Why my new amazon intake didnt work at first

Bought it and installed it and was not happy with the performance results. It came with a heat shield but I lost power and was about to put my stock airbox back on when my son threw a bucket at me and said " here, modify this". So I did and pretty much solved the hot air issue without actually spending money. This box basically seals off from 5 sides of the engine bay and works very well. I have a piece of plexiglass to still install so I can inspect the filter. I've heard many times that people have said these intakes don't work and I know why. Too much hot air bleeds through the basic shouds these things come with. Mines fixed and I still only paid 139 for my Amazon special. It's also a dry filter element