Air intake on 16v

[ceatock at sympatico.ca (Chad Eatock)]

hEY Y'ALL,
Wuz up?  I was just gonna do a little mod on my air intake by putting the intake in front of the rad behind the front grille but I suddenly realized that it is different than my 8v.  the big hose coming out of the airbox goes to a collector box thingy that meets up with another hose coming off the exhaust manifold....can anybody tell me what thats for?  and also is there any sense in changing the position of the air intake to maximize airflow?  or is it set up optimally as it is?  my 8v air intake was lower than this and exposed to the elements...but this one seems different...any comments?
Chadster '87 16v