Quote:
Originally Posted by sunman
Ain’t no replacement for displacement
Once you go big block it’s hard to go back
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In pretty much every situation except for a situation where some sort of race rules dictate the displacement (or a replica is desired, i.e. 289 FIA, etc.), that is correct. A larger engine will always have the potential to make more horsepower while still being streetable.
The whole premise of building an engine just so that it's tractable makes me scratch my head. It's like every Cobra out there is either at idle or WOT with no way of controlling anything in between. I've driven/ridden in some VERY raunchy Cobras (780 hp FE in one of them) and you can always just give them enough throttle to keep traction until a higher speed or higher gear gives you a hand. That's applicable to not just Cobras but to any vehicle out there.
In racing applications, such as sprint cars or dirt track, they do not change the displacement in order to gain traction, they make as much horsepower as they can and then adjust the cam timing to make them keep traction with larger inputs of throttle.