Taking it all in

To the layperson, an air intake means that shiny scoop that sticks out of a hood of your uncle's Mustang. But that would be wrong; Oh, so wrong. To the auto cognoscenti (know-it-alls) an intake is more than the sum of its parts. You can just slap AEM intakes into motors and expect them to hum. It is a system that contains a complex of passages through which incoming air enters, mixes with fuel, and is blown out through the exhaust. Sort of like our respiratory system, only different. The term intake is sometimes used to refer to a smaller portion of the intake tract. Intakes come in many different configurations and can be modified in many different ways to improve power.