i really wanted to make swiss cheese out of my airbox but i ran into some unknowns...

there is a thing (a valve of sorts) in the bottom of the box underneath the filter that doesn't seems to be in any of the pics you guys have posted (keep in mind my car is a '97 1.8L CL)


the tube leading out of the airbox (to the engine) is closed by default, but it looks like it opens when it needs to... i have no idea what is going on, it looks like the engine uses recycled air??



would it still be effective if i drilled it out? Also, does this limit my capacity to get a pod filter on there?