TIP Ranking Round 3

For round 3 there is quite a collection of Turbocharger Inlet Pipes on hand:

Collection of Mk7 GTI Turbocharger Inlet Pipes
Collection of Mk7 GTI Turbocharger Inlet Pipes

Setup:

Round 3 entails a significant departure from round 1 and round 2 in the apparatus used to attach the turbocharger inlet as described on this page.  To briefly recap, the silicone hose that was used to attach the inlet elbows to the flow bench has been replaced by an adapter that more closely matches the inlet to the IS20 and IS38 compressor housings.

The revised adapter is shown below with the APR turbo inlet pipe:

APR Turbo Inlet Pipe with new Adapter
APR Turbo Inlet Pipe with new Adapter

Products:

For round three the following list of products are being compared.  To the right of the brand name are the inlet and outlet dimensions for each of these inlet elbows:

Brand  Inlet / Outlet (mm)

  • APR 62.7 / 48.7
  • BMS 66.2 / 53.9
  • CTS 66.4 / 50.4
  • Induct 65.7 / 50.4
  • Leyo 65.6 / 53.8
  • MST 72.4 / 48.1
  • Neuspeed 64.5 / 51.0
  • Stock 61.9 / 47.6

Not being tested today, but previously tested was a Unitronic TIP:

  • Unitronic 64.7 / 48.7

Testing:

With the exception of the new flow bench adapter this test is the same as tests from rounds 1 and 2.  A calibration is performed prior to testing to check for proper reading from the flow bench.

Each of the turbocharger inlet elbows was tested at 28″ of H20 and the resulting airflow value in CFM was recorded.

Leyo Turbo Inlet Pipe being Flow Tested
Leyo Turbo Inlet Pipe being Flow Tested

The results for all of the products tested today are shown in the chart below:

Mk7 GTI Turbo Inlet Pipe Airflow Comparison
Mk7 GTI Turbo Inlet Pipe Airflow Comparison

Note: The MST inlet elbow must use an MST inlet hose, which was supplied for this test.  The inlet side of the elbow is too large to work with the stock GTI accordion hose.

Conclusions:

Revising the adapter significantly changed the results produced by this test as compared to rounds 1 and 2.  The airflow through the elbows that had been previously tested (Stock, APR, BMS, MST) all decreased.  In the cases of the previous highest flowing BMS and MST elbows the decrease in maximum airflow with the revised adapter was around seventeen to eighteen percent.

The results across all of the TIPs using the compressor simulating throat adapter are much more closely grouped than what was recorded with the silicone hose adapter.  In general all of the aftermarket TIP products produced gains of seven to nine percent.  The exceptions were the APR TIP which produced an approximate 4% gain, and the MST TIP+Hose combination that produced a 14% gain.

The Unitronic inlet elbow was not available for this test.

Unitronic Turbocharger Inlet Pipe Flow Test
Unitronic Turbocharger Inlet Pipe Flow Test

Based upon the trends of the products previously tested it is estimated that the Unitronic elbow would have performed comparably with the products reaching 388-390 CFM.

Below is a look at the maximum airflow values versus the dimensions of the inlet elbows:

Mk7 GTI Turbo Inlet Pipe Outlet vs Airflow
Mk7 GTI Turbo Inlet Pipe Outlet Diameter vs Airflow
Mk7 GTI Turbo Inlet Pipe Inlet vs Airflow
Mk7 GTI Turbo Inlet Pipe Inlet Diameter vs Airflow

There is a weak trend toward the larger dimensions having a higher airflow, but there is a point beyond which returns diminish substantially.

Overall the differences in maximum airflow at the test point are minimal between most of the aftermarket turbo inlet pipes.

Recognition:

Contributions by GolfMk7 forum members GolfRRRR and Crackness made possible the testing of the Unitronic and CTS inlet elbows.

Manufacturers loaning products for this testing were:

Thanks go to all for their help with this Turbocharger Inlet Pipe test and evaluation.

6 thoughts on “TIP Ranking Round 3”

  1. excellent review of turbo inlet pipes 🙂

    wonder the cost of the turbo inlet pipe versus the benefit of maximum airflow gains

    1. I started to put together a chart of airflow versus cost, but then decided that with the price subject to change with sales and whatnot that I’d skip that. Thanks for the feedback of the test.

  2. Great job again on testing.
    Very interesting.

    Would be curious to know how those CFM differences converts in HP difference vs stock setup. Hard to tell I guess.

    Do you plan to do some dyno test of TIP?

    1. I don’t plan on testing on the dyno. I saw some dyno results that Unitronic gathered and it was just a couple of HP peak. I don’t think I would get much different results. Maybe with one of the larger turbochargers that can sustain boost in the high 20’s at upper engine speeds that would show more of a gain.

  3. Thank you for all the work and effort you’ve put into this research. I like many others have used this to help make our own decisions as to what we use for our cars. I personally went with MTS, kept the stock box but moded it with great removal, cut outs, block off plate, and high flow filter. Would love to get test results on it but dont have access to the equipment.

    Great work!

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