Easy to take out makes it sound alot better..possibly a little more airflow if you look when you take it out the ring covers about a half inch all the way around the turbo but mostly for sound:c:

How hard is it to gut the stock intake system on an 2007 5.9? I don't want to mess up any sensors or anything, but would love to make my turbo scream.

I would personally leave that alone and grab an aftermarket. Ive taken a look at mine and thought about using a circle bit to gut it but I dont want to chance cutting into the sides. It looks very time consuming as well.

hole saw?
 

what would you need a hole saw for. i gutted my intake elbow very easily with a screwdriver and a pair of pliars. and all it took to get the silencer ring out (other than a nutdriver for the hose clamps on the intake) is a little flathead screwdriver and a pair of needlenose. if you take the whole intake assembly apart at each junction then you can slide the baffles right out. I actually messed up and popped the flange loose on one end but used red glue to put it back together and just to be safe sealed it on the outside with silicone. all in all took less than 45 min.

I took one out in a 99 and drove it 1300 miles on a trip it was the most annoying thing leave it in :argh:

it would be a good thing to drown out the old woman if shes in a mood while on a trip, I'd rather listen to a constant whistle than to listen to my GF bitch. :scare2:

Oh and it couldn't of been worse than this guys whistle.