I agree. But when you take both apart side by side in stock form one will agree the 340 wins hands down. It just has better parts that make up the whole package. I believe cost was mentioned so, how much would one spend to make a 318 like a 340 is it worth it? When you start something like that your wallet gets tot he point where a man of average intelligence would say "WTF? I should have just bought a 340/360...I'd have the same money invested and have the bigger displacement package..." It s just thoughts I am not trying to bust balls. Honestly today I acknowledge 340s arent available...but if starting from scratch, for a performance build I'd hustle up the coin and pick up a 5.9 magnum and start there...I'd probably just buy a 5.9 performance Crate motor and be done in the end that's a wise expense, and a good starting point. Unless you own a machine shop and can really do the mods needed a 318 isn't where id start in my opinion the only thing I like about them is they are low cost and common .
