Editor's Note:  The letters below represent the opinions of two very different camps: Big Blocks vs. Sport Compacts. They're both offered here unedited.  As an aside, there is one category where big blocks can use power adders, Pro Mods.  And they are nominally faster than the regulated Sport Compacts and their turbos.  In fact, several Sport Compact teams have made noises about stepping up to run Pro Mod should the rules allow.  But that's another discusion, isn't it?!

This is a no brainer….take away the nitrous and turbo on those 6 second rice rockets and you have a 14 second snail…

Why spend 5 times as much money on a 4 or 6 banger to get into the low teens than a stock 8 which will already be there…But if you want a true argument regarding the difference, then take the top of the line pro-mod rice rocket and the top of the line big block and run the numbers….

The ricer, with its 1200 to 2000 horsepower, runs mid to high 6’s and in the 200 mph zone, and that’s respectable….on the other hand the top of the line big block(yes I am going to pull out the big guns) top fuel dragsters and funny cars, with 7000 to 8000 horsepower, are running in the mid to high 4’s at well over 300 mph…now that’s impressive.

I know someone will argue that there is no comparison, and that they are talking about cars more like the pro stockers. But the pro stock cars don’t use power adders so that is not a fair comparison.  We are talking about the best the imports have to offer and the best of the cars running 8 cyl. engines.

Well if the imports can run the power adders for their side of the equation, then us 8 cylinder guys should be allowed the same. Their nitrous and turbo or anything else they want to bring to the table against the nitro burning supercharged fire breathing monsters that rule the motorsports world.

As if I needed anything else to prove my point, there is the sound of a well tuned V8 engine. The 4 and 6 cylinder cars sound like a coffee can full of bees. There is nothing attractive about that sound. There is nothing more beautiful than the rumble of those 8’s. So even though its no contest, and no matter how they cry foul or complain the truth is plain…..V8 dominate the motorsports world.

Dee
Comcast.net

As a member of HART (Honda Of Americ Racing Team), I can tell you I grew up with the big block era and the V8 muscle cars. I love the sound of a top fuel dragster. However, if you've never experienced the whistle of 50 lbs. of boost you're missing out. We now race a 2005 Honda Civic powered by a 3.5L V6, and the technology is astounding, The excitement is the same, and the atmosphere is very similar. I see the big difference as strickly age. Sport compact racing is the future, and as hard as it is for the older generation to accept it probably can't be changed.
 
Eric P.
HART Racing Crew