Cold air intake for 2016 2500HD

Grumpy Tooch · May 16, 2016

I would save your money for a tuner... I'm putting my stock air box in. All the cold air intake does is make alot of noise.

Diablo is still working on a tune for the 2016, not out yet. I like them because there are multiple tunes and i can remove it when needed.

I seem to be having trouble finding any aftermarket items for this truck...lol

bersh · May 17, 2016

I guess for the price its worth it to spend it on a tuner.

So maybe just get high flow air filter and keep box. But why does the inlet have so many routes and is not direct. What is GM's thinking on that?

They do it to reduce intake noise. I put a GMPP CAI on my 2004 and ran it for a short time. No increase in mileage, no seat of the pants increase in power, but it did sound faster/louder, added a drone at steady highway speed, and looked cool. I pulled it off and sold it at a huge loss. The stock setup is already a CAI. I have no intention of putting one on my '15, but I am shopping for a tuner.

Grumpy Tooch · May 17, 2016

They do it to reduce intake noise. I put a GMPP CAI on my 2004 and ran it for a short time. No increase in mileage, no seat of the pants increase in power, but it did sound faster/louder, added a drone at steady highway speed, and looked cool. I pulled it off and sold it at a huge loss. The stock setup is already a CAI. I have no intention of putting one on my '15, but I am shopping for a tuner.

Thanks for the info! Very illuminating. What about just replacing the filter?

MW2500HD · May 18, 2016

Don't get me wrong, I believe cold air intakes have a purpose and do make small hp improvements/gains. But a small gain in a 7000lbs truck at high rpm isn't ideal for me. I think the drop in K&N stock replacement filter is worth the $60.

rocnrol · May 20, 2016

A pricier option, but one I feel that actually has a benefit is the addition of a functional ram air hood, using the stock air box and a K&N filter. I had this set up on my old dually with the 7.4l and it made a noticeable difference in milage and power. I will be doing it to my current truck too at some point.

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Cowpie · May 21, 2016

It is a mixed bag. Going with a higher flow filter can also mean more particulates are getting in the engine. As for filter effectiveness, Numerous studies have shown that a filter has to be virtually caked with dirt before air flow and power is negatively affected. The stock AC Delco air filter does an exceptional job in both filtration and flow.

Here is a study on how bad a filter has to get before mpg and power take a serious hit.....

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/Air_Filter_Effects_02_26_2009.pdf

As for OEM, in our case AC Delco, vs something like K&N.....

http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

Based on that, and experience with filters on my commercial stuff, I just use the stock AC Delco, and I also use a Filter Minder to determine when to change it. When the filter minder starts to show a change in vacuum due to the filter, I change the filter. Not before.

http://filterminder.com/products/visual-mechanical-indicators-gauges/air-filter-restriction-monitoring-gauges-indicators/air-filter-restriction-gauge-grommet-mount.html

Grumpy Tooch · May 21, 2016

Well being there is NO kit on the market for my truck i do believe i will keep air flow stock for now.

...hmm now what can i do to improve HP and TQ? Do i do let it exhale better even though i cannot make it breath better?

rocnrol · May 21, 2016

Well being there is NO kit on the market for my truck i do believe i will keep air flow stock for now.

...hmm now what can i do to improve HP and TQ? Do i do let it exhale better even though i cannot make it breath better?

I too have been going down the path of what can I do to get more out of this engine. I have come to the conclusion that GM took care of all the things a guy used to be able to do to gain some HP & TQ. I've come to these thoughts, change the muffler, but only for sound, at 3 1/2" GM did their home work here. One area that has had some discussion on this forum is the use of long tube headers, typically good for increasing TQ, but no one has been able to find any yet and provide some feedback.

The factory intake is more than enough too, my personal feeling is the ram air hood might have a benefit... but it'll be a bit before I get one on.

Getting a tune done has shown to be of benefit, but not huge and at the expense of needing to use high octane gas to take advantage of it. There's a thread going on now about the benefits of using high octane in the stock engine, and it seems to be unclear if there's any gain in doing that. I've only used regular since new, so I might try this, and if I feel there was a benefit, I don't mind using the good stuff for towing, which might lead me to pony up the $400 ish for a tune, and just run premium gas while towing.

Going a little deeper into the gear head side of me, I started thinking about maybe a new cam. Because of the VVT, there's not a lot of options available right now. Reading about the applications that are available for some cars, there appears to be gains to be had by doing this. It's one thing I'll be keeping my eye on for sure.

I plan on having this truck for awhile so don't mind making the investment in it. And just to thwart the inevitable " should have bought a diesel if you're doing that much to your engine " argument, trust me, if I had a DMAX, I'd be the guy whipping it up too. I'm a hopeless gear head and can't leave anything stock. ;)

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SMiller · June 17, 2016

When the stock air cleaner assembly flows 150% of what the motor can use there is zero gain in a "cold air intake".

scz71864 · August 18, 2016

I had an air raid intake tube with k/n filter in the stock box. That was the best bang for the buck paired with my tune from black bear. This was on a 2011 5.3. Sadly air raid won't just make the tube for the newer trucks anymore.

Tjeli · August 18, 2016

When the stock air cleaner assembly flows 150% of what the motor can use there is zero gain in a "cold air intake".

^^ THIS ^^ The factory box and high flow A/C filter flows MORE than enough to support this engine. The only thing an intake will add is noise.

-Eli

SouthpawHD · August 19, 2016

Diablo is still working on a tune for the 2016, not out yet. I like them because there are multiple tunes and i can remove it when needed.

I seem to be having trouble finding any aftermarket items for this truck...lol

Still nothing from them. Very frustrating. I have an In Tune, just need the 6.0 tune from them. Argh!

Grumpy Tooch · August 19, 2016

Still nothing from them. Very frustrating. I have an In Tune, just need the 6.0 tune from them. Argh!

Good news, I did find canned tuner from Hypertech. I installed it, and it is comparable to Diablo, same adjustable features. I am happy with it so far. I use the 93 oct tune. Summit racing website.

Grumpy Tooch · August 19, 2016

^^ THIS ^^ The factory box and high flow A/C filter flows MORE than enough to support this engine. The only thing an intake will add is noise.

-Eli

Im sorry, thats just not true. It is proven it does increase performance while increasing air flow. The factory setup has restrictions to keep mpg down, and thus performance down as it has for generations. And I like the sound, if you dont..then dont buy it...lol

Cowpie · August 19, 2016

Well then, show us the substantial performance increases. Forget the 1-2 hp stuff, I mean some real increases to substantiate your claim. Not the marketing stuff from the folks who make the products either, but independent testing that validates your point. And that seems really stupid of an OEM, with EPA and CAFE breathing down their necks every day, to design their setup with restrictions designed to keep mpg down. That sounds like a ludicrous marketing gimmick from the folks who make the 3rd party stuff. It might have been more appropriate to say that the OEM's don't include some stuff that would improve fuel economy more than they do, because they still have to make a vehicle that doesn't price themselves out of the market.

But there is always room for improvement. The heavy truck OEM's have improved fuel economy on trucks by over 25% in the last 10 years, and done so while increases average hp and torque numbers. I have to give them credit for the R&D those folks have done. It might be a good thing if GM would give Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Volvo/Mack, and Paccar a call and get some tips on how to do the same thing. Already, the heavy truck engine guys are putting out stuff that will move 80,000 lb of truck and trailer, and get as good of mpg as many here state they get with a little 2500 6.0L pulling a camper.

It is something for a commercial truck with a engine pumping out 475 hp and 1850 lb of torque, 10-13 gears, riding on three times the tires (and larger ones at that), to break 9-10 mpg cross country pulling a 53 ft van trailer with a gross of 70,000 - 80,000 lb. And to think that the 2500 with a motor cycle engine in comparison to the big trucks can't do any better than that when pulling at near max gross or even half gross. If I was a engineer at GM, I would go hide.