What it all comes down to is power/weight ratio. Like just about about everyone else with a brain said on this thread, torque and horse power don't really matter, its all about the work produced. Whether you have a torqueless b16a or a 454 detroit monster isn't really the issue, because both motors are capable of doing the exact same thing, it just depends on how fast the motor is spinning. This is the dilemma for ls/vtecs. LS/vtecs are the result of japanese and "american" motor building concepts combined. You can get a little extra torque from the extra length on the moment arm (i.e. the length from the center of the crankshaft to the center of the connecting rod) for the same reason the 454 makes lots of torque, but it isn't gonna rev as well SAFELY as a b16 or a motor with a shorter stroke. It is all relative to what you want to do with the motor. Most people don't want to rev the hell out of a motor just to pass a mack truck on the freeway, so what kind of motor are they gonna build? One that has a buttload of midrange torque. Now, if you like revving a motor to 8k cause you enjoy hearing the sound of it or whatever, by all means get a torqueless b16 powered civic or something, you're just gonna have to rev the hell out it Where was I going? Oh yeah, whats better? It just depends on what you like, you're driving preferences. It's like riding a harley or a sportbike, a matter of personal preference. If you want both more torque and horsepower, get FI and dump gobs of gas and air into the cylinders. Oh yeah, power to weight ratio. The only reason japanese cars aren't torquey beasts is beacause most racing seeks to lighten the load of the car, and the bigger the motor the heavier it's gonna be. Not too good for road racing, which japanese cars excel in. So what do they do? They built lightweight engines with short strokes, dumped lots of gas into them compressed insane amounts of air into them, and revved them to 15k+ (just listen to the honda F1 cars). Insane. Excuse my rambling, i talk alot.