FLASHBACK TO PROJECT LOOKS. MUSCLE. LONGEVITY
IMPROVING A 2012 LML DURAMAX
This Silverado 2500HD project was introduced in the March issue of Diesel World, so if you haven’t seen it, go snag a copy and get fully up to speed. You’ve missed just Part One of the build and the backstory behind what it’s about, so we’ll quickly recap. I had been driving a 2002 LB7 Duramax for almost 6 years, used it for what most owners used their trucks for it was my daily driver, hauled kids to pre-school and dragged our family fifth wheel all over the mountains of Utah and Southeast Idaho camping. In those 6-years it turned from a basically stock capable pickup into a fully built 750hp twin turbo street stomper that could still do all the things I needed to on a day to day basis. It was a lot of fun to build and even more fun to drive. Unfortunately, the love affair was ending and newer technology, quieter engines, and comfier leather seats had been calling my name and it was time to search for a truck to replace it and start over with.
After selling that built LB7 and searching used car lots and classified ads, this fully loaded 2012 LML Duramax caught my eye. For the first part of the build-up I had to do something about the stock horsepower level, as jumping out of 750hp and into 350hp was not only a hit to my pride, but a bore to the driving experience. The LML engine used in 2011-2016 GM trucks makes respectable power in stock form and is more than capable of towing just about anything you want, but the aftermarket can always find a bit more on tap with a few tweaks. The newest Jammer Stage 2 kits from Edge Products offer a cold air intake, high flow stainless steel exhaust system and their Evolution
CTS2 monitor and tuning device that all work together to produce efficient, usable, CARB and emissions friendly horsepower. The kit specific to this truck was all very easy to install and literally took less than an hour to do it all. With the improvements to airflow being fed to the engine, the modifications to the ECM programming and better flowing tailpipe system this truck gained 127hp and over 200lb-ft of torque. Now we won’t be daily driving the truck in that 500hp tune until we do a few more supporting mods like a fuel lift pump, but even in the Towing program the truck still produced over 440 rear-wheel horsepower and helped bump the mileage up to a solid 17-18mpg average.
DRP 3” Hot Side Pipe
To take the airflow side of things one step further, the factory driver side intercooler pipe on 2011-2016 trucks uses a somewhat restrictive 2.5” two piece tube to connect the turbo outlet to the intercooler inlet, where that 2.5” pipe expands out to meet the 3” inlet of the charge air cooler. It seems like simple logic in the way air flows through something, that a large diameter could move more volume with less restriction. To help remedy this, Deviant Race Parts (DRP) of Hayden, ID developed a full 3” high flow hot side intercooler pipe that easily replaces the stock unit. By removing the front driver side inner fender well liner, you get pretty easy access to the charge air pipe and can disconnect it from the intercooler and turbocharger and fish it up and out of the engine bay from above. The DRP piece not only uses a large diameter pipe to improve airflow to the intercooler, but they’ve gone to great lengths to ensure easy airflow