  We explore the utility of $d=8$ qudits, qu8its, for quantum simulations of
the dynamics of 1+1D SU(3) lattice quantum chromodynamics, including a mapping
for arbitrary numbers of flavors and lattice size and a re-organization of the
Hamiltonian for efficient time-evolution. Recent advances in parallel gate
applications, along with the shorter application times of single-qudit
operations compared with two-qudit operations, lead to significant projected
advantages in quantum simulation fidelities and circuit depths using qu8its
rather than qubits. The number of two-qudit entangling gates required for time
evolution using qu8its is found to be more than a factor of five fewer than for
qubits. We anticipate that the developments presented in this work will enable
improved quantum simulations to be performed using emerging quantum hardware.
