Are upgraded Charge and discharge pipes recommended
 

A lot of people (myself included) have eliminated the "muffler" between the turbo and the intercooler. There are a lot of different solutions - off the top of my head, Alta and Forge have one piece silicone hoses ($$), NM has a combination of silicone elbows and formed aluminum tubing ($$$), and Way Motor Works has a section of pipe that replaces the muffer ($). There are a few others too. Search for "turbo muffler delete."

If you have the N14 engine, search for "noisemaker delete", various solutions from $hundreds to a few bucks at the local home improvement store.

There are also aftermarket replacements for the pipe from the airbox to the turbo inlet, just bling in my opinion but it's your MINI, do what you like.

Yes we always remove the muffler in the discharge pipe going from the turbo to the intercooler. We use our WMW res delete pipe as it is the most cost effective and uses the stock rubber hose ends to you know it will keep fitting perfect.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-re...7-r58-r59.html

And yes if you have an N14 removing the noise maker is the other one that will make a nice difference as the factory noise maker bleeds off some boost.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-no...5-r56-r57.html

How much of a difference does it really make?

They are small differences but you can tell for sure when you do both. The noise maker delete I would say is the bigger of the two. But they are so cost effective and just science of airflow they for sure don't hurt.
We get reports from customers all the time that they love them right after install.

I know, old post... is the tube AFTER the intercooler good w adding more boost, I don’t see any replacement for that?

And does a noisemaker delete pipe get rid of that whole corner crazy connection piece?

Thanks

on the cold side of the intercooler you only need the noise maker delete as that is what will make the difference.
It removes the 1inch pipe and diaphram that connects to the firewall.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...0b2da53815.jpg