The impossible: 04 Yukon XL Denali AWD

[Cy-Gor]

So we recently got some great dane puppies and we needed a new car.

Replaced my 99 dakota with the Yukon XL.

Love the car and it even gets OK mileage considering the size and the 6.0L motor.

I work from home and my "daily" driver is a Miata so i dont really care about city mileage at all.

What are the best mods to be done to this rolling brick that are cost/effort efficient?

What should i focus on first for the best gains when going 80 down the highway?

[mcrews]

What should i focus on first for the best gains when going 80 down the highway?

welcome.

hummmm.......let's see...........oh I know!!!!!!!








slow down.

[2000mc]

might look at the differences on the xfe trucks and hybrid utilities to see how many of their differences you can replicate.
does your truck have electric fans or use a clutch? i think all the 1500s got electric fans in '05, but didnt know if the denali might have got it early

[GRU]

hmmm that's a hard vehicle to improve mpg...it's heavy so avoid stoping...try to drive at a steady 45mph or so

[mcrews]

or......

plan your life better and quit leaving late.
That way you don't have to speed.


unless your a p/t first responder in a small community........

[Cy-Gor]

OK, i will slow down to 75, the speed limit.

I would rather not take 8 hours to get where i am going so driving 45 isnt an option.

This is long haul cruise control driving. thats 90% of what this truck does.

Mostly looking for aero mods like a belly pan and closing gaps, but i dont know if that will help much.

[ksa8907]

lower it, front air dam, bump up the air pressure.

[GRU]

It's very hard to improve fuel economy with a SUV. I had a Ford Escape and didn't find many things work. I dont think closing gaps will help since the vehicle is so big.

Belly pan or big front air dam and a partial grill block is your best bet

[2000mc]

might try looking through forums for your truck, see if any of the tuners/programmers are helping mileage.

on long interstate hauls i try to follow the fastest traveling largest and/or worst aero vehicle i can find. before i got my scangauge i wouldnt of thought any less than riding someones bumper would have helped, but with it i can see that there is some benefit even several seconds back

[2000mc]

if you have a roof rack take off the cross bars
cover/seal up the opening in the bumper cover, dont think theres any coolers behind that