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Air Ducts
A turbocharger considerably increases the complexity of an engine. No longer is a simple matter of "air goes in this hole here and exits out of this hole here", like it is on a normally aspirated car. There are many more components that could potentially improve or hamper performance. Included in this group are the turbo housing, exhaust manifold, downpipe, intercooler, wastegate, blow-off valve, fuel and timing systems, and intercooler pipes.
Of these, some of the easiest items to upgrade are the intercooler pipes. The intercooler pipes route compressed air from the compressor housing of the turbo into the intercooler and then from the intercooler to the throttle body. Intercooler hoses are often made of plastic or rubber and have rather constrictive designs. As the amount of power from the engine is increased, these factory pipes can hamper power increases. Aftermarket intercooler pipes are made of better materials and are shaped to be less constrictive than the factory pipes.
Care must be taken to ensure that the pipes and hoses of the turbo system are secured. A failure of any hose connections will certainly mean the loss of power. If the car uses an air mass meter, a broken hose will cause the car to run poorly or not at all.
Source:
Super Street magazine, November 1998 pg 54