[Jeff Chambers]

Every little bit helps. When you install your intake, look down the runners to the head/intake interface and see what kind of alignment you have. Forward facing steps are murder to the intake flow, backward facing steps interrupt the flow to a lesser degree but they still impact flow. Do the same at the upper to lower, TB to intake, elbow to TB, TB to EGR, header to exhaust port. Now add up all those disturbances and imagine their overall effect on the flow quality through your engine. The engine is nothing but a big air pump, so any way that you can make its job easier increases its overall efficiency. In a game where you win or loose rounds by a thousandth of a second, its worth the time and effort.

With the intake sinched down, I take a piece of clay on the end of a long screwdriver and press it onto the head/gasket/intake surface on all four walls of the port. From the impression, I can see if the intake needs to be shifted fore/aft or up/down to get the best alignment of the ports.