GM's Diesel-Powered HD Pickups Get Ram-Air Hood Scoop to Keep Things Cool

You remember the hood scoop on that teased 2017 GMC Sierra 2500HD? The one General Motors really wanted you to notice?

Well, GM spilled the beans on the mystery inlet, explaining that all of its diesel-powered 2017 heavy-duty pickups will receive the scoop to force-feed air into the 6.6-liter Duramax engine.

To make the engine operate better under load, in hot temperatures and at higher operating speeds, GM needed the Duramax to breathe better, and stay cooler. The upgraded models receive a new air intake system that sees 60 percent of the engine’s air pass through the scoop, rather than the traditional intake inside the engine compartment.

The cool, dry air entering through the hood scoop provides a ram-air effect, though GM isn’t saying whether the official power output of the Duramax has changed. For now, they’re only admitting the engine will run better under most conditions.

“The 2017 Silverado HD was engineered to provide maximum utility for our customers in even the most extreme situations,” said Eric Stanczak, the Silverado HD’ chief engineer, in a statement. “While developing this all-new induction system, we considered our customers towing a maximum-weight trailer through the (11,000 foot elevation) Eisenhower Tunnel on a hot, rainy summer day.”

According to GM, extensive testing went into designing the system’s air/water separator, which prevents anything that isn’t air from entering the combustion chamber. You don’t want to have your pickup’s engine drown during as rainstorm — that’s something reserved for fans of old British cars.

The intake has a 180-degree turn that forces all water droplets — even mist — to form larger droplets that can then be removed via a special valve. When the hood scoop is blocked by snow or ice, an intake in a dry area of one of the front fenders handles all the duties.

[Image: General Motors]