for the trip. No wind at all this weekend. Average speed was 68-72 mph

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Just traded in a 2016 with the 5.3. Z71 crew. Ut averaged about 17.5 combined over 32,000 miles of mixed driving. It would do 22 or a bit better if I kept it a 70 on a highway.

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Recently traded for 2019 Silverado Trail Boss. Does get lesser mileage than the standard Silverado but about 1.5-2 mpg. Likely due to AT tires, lift kit and less aero. bodywork, like front air dam. Did average about 20 mpg per tank with the standard LTZ and now about 18

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