CTS Turbo Inlet Pipe: Review and Install

That o ring you are supposed to move to the new TIP so I would order a new one.

jb99875 said:

I wish I had an IS38 waiting for me lol

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If I could do it over I'd skip IS38. It makes a nicer power band though. You basically trade low end power (IS20) for top end (IS38) but over all it feels nearly the same in power to the IS20.

SugarMouth said:

If I could do it over I'd skip IS38. It makes a nicer power band though. You basically trade low end power (IS20) for top end (IS38) but over all it feels nearly the same in power to the IS20.

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Only about 300rpm difference in spool and 30+whp/wtq from 4500rpm up. if it feels the same, UMs tune is too tame

0bLiViOuS said:

Only about 300rpm difference in spool and 30+whp/wtq from 4500rpm up. if it feels the same, UMs tune is too tame

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But look under 4500rpm, you are trading low end for top end. IS20 vs IS38 both Stage 1. UM limits turbine speed as they have seen too many IS38s fail above a certain speed. My IS38 was out of balance brand new out of the box and I had it corrected so I could see why it would be a good idea to play it safe for the masses.

0bLiViOuS said:

That o ring you are supposed to move to the new TIP so I would order a new one.

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Yeah, I did that one. The O ring I dropped was on the mounting screw between the turbo mount hole and the actual inlet.

SugarMouth said:

But look under 4500rpm, you are trading low end for top end. IS20 vs IS38 both Stage 1. UM limits turbine speed as they have seen too many IS38s fail above a certain speed. My IS38 was out of balance brand new out of the box and I had it corrected so I could see why it would be a good idea to play it safe for the masses.

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Looks like UMs curve is a lot different than the ED tune. I've got shots from a stage 2 HT versus IS38 (done in high temps) and the power holds much better on the ED tune. There's about a 500rpm difference in spool where the IS20 makes about 25whp/tq more but everything from 4k up make 20-50wtq more. Plus, in 1st, you'd never feel the difference in spool. Every other gear you'll be ~4k+ rpm and making more power

Installed the CTS TIP a few days ago and here some thoughts:

- Install was easy. Kinda. I was dreading the PCV, but with a small flathead screwdriver, I wiggled it off pretty easily. I have the new version without the squeeze release btw. The hard part that nobody mentioned was putting the stock accordion hose onto the new TIP. The opening of the TIP is just a tiny bit smaller than the stock accordion hose. I had to finagle it over the lip of the TIP and shove it all the way down so that the hose clamp would hold it in place. This part took me the longest. I suppose it's designed to work with the OEM hose and CTS Turbo's intake hose, but it's not an easy fit on the OEM.

- The new TIP is registering on the butt dyno. I don't know that it actually adds any power, but it sure pulls harder now. Turbo spool feels quicker and throttle response is better. The throttle response on Sport mode is especially quick compared to the OEM TIP.

- The motor sounds meaner, but isn't a lot louder. I can hear the OEM intake pulling in air now whereas I couldn't before. I also have an AFE dryflow filter and the snowguard removed.

All in all, this was a very easy and inexpensive mod which seems to be yielding some decent results.

I noticed the PCV inlet tapers down a lot on this CTS TIP. It's even smaller than the oem unit. I wonder if this would cause any issues down the line..? Has anyone noticed any extra oil consumption after the install?

What about the Unitronic version?

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trash, anything that CTS Turbo produces is garbage

snowmon said:

trash, anything that CTS Turbo produces is garbage

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It's a metal pipe. They actually were the "originator" of this part for the MQBs that everyone copied. I have it. It works. It was $65 on sale.

tigeo said:

It's a metal pipe. They actually were the "originator" of this part for the MQBs that everyone copied. I have it. It works. It was $65 on sale.

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I'm glad it works for you but the problem with their product is not with the material they use
It's their fitment that's the problem, it's always a hit or miss with their stuff
You reach out to them for fitment issues and their replies always have been "It works for me, you don't know how to install it"