Hi there, I have a 2013 mini cooper S and I am planning to replace the OEM piping in the engine with aftermarket ones and was wondering which pipes I should replace. I have read that aftermarket piping has better airflow and I was wondering if any certain piping makes a bigger difference than others. I was thinking of doing just the hot and cold side intercooler pipes.

 

I have the forge noise maker delete, nice piece, might go forge myself if I start to replace those, just so everything matches. Looking at them all I would try to go with the one that is a one piece design on the hot side, I already have turbo muffler delete, so the 3 piece designs just look pointless to me.

 

Before investing in new piping, be sure you're keeping all the various hardware they connect, i.e., turbo upgrades may have larger diameter inlet --- not all upgrade hardware is "plug-n-play". I agree with Jason, the ICI pipe is a known performance increase, just a PITA to install. I've attached a link to the JMTC version, but there's others out there too. A few sources for piping are:
TurboHoses.com
SiliconeIntakes.com
ATP Turbo
TurboSmart.com
TurboKits.com

If you ever decide to go with 20+PSI boost, don't waste money on cheap hose clamps. They're a huge source of boost leaks. And ALWAYS install the clamps tight, straight, square, and normal to the hoses --- crooked clamps will loosen and leak.

Have fun with your upgrades ---

 

The turbo -> intercooler and intercooler -> charge pipe are really annoying to do with the core support attached to the car.

@oldbrokenwind What type hose clamps do you recommend for the turbo piping? T-bolt? Something else?

 

Yes, T-bolt. They've been holding up fine for my 30PSI boost.

 

I didn’t find it hard to do the turbo muffler delete, jack up driver side, and it’s 2 hose clamps and a t25, hardest part was snaking it out. Side note I did drill a hole in bumper so I could get the hose clamp, by intercooler. If I where to do it again, I would have down intercooler and piping at the same time, bumper off makes it way easier.