What should I expect from 450hp?

there is about 3 to 4 tenths difference at the track.
Ken Hensley and i had that conversation years ago, its proven correct on many combinations, including a couple of nine. The worse the heads, the less the difference obviously. I have swapped mild eddies and seen the difference Hensley mentioned
Thats a significant difference. Likewise, making a gear change one step, say 4.10 to 4.30, 3.23 to 3.55, etc, rarely makes much difference at all, and if it does, its minimal
I went from 3.73’s to 4.10’s without changing anything else and what you’re saying was true for my setup. Negligible at best at the track.