I believe they are used to tune out certain frequencies for a more even air flow. Resonators go back to the ancient Greeks, they used urns filled with rocks to reduce certain frequencies that resonated in their amphitheaters, to improve speech. I wouldn't remove them, not going to improve performance. Definition: "A Helmholtz resonator is a device that consists of a cavity and a neck, which vibrates at a specific natural frequency when air is forced in and out of it."
Well check out YOUR classic knowledge, Allyance! We can assume the resonators here are designed to improve the speech of the engine in the airbox amphitheatre. It's all Greek to me, anyway.
