Again, I call BS...Cubic inches Rule on the street and track all else being equal..A stroker Small block is all but done @440 C.I.....I'm just gettin' Started with 440 C.I....I just cannot understand why the hell someone is willing to try and prove some thing with a small block, but there's always a few that have to see tail lights enough times to "Get the news"...MPG or not...It takes one helluva lot more $$$ to make a small block run where Big Blocks rule...In professional drag racing,[Where Mopar engines are used] there's a reason the distributor is up front ...
Ok...well, whatever floats yer boat I guess... you can "call BS" if ya like....
Like someone else said, we can argue this all day. Its just a matter of preference and intended use I guess. Not really looking to get into a "who's balls are bigger" debate. Its silly since its all just yapping online.
But I do have some thoughts.
There may be a reason that "distributors are up front in professional drag racing".
There is also a reason that rally cars have small blocks and not big blocks.
The street is much more like a rally course than a drag strip, at least where I live.
There is a reason that the cubic inch wars are all but over. Engineers have learned how to get huge amounts of power from a smaller package...that saves weight, which translates to more free power and better gas mileage.
Who can argue with that?
If you want to go straight really fast for 1/4 miles at a time, then you are right -- big block is the way to go when comparing apples to apples (1970's vehicles). Or a small block with a lot of work and $$.
But I would bet I will out handle your big blocked equally st up car (again, comparing apples to apples) any day on a road course where top speed is only part of the equation. Nimbleness and a good driver's skill will outgun shear horsepower with a straight line driver all day.
I am not all that interested in having the biggest motor and the biggest top speed or quickest trap time on the street. I know there are those that are.
But.... There is ALWAYS somebody bigger-badder-faster....lost of people have money to burn and dump it into their cars. I do not. I don't race professionally or even amateur. Many do this every weekend and again spend lots of money to claim "victory" over all others...and thats fine. I do not. I am not worried about being able to shred my tires on a whim (too expensive a habit). I drive my car to have a good time. To me a good time is having the coolest looking car out there on the road and having enough get up and go to shut down a good number of average cars out there....having some rumble and fun factor as well. For the guys who dump huge amounts of cash into their rides, well, no way my mostly stock small block will beat $$$$$. I am ok with that.
Do I LOOOOVE the sound of a bad-ass big block? I sure do. I also looooove the sound of a bad ass small block.
As far as gas mileage, again -- whatever floats your boat. I know guys around here who have big CI engines that are all tweaked out...and they love their brute power....no doubt its a blast. But they drive the cars a couple times a month because of the lousy gas mileage and poor street manners. They have tens of thousands of $$ into their big blocks and hemis.
Whereas with my small block, I drive my car at least 4 times a week 9 months out of the year. At trip down to the corner store with my small block is cheap, easy fix for what ails me during the week and it doesn't cost me $50 in gas. I prefer to be able to do that than have a car sitting in my garage knowing I can in theory smoke anyone out there a couple times a month.
Like I said, no one is wrong here -- its all in what you want.
The new cars these days are the best of both worlds....20 mpg+ and QUICK. QUICK on the streets is better than FAST. And light weight factors into quick hugely.
If gas mileage is of absolutely no issue to you then God bless ya. But for me, where I am not all that worried about if the guy next to me at a light can "beat" me or not (ok, sometimes I am...LOL).
For now, I am just going to drive my cool classic Barracuda and enjoy her with the small block till I decide if I want to sink a lot of money into going to a different format engine (I can plug a modern day hemi into my car for probably what it would cost to plug an old big block into my car) or just live with what I have and tweak it some.
The kids still have to eat......LOL...in the meantime when i feel the need to out accelerate someone on the street I j can just hop on my street bike and blow pretty much anything on 4 wheels away, including any big blocks that pull up next to me. And at 35 mpg.
