Bill Dedman said

Sweet5ltr said

To be honest with you, you're making 625RWHP at best with an estimated 15% drivetrain loss. Even less considering your twisting massive meats'. Big inches, big power is great and all, but making 700+HP N/A (i'm guessing 526 'big dollar' Hemi on an engine dyno with no accessories) in comparison to a mild 400 with Eddy' heads, 'tiny' solid lifter camshaft, and a BW S475/S480 turbo are two animals entirely. That lil' 400 has the capability to make 900-1,000HP at the crank on Methanol Injection and the right (A/W) intercooler setup... Do we also need to get to the fact that pulling 6,500-7,000RPM with a big stroked wedge or Hemi, 4.30-4.56 gearing, .700 lift solid roller cams, and 5,000 stalls are not needed to run low nines with the powerplant above? A simple 2.76-3.23 gear (depending on tire size), 3,200-3,400 stall converter, off the shelf street solid camshaft, and pulling mediocre RPM while crossing the traps at 140+MPH with ease (if it was even making 800HP at the crank) in a 2,800# car will get you their.

I love big Hemi's, but most people in the Chrysler world are still stuck in the dark age. For the 1% that have a Hemi that's great, you have the potential to build big power for big dollars.. For the other 99% stuck with small blocks and mediocre big blocks, turbocharging is the best solution to make reasonably big power on a budget. It just isn't well documented as us Mopar guys tend to be ten to twenty years behind the latest trends..

Click to expand...

What you say here is very true... but from a common sense standpoint, it's really moot anytime you get much over 500 horsepower in a car that weighs 2,800 pounds because number one, it is almost impossible to hook up that kind of power on the street with tires that are street-legal and two. a 2,800-pound car that has over 500 hp is scary-fast already, so what's the point. unless you're just building a race car for the street?

Any car with 500 horsepower that is that very light, is going to go over 130mph in the quarter, which is insane on the street under any conceivable circumstances.

So, it boils down to the methodology you prefer to get you there, I think. Do you want to fool with the (available, but complicated) technology necessary to make a LOT of horsepower with (considerable) boost on a wedge engine, or would you prefer to, instead, spend a lot of money for the cosmetic advantages afforded you by a naturally-aspirated, big-inch Hemi, with the (necessary) exotic parts that can deliver that kind of performance?

You pays your money and you takes your choice...

Click to expand...