Yes- - - -it raises the temperature of the intake mixture to the point the fuel/air mixture is easier to compression ignite before the spark plug fires. It's similar to how glow plugs in a Diesel engine preheat the air so the compression can raise the temperature enough to light off the fuel. Diesels need to raise the combustion chamber temp to around 1,000 degrees F. before the fuel will light off. Preheating the intake air in cold weather helps that happen, and it's also why starting fluid should never be used on a glow plug equipped engine. Ether and red hot glow plug filaments don't play well together!
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!