I get that, but there is a balancing act between rolling resistance and staying in an efficient range for the engine. In the hypermiling world guys see the best gains if they lower cruising RPMs along with decreased rolling/air resistance, as less power is now required to push the car along and therefore less RPMS are needed.
A few people on this board (not many) report their 80s getting better mileage when swapping to 315s, all else being equal. It probably also depends on whether we are talking about freeway or around-town mileage. And even then, mileage reports are notoriously unreliable and difficult to confirm. Not to mention the other variables like other mods done at the same time..
I did 2" lift and 315s (stock gears) at the same time.. so hardly scientific.. but my mileage stayed the same as stock on my 290k+ mile engine. Add 800LB armor (more front of tire "visible" should hurt mileage), winch, extra battery, and PT kit? gain 2mpg on the freeway. Around town probably dropped 1mpg.
Oh, and as long as tires are properly inflated weight isn't much of a factor on the freeway. Around town, definitely.
In my case at least, the part-time kit, which many forum members report didn't help their mileage, apparently made enough of a difference to override the negative impact of large mud tires and slightly increased aero drag. Personally I don't feel this tells the whole story. I think things are helped by lower cruising RPMs than stock, which my truck can get away with because while it is heavier than stock, it isn't "much" less aerodynamic (no roof rack). Keep in mind that many "trucks" are given more cruising RPMs than are really necessary when unloaded, to make hauling a trailer or being weighted down still work.
The guys doing vortec swaps and improving mileage even with a 4-spd are probably getting most of that gain from the GM engine being so dramatically more efficient than a 1FZ from the start.
A stock escalade turns ~1878rpm at 75mph
6L80 and 315 KM2s, 4.10s = 2043rpms
6L80 + 315s+ 3.90= 1944
6L80 + 315s+ 3.73= 1859 (IMO ideal, though probably not worth the cost to install)
6L80 + 275s+ stock 4.10s = 2279. That's 400 more than a stock 'slade, in a smaller vehicle. Not exactly 4k cruising, but you'd notice it.. and my gut is telling me it wouldn't improve mileage as much as you think.. if at all.
Since I was doing all of the math..
A442F + 4.10s + 315s = 2343
same with 275s (stock 93-94 '80 confit) = 2614 (IMO large contributor to poor stock freeway mileage)
Point to this disjointed wall of text is? want better freeway mileage? Reduce drag, THEN match the adjustment with cruising RPMs (if possible.) Yes, stock tires/height will have less drag, but for the vortec engine you'd need to regear to something basically unavailable to our trucks to get the most benefit.