Kirk,

Have you considered running the cars through a simulator? Bosch LapSim has a free version that you can do this on.

http://www.bosch-motorsport.de/conte...809A16EA4A4C14

This is a good way to compare the cars.

I assume for this comparison all other aspects of the car stays the same, i.e. same car with different engines. In that case the gearing options are eliminated.

I think it's track dependent and more specifically turn dependent. I prefer an engine with more torque if there are elevation changes (VIR). On a flat (Roebling Road) track I'd settle for less torque.