Ford 6.7L Power Stroke Intake Guide – Best 6.7L Intakes

Intake upgrades are a great simple mod to free up power, sounds, and efficiency on the 6.7L Power Stroke engine. Intakes are commonly known as cold air intakes or performance intakes. However, with so many options to choose from it can be overwhelming. Worry not! In this guide, we will discuss the benefits of 6.7L Power Stroke cold air intakes and list a few of the top options.

What is a Cold Air Intake?

Cold air intake is often a generic term to simply describe a performance intake. Technically, a cold air intake should pull air from outside the engine bay at a lower point to actually get colder air. Colder air is of course more dense so that’s the idea behind a true cold air intake. However, colder air at the intake isn’t significant on a turbo diesel, like the Ford 6.7 Power Stroke.

This is because the air runs through an incredibly hot turbo where the air subsequently cools through the 6.7L Power Stroke’s intercooler. Hotter air at the intake has minimal impact on the intercoolers ability to cool the air. The goal of an upgraded intake on the 6.7L Powerstroke is to simply flow a greater volume of air.

Point is – all intakes for the 6.7L engine are similar despite the many different names you may see. Whether it be an open intake, cold air intake, or performance intake they all accomplish the same goal. There is, however one notable difference worth mentioning – open vs closed intakes. We’ll touch on this in a moment.

6.7L Power Stroke Upgraded Intake Benefits

A few benefits of running a cold air performance intake on the Ford 6.7L Power Stroke include:

• Performance gains
• Fuel efficiency
• Easy to install & service
• Sounds

Performance benefits are likely the main reason most look to upgrade their 6.7 intake. However, a tune should be run alongside the intake for the best results. Exact power gains depend on the specific year 6.7L Power Stroke in question. However, most should expect cold air intake horsepower gains around 5-10hp. Torque is where the real gains are made as the 6.7L engine can pick up about 20-30 torque. Performance intakes can also help the turbo spool a little faster.

Some also claim they see improvements to fuel economy with an upgraded intake on the 6.7L Power Stroke. It’s possible but don’t expect better MPG if you’re using the new-found power. Intake upgrades are also easy to install on the 6.7L engine. Furthermore, most use oiled filters that are easy to clean and service. Lastly, intakes offer improved sounds on the Ford 6.7L Powerstroke. More on this next.

Open vs Closed Intakes

We like to categorize 6.7 intakes as open or closed. An open intake is as it sounds – it’s open to the engine bay. A closed intake, on the other hand, has a box that shelters the actual air filter from the engine bay. As such, if you measure intake temperatures at the filter an open system will pull in warmer air. It’s a bad idea on a naturally aspirated engine. However, again, on a turbo engine this has minimal impact on the intercoolers ability to cool the air.

An open intake will generally flow a little better since there is no box restricting airflow. However, both systems are plenty efficient on the 6.7L Power Stroke. The biggest difference is sound. An airbox will muffle some of the sounds. Open intakes are typically louder and will allow you to hear more induction and turbo spool sounds. We run open intakes on several of our turbo engines and prefer the open intake design. Each to their own. Otherwise, open and closed intakes both offer similar benefits on the 6.7L engine.

Best 6.7 Power Stroke Intake Upgrades

Well, that’s really all there is to intakes. They’re pretty simple bolt-on mods that are easy to install and offer solid benefits for a reasonable price. That said, let’s move onto a few of the best cold air performance intakes for the 6.7 Power Stroke. Please note – this is far from an exhaustive list. There are tons of excellent options on the market. We’re simply listing a few of the 6.7L intake options we believe offer the best balance of price, quality, and performance.

**The 2011-2016, 2017-2019, and 2020+ 6.7L engines use slightly different aftermarket intakes. We’ll link to the various intakes for each year. If you’re looking to purchase an intake please verify fitment.

1) PowerStroke 6.7 S&B Filters Cold Air Intake

S&B Filters is among the most popular options for 6.7L intake solutions. We run S&B Filters products on a few of our cars and always have excellent results. They offer a great selection of intake systems for all years of the 6.7L Power Stroke. Choose between a closed or open intake system. S&B also offers cleanable or dry filters for the 6.7L Power Stroke. All options will function very similarly. We recommend sticking with the cleanable filters, though.

Again, those who want more sounds should check out the S&B open intake systems. They will offer slightly better flow along with improved sounds. Whatever your choice it’s really hard to go wrong with S&B intakes on the Ford 6.7L turbodiesel. S&B is a well known company with proven products for fair prices.

Price: $329.00

Buy Here: 2011-2016 6.7 PowerStroke S&B Intake

2017-2019 6.7L S&B Cold Air Intake

2020+ 6.7L Power Stroke S&B Intake

2) 6.7L Powerstroke GDP Tuning 4″ Open Intake

We’re not quite as familiar with GDP Tuning products as we are with S&B Filters. However, the price of the GDP Tuning 6.7L performance intake system is tempting. At $289.99 it’s one of the better priced intakes we’ve come across for the 6.7 Power Stroke. It’s only available as a 4″ open intake, but the large design is sure to flow very well. You can also choose between dry or cleanable oil filters, depending on your preference.

GDP Tuning’s intake is a very simple design, which we like. Again, we don’t know too much about them as a company. Nonetheless, it’s an excellent option that functions well for a great price. Their intake system utilizes an S&B filter, too. The only drawback is the system isn’t yet available for 2020+ Power Stroke engines.

Price: $289.99

Buy Here: 11-16 GDP Tuning 4″ Intake for 6.7L PowerStroke

2017-2019 Ford 6.7L GDP Tuning 4″ Open Intake System

3) 6.7 PowerStroke K&N 63 Series Intake System

We’ll finish this off with a product from another well-known brand. Anyone whos been around cars and trucks has likely heard of K&N before. It’s a great option for upgraded performance intakes on any 6.7L Power Stroke. The prices are slightly higher than the other two options. However, it’s expected as you’re paying a bit extra for the brand when it comes to K&N.

These intake systems are half open. The K&N intake system uses a box that’s partially open, but at least shields a portion of the filter from the engine bay. Filters are also cleanable and reusable. If you want a 6.7L Power Stroke intake from a highly respected brand then look no further than these K&N options.

Price: $346.99 – $379.99

Buy Here: 2011-2016 6.7L K&N Intake Upgrade

2017-2019 PowerStroke 6.7L K&N Intake System

PowerStroke 6.7L Intake Summary

Performance cold air intakes are an excellent mod for any Ford 6.7L turbodiesel engine. If you’re looking for a bit of additional power an intake upgrade should definitely be towards the top of the list. 6.7L Power Stroke cold air intakes offer power gains of roughly 5-10 horsepower and 20-30 torque. Not too bad. However, it’s even better when you consider the other benefits. Performance intakes may offer quicker turbo spool, improved fuel economy, and awesome sounds.

We prefer the open intake design for its simple layout and great sounds. However, most intake options will offer similar benefits for the Power Stroke 6.7L. S&B Filters, GDP Tuning, and K&N all offer some solid intake systems for fair prices. We believe they’re among the best 6.7L Power Stroke intakes. However, tons of great options exist and it’s hard to go wrong with most options from proven companies.

What intake are you running or considering? Drop a comment and let us know!