I don't normally do this, but you're flat out wrong here. Yes there are high horsepower cars with filters on their turbos, but that doesn't make it the right decision for all cars. This is dependent on the location of the turbo and the heat sources around it. If our turbo was over by the frame, away from the manifold and NOT behind the radiator I would be all for short or no piping. Our car isn't setup that way.
Have you ever noticed that your turbo car makes more power in the morning on the way to work than it does on the way home? That's because the morning was cool and the afternoon warmed up. A typical temperature change around here is 20-30 degrees from morning cool to mid-day heat. That's about the same temperature differential we're discussing when comparing a true cold air source vs air from directly behind the radiator or air drawn from the engine bay. There is a balance between the appropriate length, diameter, and number of bends in the piping and the temperature delta, but cooler air is ALWAYS better unless it is being sucked through a twisty straw.
Guys spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on upgraded intercoolers to shed a few degrees because it works, why would you ever suck in hot air when the cooler stuff is only a foot or two away and virtually FREE?
