An L5P is a powerful engine, and often its owners want to make them sound louder. With its 445 horsepower and 910 feet of torque, a growling powerful sound makes the truck even more formidable and powerful. High emission standard and systems that comes with it make it harder to make the L5P sound louder. But there are ways how to make L5P louder without deleting the DPF and EGR.
There are three most common ways to make the L5P louder, proven over the years. You can upgrade the exhaust system, replace the turbocharger, or install a cold air intake. Do not think about deleting the DPF. Removing the DPF is, for a start, forbidden. Without it, your car will not pass the emission tests, and you will be fined.
There are common myths about the DPF, like a large increase in horsepower or better fuel economy. All these are just stories, myths. In every case, you need to keep DPF well-maintained. It will clean up much of the bad exhaust particles from the exhaust air. For other ways to improve the exhaust sound of your L5P, stay with us.
Do You Need To Delete L5P DPF?
You shouldn’t delete the DPF. There are even options to remove the catalytic converter and replace it with a piece of exhaust piping. That is also a very bad idea. Messing with any parts of the emission reduction systems won’t end well. You will have a truck that will not pass the emission tests, and you can get fined. The dealers will not have anything to do with your truck, and the warranty will be off.
Why Should You Avoid Deleting Your L5P?
There are a number of reasons to avoid deleting the DPF, and you can take your pick. There are legal problems, and most of the myths about improved performance are debunked.
Resale Value
If you remove the DPF and decide to sell the truck, you will have to settle for a lower price. A DPF is an important and expensive system. Most replacement Duramax DPFs cost between $1,000 and $2,500.
DPF Does Not Restrict Horsepower
You can frequently read that removing DPF will add 100+ horsepower. In reality, there is no way to get that much power. Yes, the DPF must pass through the regeneration cycles to clean the filter. But, it is not blocking any power to the engine. You won’t get any real horsepower benefits and power increases from removing the DPF.
Delete Your DPF Will Not Give You Better Fuel Economy
You can read from different sources that removing the DPF will bring a real, noticeable increase in fuel economy. In reality, the improvement is very little and hardly noticeable. If we want to talk about improving the fuel economy, the removal of EGR brings much better results. The exhaust gases will move more freely, allowing the engine to breathe easier. But the DPF delete doesn’t bring anything remarkable to the table.
Reliable Emissions Equipment Is More Reliable Now
When most emission systems were introduced, they had a lot of problems. Their maintenance was very expensive, and they didn’t last very long. Now, these systems are much better and easier, and cheaper to maintain.
Legal Implications
On top of all the performance myths, there are more practical reasons, like legal problems. You may lose the warranty on the truck. The truck won’t pass the emission test. If you get pulled over by the police, you can get fined. Without the DPF you are making an illegal truck. If the truck is not legal, it is an undrivable truck.
Methods On How to Make L5P Louder without Deleting
Install a Cold Air Intake
When you install the cold air intake, the engine gets cooler at a faster rate. As a bonus feature, it will sound a lot better and louder.
The engine air filter is moved outside of the engine compartment and usually closer to the ground. That way it can pull in more cooler air into the engine. Additional cool air will cool the engine and allow it to burn more fuel. More burnt fuel results in more power and noise.
Check Out L5P Duramax S&B Cold Air Intake How-to Install:
Replace the Turbocharger
If you replace the turbocharger, you will not directly make your truck sound louder. But you will increase the overall horsepower and torque values. That will allow your custom-tuning exhaust to sound better. There are methods that can be combined with a more powerful turbocharger to make the truck sound louder.
Upgrade the Exhaust System
When you upgrade the stock exhaust, you increase the power of the engine and improve the sound. A high-performance muffler exhaust system will provide better exhaust gas flow. That will increase engine performance and make the car sound more aggressive. It will not impact truck factory emissions and will even prolong engine longevity.
The most popular exhaust options cost between $75 and $100, but the price can rise to more than $300.Before you replace a factory exhaust with a louder exhaust, check your state’s laws. Some states have strict regulations about engine sound noise levels.
FAQs
What is a Duramax L5P DPF System?
The DPF on an L5P works the same as on any other diesel engine. Its goal is to catch dirty diesel-polluting particles. It is located in the exhaust system. The filter absorbs these particles and burns them in the regeneration process.
When the filter gets clogged, it will show a notification on the dashboard. Then you need to conduct the regeneration. To do so, you need to drive constantly for a certain period in highway conditions. That way, the filter is heated and it burns off all the stored bad particles.
What is the lifespan of an L5P?
An L5P is maybe the best Duramax engine. It can easily pass the 350.000 miles mark. There are drivers with more than 500.000 miles on their clock.
What is Removed by an L5P DPF Delete Kit?
When you decide to delete the DPF you will not only delete the DPF. The DPF is the last emission system located on the down-pipe. Before DPF comes the diesel oxidation catalytic (DOC), selective cat reduction (SCR), and then the DPF.
You cannot delete just the DPF, and you will need to delete all these systems. You will not need the diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) because it works with the SCR.
The only emission system that you will need to remove separately is the EGR.
Final Considerations
A lot of truck owners are often trying to find a way to make their trucks sound more aggressive. They add more power and torque, but without a new exhaust system, they cannot get that aggressive exhaust note. But, with not-so-new emission standards, all these upgrades can be hard to combine and still have a legal truck.
These systems can limit your tuning potential but do not think about removing them. You will not be able to pass the emission test and you will get a fine. There are ways like raising the engine’s overall power and combining that with the larger exhaust. That way, you will get more power and sound, and the vehicle exhaust emission system will work properly.
