I’m just a ham fisted monkey, but this is how I think about it. The force creating the flow starts in the cylinder and is first seen at the bowl. Then onward back through the intake tract. You “want” to create the greatest pressure differential you can and transmit that back through the head then the intake then the carb. Say the head flows more than the intake. The velocity of the charge will increase in the intake. At some point, the velocity gets so high, problems occur. Fuel separation etc. I’m not sure at what point it goes bad. What I’m absolutely sure about is the thermoquad intake and carb when massaged can support 275+ CFM of head flow to the tune of 420 CI’s at 130+ mph. So you aren’t probably aren’t going to be out flowing it at 222 cfm. I believe the aftermarket intakes improve the quality of the charge more than the gross air flow, but remember ham fisted monkey!