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The question that has haunted the very soul humanity for eons—“that thing gotta hemi?”—should hopefully drift out of the vernacular, as ChryCo is offering free Hemi V8 upgrades on every Ram 1500 they sell during “shovel ’em out the door,” uh, make that “truck month.” So yes, good sir, it’s got a Hemi. But as Wikipedia puts it, “today, ‘hemi’ is little more than a trademark that bears little meaning, descriptively, for the engines designated as such.”
28 Comments on “Doth Yon Conveyance Boast Hemispherical Combustion Chambers?...”
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The owner of my local UPS store just bought a redesigned Ram and it’s damn nice in person, even the interior. It makes me wonder why that type of effort couldn’t be put into cars like the Caliber, Sebring and Avenger.
P.S. – HEMI is a brand name just like VIPER or MAGNUM or any other engine name manufacturers use. Ford uses the BOSS name on it’s 5.4L engine in Australia though it’s not in a BOSS Mustang. The V10 in the Ram SRT also carries the VIPER name though it’s not in the VIPER car.
The Hemispherical combustion chamber first used by Chrysler in V8’s, in 1951, and mass produced through 1958, wasn’t ever really called the Hemi by Chrysler back then. The resurrected, very limited production, racing engine sold for street use from 1966-1971 or so, was called “Hemi” by Chrysler in ads and propaganda – whoops, marketing.
Yes, the ‘hemi’ combustion chamber does allow for a lot of power, good breathing, good octane knock resistance; disadvantages include size, weight, and manufacturing costs which is why Chrysler went with wedge-head engines from 1959.
The current mass produced ‘hemi’ is manufactured on automated lines in Mexico where labor costs are what? 60 cents per hour equivalent?
Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar and many others used this combustion chamber over the years.
Nowadays, even modest 4 cylinder econo-boxes often have the more efficient than ‘hemi’ 4-valve pentroof combustion chambers with overhead cams.
Hence, just for an example, my wife’s modest, “boring” 4 cylinder 2007 Hyundai Sonata belts out sufficient power to push a 3200 pound automobile to 60 in 9.5 seconds, topping out at 125 mph. I think it has 168 horsepower.
My “first ever” car, a 1966 Ambassador with the biggest 327 V8, factory Holley 4 barrel carburetor, and 270 horsepower could only manage 0-60 in 10 seconds and 115 mph.
These arguments are moot because the 5.7L and 6.1L HEMI-labeled V8s are excellent mills, regardless of combustion chamber geometry.
Alas, if only Chrysler could do so well with the automobiles wrapped around those engines…
“These arguments are moot because the 5.7L and 6.1L HEMI-labeled V8s are excellent mills, regardless of combustion chamber geometry.”
I have to agree. I test drove a Charger R/T and the sheer overall goodness of the Hemi was almost enough to make me buy it. A year or two down the road, I would not be averse to picking up a Magnum R/T as a second car.
bunkie
If you have the means, I highly recommend it.
(with many apologies to Ferris)
So what happens to all the non-Hemis left on the lot? I doubt people are lining up to take those off Chryco’s hands while this promotion is going on. I guess instead of offering a free Hemi on those, they could offer a (insert pointless Chrysler vehicle) free with purchase.
I have the Hemi in my Magnum and it is a great motor. The car drives well too. It runs and drives so well I forget how crappy the interior pieces are.
The hemi + mopar headers + borola exhaust + mopar CAI = one great sounding, powerful Magnum.
What thrills me is the fact that the crysler (hemi) and the GM V8 s are both super good engines and they have PUSHRODS. DOHC engines are fine for Indy 500 and other race events.
As I matter of fact, my conveyance does have a hemi; my 1972 BMW 2002. Actually it’s more of a semi-hemi, but it still counts.
I believe one of the engines available in the Aries/Reliant was also a Hemi.
TriShield:
“The owner of my local UPS store just bought a redesigned Ram and it’s damn nice in person, even the interior. It makes me wonder why that type of effort couldn’t be put into cars like the Caliber, Sebring and Avenger.”
Give them time. They have only been out from under Daimler for less than two years. Every new model since that time has had better interiors.
peoplewatching04:
“So what happens to all the non-Hemis left on the lot?”
You may be in a good bargaining position. If it has a 4.7 V8 it has very good engine. While not a Hemi, 300 HP is plenty for most people and the engine is rock solid.
History of the original Hemi –
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/hemi/chrysler-hemi.html
Doth Yon Conveyance? WTF.
If this was Autoblog, some yokel would be invariably complaining about the power/displacement ratio of the “Hemi”.
“The current mass produced ‘hemi’ is manufactured on automated lines in Mexico where labor costs are what? 60 cents per hour equivalent?”
I don’t think that labor cost is material in modern engine plants.
“At the plant, the first thing a visitor notices is that it is hospital-clean, nothing like the greasy, smelly engine plants of old. The second thing is that it is largely empty — of people, at least. Although the partnership is intended to produce 840,000 engines a year that could be shared by the three companies, the plant, set to be expanded next year, will have only 250 hourly workers when it reaches peak production.”
Article Link
@ mfgreen
Good points. Obviously nothing will ever displace GM’s legendary small block V8s from the top spot, but I would argue that Chrysler’s current HEMI-branded engines rate highly on the all-time list of excellent V8 engines.
@ sportssuburbangt
It’s amazing how the 5.7L in the Magnum makes up for so much, isn’t it? The E-class sourced chassis also helps a great deal. Personally, I like the spartan control layout, but I do agree that the material quality could be a bit better.
I believe one of the engines available in the Aries/Reliant was also a Hemi….
That would be the Mitsubishi MCA Jet silent shaft four cylinder with 2.6 litre displacment…
“it all adds up” is right
and is that a dodge ram banner ad down there?
Dodge vehicles with Hemis are pretty popular with the technical types that build the big iron in Silicon Valley. When you look out over the parking lots of some of the biggest hardware firms, you can pick out a number of Hemis amoungst the sea of BMWs, Toyotas and Hondas. Excepting the rentals, Hemis and the occasional ‘vette seem to be the only US branded cars you’ll see.
HEMI=increased consumption. That’s why all European marques, as mentioned by menno, gave up on this yesteryear technology. C’mon Chrysler! You can do better. Save this for the Challenger R/T and call it good.
Forget Dodge, you want hemispherical combustion chambers the Toyota T engine is the proper choice.
It’s amazing how the 5.7L in the Magnum makes up for so much, isn’t it? The E-class sourced chassis also helps a great deal.
The chassis is not sourced from the E-Class. Some of the rear suspension is based on a modified version of that of the now-two-generations-old E. That, the five-speed transmission and possibly that stupid cruise control are all that Benz donated.
The “LX cars are derived from the E-Class” rumour needs to stop. It was perpetuated by lazy journalists and Chrysler people who were too timid to let their own product stand on it’s own merits.
Maybe we’re talking the wrong E-class. Didn’t Chrysler have an E-class sedan in the late 80’s, one of the K-car variations?
golden2husky:
“I believe one of the engines available in the Aries/Reliant was also a Hemi….
That would be the Mitsubishi MCA Jet silent shaft four cylinder with 2.6 litre displacment…”
But that was a problematic engine at best. Chrysler used it until they developed their own large displacement 4 pot, the 2.5 liter.
FromBrazil:
“That’s why all European marques, as mentioned by menno, gave up on this yesteryear technology.”
That statement proves you do not much at all about this engine. It is as advanced as any other V8 or even V6 out there with vairable cams, cylinder deactivation, and multiple spark plugs. The only so called advanced thing it doesn’t have is an overhead cam, which happens to be older technology than pushrods (look it up).
psarhjinian:
“The “LX cars are derived from the E-Class” rumor needs to stop.”
Indeed. A classic automotive urban legend. It fact it was Dumbler’s insistence on using modified parts of the E-class that slowed the LX introduction by about 18 months, all so Dumbler could charge Chrysler for their “superior German engineering”.
“Didn’t Chrysler have an E-class sedan in the late 80’s, one of the K-car variations?”
Yep. The stretched K car which later became the Chrysler New Yorker, Plymouth Caravelle, and the Dodge 600.
The Hemi is a pretty good engine – the problem is it is hampered by ridiculously heavy vehicles that blunt the performance. When I tested a Challenger R/T, it felt about on par with a previous generation Nissan Altima or G35 – numbers on paper support this, at least until you get past 60mph at which point the Hemi keeps pulling strong after it gets over the inertia of two tons of sheet metal.
If only they could shave off about 500 or so pounds, that would make them feel damn near sprightly. Too much to ask at this point, I think.
@windswords
Agreed. Don’t know very much about this engine. I’ve driven cars with it though and yeah, it’s very good. But from the little I do know it’s just to heavy, so you’ll never get a gas miser out of it. I think we’re coming from two different directions here. The Europeans dropped it ’cause consumption is a big big issue in Europe and other parts. And Americans got to keep the Hemi ’cause gas was never much of a problem there. Lucky for you Americans!
And don’t get me wrong, I’d love my car to have one of these, but in these parts it just ain’t going to happen.
Hemis are a good engine design that has some tech issues as displacement increases. The size of the combustion chamber results in lower flame speed compared with a wedge shaped chamber. Lower flame speed = dirty combustion, so most larger displacement hemis have two spark plugs per cylinder.
Chrysler’s hemi garnered most of the 1960s publicity, largely because of the NASCAR/Richard Petty affiliation.
Chryslers real hp monster, however, was the 440 wedge engine, which was an awesome engine, especially in pro-stock NHRA racing.
Ford brought out a 427 SOHC wedge engine in 1964 to compete against the hemi in NASCAR. It produced 657 hp out the door, before racing modifications. NASCAR banned this engine form competition, so the NASCAR Mopar hemi vs Ford sohc showdown didn’t occur. The Ford engine had too much hp for the tires, brakes and aero of the NASCAR cars of that era.
Anyhow, the hemi is a good engine design, but one that had some equal or better competitors.
that HEMI engine costs just as much to make as their smaller V6 engines. The WSJ had an article how successful the engine was in making Chrysler money. That free upgrade is imaginary in the sense it is just a brand name you’re paying for.
People are quick to incorrectly criticise this engine as not having true hemispherical heads. In fact, the 5.7 and 6.1 Chrysler engines do have hemispherical combustion chambers. They are hemispherical, not pentroof. The only difference between this Hemi and the old Hemi are two build in small squish areas to increase air tumble in the cylinders.