Duramax Cold Air Intakes

The below products are popular cold air intake options for your Duramax. However, to see all intake options, please select your vehicle application from the top menu and navigate to the appropriate category.

The year 2001 was a great time to be on the hunt for a new truck, especially a diesel powered truck, and even better if you are a Bowtie supporter. This model year brought us the introduction of the Duramax power plant that continues its success to this day. Sure, changes have been made throughout the years from the LB7 for 2001-2004 model years, then the LLY, followed up by the LBZ and then the LMM for 2007.5-2010, proceeding to the LML through 2016, and now the L5P engine. But the basic package has only gotten better throughout the years, and definitely more powerful and more refined.

Even as good as these engines have gotten over the years, we get calls and e-mails on a daily basis from Duramax owners that are looking for improvements in power, fuel economy, and temperature reduction. This contact comes both from owners of new trucks looking to just make them even better, as well as those with older trucks that want to be able to keep up with their buddy's new truck. For anyone looking to improve upon any of these areas, our first question every time is whether the factory airbox has been upgraded. In most cases, upgrading the stock airbox is step number one.

You may be wondering why your engine needs so much air. Well, that answer is relatively simple, a diesel engine is essentially an air pump and in order to maximize its efficiency, it requires cool, DENSE air to create combustion at the right time. Without proper airflow, you end up having excessive fuel in the cylinders, causing heat, possibly even smoke. Remember learning about the Law of Conservation of Energy back in junior high that stated "energy can neither be created nor destroyed?" Well, here it is, being applied. If you can take better advantage of the diesel fuel's capability to transform into power energy through proper combustion, it creates efficiency. Otherwise, it will turn into a wasted byproduct, in this case heat energy.

Now, why wouldn't your Duramax have the best performing air intake right from the factory on your expensive truck? Well, that question has multiple answers. The biggest reason is that these trucks are built for the masses and the masses demand a quiet operating truck. The factory air intake features multiple baffles to quiet the incoming air charge so that you cannot hear any sound inside of the cabin. However, these baffles cause a great amount of air turbulence which slows the incoming air charge. This effect is very similar to hitting turbulence in an airplane. Your turbo wants smooth, tabulated air that it can then pass onto the engine. By delivering the turbo turbulence, it slows down the whole charge, disrupting efficiency. Nearly all aftermarket cold air intakes eliminate these baffles, which immediately speed up and smooth out air flow.

Next, the masses demand ease of use, and when we say "ease of use," we mean pulling into a dealership and having someone else service and repair their vehicle. The majority of repair facilities need to offer fast, relatively inexpensive regular service jobs. The fastest, least expensive option when it comes to servicing an air filter is to simply replace the original filter. By offering a flat paper filter, they can accomplish this. However, for those that don't mind servicing their own air filter, you can be served big gains by upgrading to an aftermarket cold air intake. The majority of cold air intakes feature cleanable, reusable filter media that can be reused for the life of the vehicle. Sure, this requires that you clean it, but you don't have to worry about purchasing new filters each time. But for those that don't want to hassle with cleaning them (and when we use the term "hassle," its used very loosely), S&B Filters has an option for a high flowing, cone style paper air filter that you merely replace. This is the best compromise for those that want superior airflow, but don't want to clean their filter. 

Okay, we've probably argued our point enough. Overall, upgrading with a quality cold air intake delivers more air to your engine. This air essentially turns into efficiency, both in terms of fuel economy, as well as power. Remember, the more of that existing fuel you burn, the better off you are on all fronts.

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