I've produced this write up to answer some of the myths surrounding TIP's for the 1.8T. Please note the install section is provided as-is and I take no responsibility for any problems you may have as a result of following it. Like me, if you have any doubts about fitting the Forge TIP yourself, please seek the advice of a professional. In this case I chose Awesome GTI to fit the part.

Enough with the disclaimer - lets crack on.

The Turbo Inlet Pipe (or TIP as it’s known on the scene) is what connects the air box to the Turbo Inlet (yes, you guessed it, it's a pipe!). The standard stock pipe is a two piece item. The upper section is made of rubber, with ribbed sections to provide flex during engine movement. The lower section is metal, and is 'L' shaped (also called elbow due to its shape) providing a bend around some of the coolant and other piping. It's this bend that produces the biggest problem with the stock TIP and is the main reason why air intake can be so restrictive. Performance wise, the stock TIP can shift around 150 - 160 g/s (Air flow measured in grams per second). This is based on remapped figures; in standard guise expect that figure to around 130 g/s.

There are a few aftermarket solutions available to get around the issue of the standard TIP being restrictive. Early on in the 1.8T's life some companies chose to replace just the 'L' shaped section of the TIP, using a larger bore inlet. Of course space was restricted so the inlet could never be large enough. Plus with the pipe being made of metal it did complicate things further.

The other main alternative is Silicon piping. This is better suited all round, due mainly to being flexible and heat resistant. It can also have a larger bore and flow capacity due to thinner wall construction and flexibility. All in all it's the obvious choice, really!

With this in mind I chose to go for Silicon based TIP. There were a few different variations around, but I chose to go for the Forge Motorsport TIP due to its superior construction and ready availability.

Install.
The following is a brief install. It shouldn't be used as a defacto guide. If in doubt seek the help of a pro....

Car being prep'd:

Old TIP removal:

With the stock TIP removed a placed beside the Forge item, we can see the difference in neck size:

Forge TIP nearly installed - just the bracket bolt to install. This proved to be the most difficult part to screw back in! :

All done:

More images can be seen here

Graphs.
To show the comparison between the two TIP's, I took a handy bit of advice from Doug @ MRC Tuning. By using VAG COM to log block 003 to record Air Flow, I could measure both TIP's and compare differences. It did prove difficult to try the various runs using different gears, and after playing a little I settled on 5th gear as it did produce a longer, more readable, curve for plotting. The following are the results I found.

Stock TIP - 5th Gear run (duration around 15 seconds)

Performance wise, the stock TIP is peaking at around 159 g/s. The graph above shows the peak at around 5100 RPM. This is to be expected and was consistent over numerous runs.

Now let’s look at the graph for the Forge TIP.

Forge Motorport TIP - 5th Gear run (duration around 14 seconds)

We're now seeing an increased, smoother, flow rate, that now peaks at approx 179.5 g/s, much higher in the rev range. This has been verified over a couple of runs. Also spool up and power delivery are noticeably improved. Result!

Conclusion.
Well the figures speak for themselves. Apart from the problem of hesitation I have during early acceleration, peak air flow through the uprated Forge TIP is up by around 18-20 g/s or, an average of 10-15%  over the stock TIP. This is certainly felt during acceleration, with top end performance certainly being improved. Delivery even feels smoother, which is echoed in the graph above. It's amazing just how much difference changing the restrictive TIP can make. I would certainly recommend this to all 1.8T owners, both stock and remapped, as it will provide a noticeable gain.

Links and acknowledgements.
Massive thanks to Forge Motorsport for their speedy service in getting their TIP to me. Top service as usual! Also massive thanks to Awesome GTI, in particular, Mark and John, for fitting the TIP and allowing me to document the install - hope I didn't get in the way too much.

www.forgemotorsport.co.uk
www.awesome-gti.co.uk
www.mrctuning.co.uk