Spits are one of my favorite historical planes. Yet, I don't fly them much for the same reason I don't fly them Temp - it feels dirty when I out-everything my opponent.
Killing a spit in a knife fight with a P47 is just so much more rewarding than killing a P47 with a spit. Still, there's nothing wrong with flying Spits if that is your cup of tea. Screw the La7 dweebs who call you a spitdweeb.
For the 16 haters - just a small hit on the fuel on their base will disable DT. Since almost no one knows how to manage their fuel, 16s will have super short legs. But it's not like the 8 with the better range is much less of a plane.
Bozon