I accept no responsibility for any accident/injury/running issues or increases in coolness that may result from attempting this upgrade.
Note - PD130 engines can also use the same upgrade - see below and check guides on uk-mkivs.
I've recently upgraded my standard PD150 pancake pipe for the larger, less restrictive 1.8t pancake pipe from the petrol Cupra/Cupra R and thought I would help others thinking of doing this with a handy 'for dummies' guide. I got the pancake pipe off SRS (Darkside's used parts sister company) and all the other bits off ebay.
Parts needed
1x 1.8t pancake pipe - cost me £20 from SRS
1x 51mm silicone coupler (150mm long trimmed to length) - £4
1x 70mm>60mm silicone reducer (125mm long) - £9**
2x 45-60mm jubilee clips
1x 55-70mm jubilee clip
1x 60-80mm jubilee clip - all the clips cost £3 per pair but only came in pairs
**For PD130 engines, replace the silicone reducer with a 60mmx150mm silicone coupler (£4). This will go straight over the inlet end of the standard SMIC with a 55-70mm jubilee clip.
Tools needed
Jack & axle stands
Flat head screw driver
Torx bits (for undertray)
1/4 inch ratchet handle
10mm socket
7mm socket
1/4 inch extension bar
Here is a comparison of the 2 pipes before fitting, the PD150 pipe is at the top.
As you can see the 1.8t pipe is deeper in the middle and also has a more flowing design rather than the sharp angles and narrower centre of the PD150 pipe.
You can also see in the photo above that the 1.8t pipe is a fair bit shorter than the original pancake pipe which is where the 70mm>60mm reducer comes in.
This is the 51mm coupler, it' a little long so needs trimming down to around 50mm or you can find a 50mm length instead, I happened to find this one for less than £4!
And this is the 70mm>60mm reducer, it will also need trimming down by around 5-7mm so as not to compress the intercooler inlet hose too much.
Before starting, I mounted the silicone coupler and silicone reducer on the 1.8t pancake pipe so I didn't have to worry about this while I was under the car. Also, I trimmed the silicone coupler to 50mm and took 5-7mm off the 70mm end of the silicone reducer using a small saw.
Place the 51mm coupler on the small end of the 1.8t pancake pipe and secure with a 45-60mm jubilee clip, hang the other 45-60mm jubilee clip on the pipe ready for fitment. Then place the 60mm end of the reducer on the large end of the 1.8t pipe and secure with a 55-70mm jubilee clip. Hang the 60-80mm clip off the 70mm end of the reducer:
Now to get under the car!
Jack the car up and place on axle stands, or if you have a friendly neighbour with their own pit in the garage use that
First thing to do is remove the standard pancake pipe, To do this remove the undertray (using torx driver) and also the plastic inner arch liner. This comes off with a strong but slow pull, I found hanging off it did the trick! You should be able to see the standard set up like so:
Undo the bolt holding the pipe to the subframe (seen just below the pancake pipe in the above picture) using the 10mm socket and 1/4 ratchet with extension bar.
Then, using the flat screwdriver, lift off the C-clips on either end of the pancake pipe and pull the pipes out. One is red, this is the turbo outlet pipe, also known as the "red turbo pipe". The other is the lower intercooler inlet pipe. Leave these pipes in place and remove the pancake pipe.
Here are the 2 pipes again, this time with the silicone reducer on (before I trimmed it down):
A point to note, the rubber grommet on my 1.8t pipe was too wide for the nut to secure this in place so I had to swap the grommet and plastic washer/cup insert off my PD150 pipe on to it before I could secure it to the car:
PD150 above, 1.8t below.
With the grommets swapped over (if required), offer up the 1.8t pipe to the subframe and secure in to position loosely. It'll be obvious which way round it should go Then, place the red turbo pipe inside the 51mm coupler ensuring a good fitment all round and tighten the jubilee clip using the 7mm socket. I used sockets on the jubilee clips because they allowed me to get a much tighter fit than using a screwdriver. When in place it should look like this:
Then move on to the other end. As can be seen below there is a decent gap between the pancake pipe and lower intercooler pipe. I initially considered trimming the intercooler pipe and just using this slid over the pancake pipe but it was obvious on test fitting that this wouldn't work!
Assuming you've trimmed down the reducer you should have no problem sliding the intercooler pipe in to it which you can again secure using the jubilee clip, tightened with 7mm socket.**
Once it's all fitted it should look something like this:
**For the PD130 SMIC, simply slide the 60mm coupler over the intercooler inlet and secure with a 55-70mm jubilee.
Check you have tightened up all of the jubilee clips and VOILA! You have now upgraded your pancake pipe
Initial impressions are a slightly earlier spool up, a slight increase in lag but a nicer turbo whistle and more power above 4krpm. I would suggest this mod simply to help the engine breathe better and especially if you plan on going BT or hybrid in future
It's worth noting that there is not a lot of clearance between the red pipe and driveshaft if your car is lowered:
Also there isn't much clearance between the pancake pipe and pulley at the bottom of the engine:
Try twisting/rotating pipes to use the tension in the silicone/rubber to angle the pancake pipe and red turbo pipe away from these parts.
I hope you've found this guide helpful and please leave me rep if it's helped you out
Note - PD130 engines can also use the same upgrade - see below and check guides on uk-mkivs.
I've recently upgraded my standard PD150 pancake pipe for the larger, less restrictive 1.8t pancake pipe from the petrol Cupra/Cupra R and thought I would help others thinking of doing this with a handy 'for dummies' guide. I got the pancake pipe off SRS (Darkside's used parts sister company) and all the other bits off ebay.
Parts needed
1x 1.8t pancake pipe - cost me £20 from SRS
1x 51mm silicone coupler (150mm long trimmed to length) - £4
1x 70mm>60mm silicone reducer (125mm long) - £9**
2x 45-60mm jubilee clips
1x 55-70mm jubilee clip
1x 60-80mm jubilee clip - all the clips cost £3 per pair but only came in pairs
**For PD130 engines, replace the silicone reducer with a 60mmx150mm silicone coupler (£4). This will go straight over the inlet end of the standard SMIC with a 55-70mm jubilee clip.
Tools needed
Jack & axle stands
Flat head screw driver
Torx bits (for undertray)
1/4 inch ratchet handle
10mm socket
7mm socket
1/4 inch extension bar
Here is a comparison of the 2 pipes before fitting, the PD150 pipe is at the top.
As you can see the 1.8t pipe is deeper in the middle and also has a more flowing design rather than the sharp angles and narrower centre of the PD150 pipe.
You can also see in the photo above that the 1.8t pipe is a fair bit shorter than the original pancake pipe which is where the 70mm>60mm reducer comes in.
This is the 51mm coupler, it' a little long so needs trimming down to around 50mm or you can find a 50mm length instead, I happened to find this one for less than £4!
And this is the 70mm>60mm reducer, it will also need trimming down by around 5-7mm so as not to compress the intercooler inlet hose too much.
Before starting, I mounted the silicone coupler and silicone reducer on the 1.8t pancake pipe so I didn't have to worry about this while I was under the car. Also, I trimmed the silicone coupler to 50mm and took 5-7mm off the 70mm end of the silicone reducer using a small saw.
Place the 51mm coupler on the small end of the 1.8t pancake pipe and secure with a 45-60mm jubilee clip, hang the other 45-60mm jubilee clip on the pipe ready for fitment. Then place the 60mm end of the reducer on the large end of the 1.8t pipe and secure with a 55-70mm jubilee clip. Hang the 60-80mm clip off the 70mm end of the reducer:
Now to get under the car!
Jack the car up and place on axle stands, or if you have a friendly neighbour with their own pit in the garage use that
First thing to do is remove the standard pancake pipe, To do this remove the undertray (using torx driver) and also the plastic inner arch liner. This comes off with a strong but slow pull, I found hanging off it did the trick! You should be able to see the standard set up like so:
Undo the bolt holding the pipe to the subframe (seen just below the pancake pipe in the above picture) using the 10mm socket and 1/4 ratchet with extension bar.
Then, using the flat screwdriver, lift off the C-clips on either end of the pancake pipe and pull the pipes out. One is red, this is the turbo outlet pipe, also known as the "red turbo pipe". The other is the lower intercooler inlet pipe. Leave these pipes in place and remove the pancake pipe.
Here are the 2 pipes again, this time with the silicone reducer on (before I trimmed it down):
A point to note, the rubber grommet on my 1.8t pipe was too wide for the nut to secure this in place so I had to swap the grommet and plastic washer/cup insert off my PD150 pipe on to it before I could secure it to the car:
PD150 above, 1.8t below.
With the grommets swapped over (if required), offer up the 1.8t pipe to the subframe and secure in to position loosely. It'll be obvious which way round it should go
Then, place the red turbo pipe inside the 51mm coupler ensuring a good fitment all round and tighten the jubilee clip using the 7mm socket. I used sockets on the jubilee clips because they allowed me to get a much tighter fit than using a screwdriver. When in place it should look like this:
Then move on to the other end. As can be seen below there is a decent gap between the pancake pipe and lower intercooler pipe. I initially considered trimming the intercooler pipe and just using this slid over the pancake pipe but it was obvious on test fitting that this wouldn't work!
Assuming you've trimmed down the reducer you should have no problem sliding the intercooler pipe in to it which you can again secure using the jubilee clip, tightened with 7mm socket.**
Once it's all fitted it should look something like this:
**For the PD130 SMIC, simply slide the 60mm coupler over the intercooler inlet and secure with a 55-70mm jubilee.
Check you have tightened up all of the jubilee clips and VOILA! You have now upgraded your pancake pipe
Initial impressions are a slightly earlier spool up, a slight increase in lag but a nicer turbo whistle and more power above 4krpm. I would suggest this mod simply to help the engine breathe better and especially if you plan on going BT or hybrid in future
It's worth noting that there is not a lot of clearance between the red pipe and driveshaft if your car is lowered:
Also there isn't much clearance between the pancake pipe and pulley at the bottom of the engine:
Try twisting/rotating pipes to use the tension in the silicone/rubber to angle the pancake pipe and red turbo pipe away from these parts.
I hope you've found this guide helpful and please leave me rep if it's helped you out
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