I think those baffles are there to direct the flow of air into the cylinder fins. My Piper Cherokee had the same ones.
Originally Posted by
acerc
After your post Truckracer I remembered it seemed like I saw intake restriction baffles on the full scale. So I went and looked, here is the pic where a portion of the opening is blocked so to speak. This effect would be easy to replicate, but, being I am flying in an event currently duct tape and a piece of flat aluminum will do to find out.
Thanks for jogging that memory Truck!!