Here's my take in a nutshell... Ram air is bogus lol. The air filter will slow the air down laminarize the flow, regardless of what the air around it is doing. I was driving around yesterday and by car felt like it needed a tune-up. It was bucking, stumbling, and all together running like a turd. I pulled over and noticed my air filter fell off. I was getting mad ram airs, yo. (I know, I know, the MAF sensor was bugging out) but as almost every article said.. an engine will benefit from static pressure, not dynamic.. velocity through the intake tube is not ideal.
That banks article confirmed my suspicions.. ram air will provide no pressure increase.. in fact, every intake setup has a pressure loss associated with it. But a good intake system will "save pressure from being lost".. My idea was that chaging the inlet location will draw cooler, denser air.. not make a machine out of the intake tube .... there is no work being done on the air, just less resistance through its path of flow, with a smooth path of flow to promote laminar flow.