For a streeter it's all about two things;
traction,and average power to the road over a certain speed range.
From zero to 60mph; even a slightly worked 318 can post a great ET with the right gear package.
The difference is that a bigger engine just makes a lot more smoke and noise to go a wee bit quicker.
The bigger engines can hit more bases with less gear, but there comes a point that traction is so severely hampered that it becomes increasingly expensive to carry on.
Say you had two identical cars; except for the engines and rear gears. Both with the same rear suspension/tires.
Say one had a stock Magnum 5.2 with a peak of just 230 hp and you ran it thru two gears to hit 60mph revved out on the power-peak. This would take ~4.30s with a regular TorqueFlite.
and; Say your buddy had a stock Magnum 5.9 ,and it also is stuck with the 727/904 ratios, that forced a shift into second at say 50 mph ( this being 3.23s), and then the rpm fell to 59% or say 3100rpm. That 5.9 with 3.23s will hit 60@~3700;at the very bottom of the power curve. So, whatever average power this 5.9 posted in first gear, that number is now gonna get dragged LOWER until the power comes back up.
I wonder who would get to 60 first.
Well stop wondering;
those 4.30s are making the 5.2 seem 33% more powerful than it would with 3.23s, so it will accelerate accordingly, leaving the 5.9 in the dust. My math says the 5.9 would need more than 300hp to stay even.And the 5.9 will need it at 3700rpm. Yeah that's a pricey build right there.
But if these examples do nothing but spin the tires,then it's anybodies guess who will ET quicker.
Like phaith without works; power without traction ...... is dead.
But is sure is fun.
Consider the turbocharged Subaru Impreza full-time AWD, 5 speed. Or it's ilk. If it didn't have all-wheel-drive, or if it did but lost the turbo,it would be just another also-ran 4-banger. But as designed, it has the two key ingredients,namely; traction, and average power to the road.