Best 2025 RAM 1500 Hurricane Cold Air Intakes Guide

RAM finally killed the 5.7L HEMI in the standard 1500, and the new 3.0L Hurricane Twin Turbo I6 is the headline replacement — 420 hp on the Standard Output and 540 hp on the High Output. The good news for owners: the Hurricane responds well to a quality cold air intake, and after months of waiting, the major aftermarket players have finally released bolt-in kits. We sell every intake currently shipping for the 2025 RAM 1500 Hurricane out of our Tampa shop, so we put together this buyer's guide to help you pick the right one for your truck and budget.

Why the 2025 RAM 1500 Hurricane Needs an Aftermarket Intake

The 3.0L Hurricane is one of the most aggressive forced-induction engines RAM has ever shipped in the 1500. The Standard Output produces 420 hp at 5,200 rpm and 469 lb-ft at 3,500 rpm with twin turbos peaking at 22.4 psi of boost. Step up to the High Output and you get 540 hp at 5,700 rpm and 521 lb-ft of torque with peak boost climbing to 26 psi. That is more horsepower than the 6.4L SRT HEMI that previously sat at the top of the lineup — and it does it on regular octane in the SO trim.

Because the Hurricane is twin-turbocharged, it is hungry for air. The factory air box and paper filter are designed to meet noise and emissions targets at the lowest possible cost, which means the stock setup is the easiest place to find free horsepower. A well-engineered cold air intake on the Hurricane delivers four measurable benefits: faster turbo spool from the larger filter and smoother tube path, lower intake air temperatures fed by the sealed air box, sharper throttle response from reduced restriction, and a deeper turbo whoosh under boost that reminds you the truck is no longer a HEMI.

Best Cold Air Intakes for 2025 RAM 1500 3.0L Hurricane: Compared

We narrowed the field to the four kits that are actually shipping today and have proven fitment on the Hurricane platform. The K&N NextGen and aFe Momentum GT lines fit every standard 2025 RAM 1500 trim with the 3.0L SO or HO Hurricane — Big Horn, Laramie, Limited, Limited Longhorn, Lone Star, Rebel, Tradesman, and Tungsten. The Track Series Carbon Fiber kit is purpose-built for the 540 hp 2025 RAM 1500 RHO and uses dedicated tubing geometry tailored to the RHO's engine bay.

The K&N NextGen is the only intake on the market right now that ships with documented dyno results on the Hurricane platform: 41.13 horsepower and 67.85 lb-ft of torque measured at the wheels with no tune required. The intake increases airflow volume by 32.5% over the factory box. The hardware itself is interesting — instead of the typical aluminum tube, K&N uses a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) rotationally molded tube that resists heat soak better than bare metal and looks closer to OE under the hood.

The conical High-Flow LIFETIME air filter is K&N's signature piece — eight layers of pleated, oiled cotton gauze that captures particulates without the airflow penalty of paper. Service interval under normal highway driving is 100,000 miles between cleanings, and when the time comes you wash and re-oil it with K&N's recharger kit instead of throwing it out. Install time is under 60 minutes with basic hand tools.

aFe Power's Momentum GT is the engineering counterpoint to K&N. Where K&N optimizes for warranty paperwork and a single tested gain figure, aFe optimizes for raw filter surface area. The Pro 5R kit uses an 8-inch tall, 360-degree radial-flow filter with a 5.5-inch flange — the largest filter that physically fits in the Hurricane's engine bay. Five layers of progressively finer cotton gauze are pre-oiled at the factory with aFe's blue oil and provide enormous dust-holding capacity for street and track use.

The one-piece sealed housing is constructed from 18-gauge cross-linked polyethylene, finished in matte black, and uses the factory air box mounting points so installation requires no drilling. aFe owners typically report a noticeably more aggressive turbo spool sound versus the K&N — not louder under cruise, but more pronounced when the boost gauge climbs. If you plan to track the truck or care about peak airflow over filter service interval, this is the kit to buy.

The Pro Dry S version of the Momentum GT swaps the oiled cotton media for aFe's proprietary three-layer synthetic dry filter. The trade-off is real: dry synthetic media holds slightly less dust than five-layer oiled cotton, but you never have to re-oil it. Cleaning is a quick blow-out with low-pressure shop air or a rinse with mild detergent, then air-dry and reinstall. There is also zero risk of contaminating the MAF sensor with stray oil — a real concern for owners who tend to over-saturate cotton filters during a recharge.

If you spend most of your time in dusty environments (job sites, dirt roads, agricultural use) or simply hate the idea of touching filter oil, the Pro Dry S is the better Momentum GT variant for your driving. The hardware is otherwise identical to the Pro 5R kit.

The 540 hp 2025 RAM 1500 RHO has a different engine bay layout than the standard SO/HO trucks — tighter clearances, different factory ducting, and a unique sealing trim. The aFe Track Series is purpose-built for that bay. The intake tube is twill weave carbon fiber finished in a matte coating, which complements the factory carbon trim under the RHO's hood and stays cooler than aluminum during back-to-back hard pulls.

The air filter housing is custom-molded cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) for superior heat resistance, and aFe transfers the factory seal trim onto the new housing for a clean OE-style finish. Even the hardware is upgraded — corrosion-resistant black stainless clamps with a matte tactical coating that aFe describes as similar to high-end firearm finishes. If you ordered an RHO and want an intake that looks like it left the factory that way, this is the only option that fits properly.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Want a Color-Coordinated Build? Limited Edition Momentum GT

aFe also offers the Momentum GT for the 2025 RAM 1500 Hurricane in two limited-run color editions: the Red Edition with Pro DRY S filter and the Orange Edition with black Pro 5R filter. Both kits have identical airflow specs and fitment to the standard Momentum GT — the difference is a powder-coated air box in red or orange to coordinate with your truck's exterior color or interior accent stitching. Pricing runs about $70 over the base Momentum GT. These are Minimum Order Quantity items, so call our Tampa shop at NLP Performance for current availability if you want one.

Installation: What to Expect

All four kits use the factory air box mounting points and require no drilling, cutting, or wiring modifications. You will need a 10mm socket, an 8mm socket, a flat-head screwdriver, and a torque wrench if you want to be precise about the clamp specs. Expect about an hour for the K&N or standard Momentum GT, slightly longer for the RHO Track Series because the carbon fiber tube has a tighter installation path.

The general install sequence is the same across brands: disconnect the negative battery terminal, unclip the MAF sensor wiring, loosen the clamp on the throttle body intake tube, lift the factory air box and tube assembly out as a unit, transfer the MAF sensor to the new aFe or K&N tube, drop the new air box into the factory location, snug the throttle body clamp, reconnect the MAF, and reconnect the battery. Drive 50-100 miles before evaluating performance — the truck's adaptive learning will adjust to the new airflow signature within the first few drive cycles.

Should You Add a Tune?

The honest answer for a turbocharged engine like the Hurricane is: probably yes, eventually. None of these intakes require a tune to be safe — the factory ECU will adapt within its calibration limits and you will pick up real but modest gains on its own. However, because the Hurricane runs an air-to-water intercooler, some enthusiasts on RamForum and 5thGenRams point out that any cold air entering the system gets recompressed by the turbos and re-cooled by the intercooler, which limits how much benefit a standalone intake can deliver versus stock.

The bigger gains arrive when you pair the intake with a tuner like a DiabloSport inTune i3 or HP Tuners VCM Suite. Pairing a quality intake with a level-3 91-octane tune on the SO Hurricane has produced gains of 60+ rear-wheel horsepower and 70+ lb-ft over stock in shop testing — effectively giving an SO truck near-HO output without the warranty implications of swapping engines. Just keep in mind that any ECU tune voids the powertrain warranty under Mopar's official policy.