Chrysler Hemi engine
The Chrysler Hemi engine, known by the trademark Hemi or HEMI, is a series of high-performance American overhead valve V8 engines built by Chrysler with hemispherical combustion chambers. Three generations have been produced: the FirePower series (with displacements from from 1951 until 1958; a race and street engine from 1964 through 1971; and family of advanced Hemis (displacing between since 2003.
Although Chrysler is most identified with "Hemi" as a marketing term, many other auto manufacturers have incorporated Hemispherical cylinder head designs.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Chrysler also applied the term Hemi to their Australian-made Hemi-6 Engine, and a 4-cylinder Mitsubishi 2.6 L engine installed in various North American market vehicles.
Design
The main advantage of a hemispherical head engine over other head designs is power. On the other hand, hemi head engines tend to have complex valve trains, are expensive to build, and are larger and heavier than conventional designs.A hemispherical combustion chamber is efficient, with an excellent surface-to-volume ratio, and room for two large valves. However, it allows no more than two valves per cylinder because of their large size, and they are necessarily heavier than those in a multi-valve engine. The intake and exhaust valves lie on opposite sides of the chamber and necessitate a "cross-flow" head design. Because the combustion chamber is a partial hemisphere, a flat-topped piston would yield a low compression ratio unless a very long stroke is used. The piston crown is domed to protrude into the head at top dead center to attain the desired compression ratio. The result is a combustion chamber in the shape of the space between where the domed piston stops and the dome shape in the head receiving it.
The hemi-head design places the spark plug at or near the chamber's center to promote a strong flame front. However, if the hemi-head hemisphere is of equal diameter to the piston, there is minimal squish for proper turbulence to mix fuel and air thoroughly. Thus, hemi-heads, because of their lack of squish, are more sensitive to fuel octane rating; a given compression ratio will require a higher octane rating to avoid detonation in a hemi engine than in some conventional engine designs, such as the wedge and bathtub.
The hemi head always has intake and exhaust valve stems that point in different directions, requiring a large, wide cylinder head and complex rocker arm geometry in both cam-in-block and single overhead cam engines. This adds to the overall width of the engine, limiting the vehicles in which it can be installed.
Significant challenges in the commercialization of engine designs using hemispherical chambers revolved around the valve actuation, specifically how to make it effective, efficient, and reliable at an acceptable cost. This complexity was referenced early in Chrysler's development of their 1950s hemi engine: the head was referred to in company advertising as the Double Rocker Shaft head.
First generation: FirePower 1951–1958
Chrysler developed its first experimental hemi engine for the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft. The XIV-2220 was an inverted overhead-valve V16 rated at. The P-47 was already in production with a Pratt & Whitney radial engine when the XIV-2220 flew successfully in trials in 1945 as a possible upgrade, but the war was winding down and it did not go into production. However, the exercise gave Chrysler engineers valuable research and development experience with two-valve hemi combustion chamber dynamics and parameters.In addition to the aircraft engine, Chrysler and Continental Motors Company worked together to develop the air-cooled AV-1790-5B V12 Hemi engine used in the M47 Patton tank.
Chrysler applied their military experience with the hemispherical combustion chamber to its first automobile engine, an OHV V8 engine released under the name FirePower, not "Hemi," in 1950 for the 1951 model year. The first version of the FirePower engine had a displacement of and produced. Eventually, three of the four Chrysler divisions had their own version of the FirePower engine, with different displacements and designations, and having almost no parts in common. This lack of commonality was due in part to the three engine versions using different bore spacings. Chrysler and Imperial called their versions the FirePower. DeSoto called theirs the FireDome. Dodge had a smaller version, known as the Red Ram. Only Plymouth did not have a version, but retained the Dodge poly-head engines. There was no Plymouth Hemi engine until the 1964 426.
Briggs Cunningham used the Chrysler version in some of his race cars for international motorsports. A Chrysler-powered Cunningham C-5R won its class in 1953. Cunningham switched away from these designs in 1959 when Chrysler temporarily abandoned the hemispherical concept in favor of the wedge-head B engine until 1964. Carl Kiekhaefer also used the Chrysler engines in his NASCAR cars from 1955 and 1956, winning the Grand National Series championship both years.
Collectively, the 1951–1958 Hemi engines are now commonly retroactively referred to as first-generation Hemi engines, which can be identified by the rear-mounted distributor and the spark plugs in a row down the center of wide valve covers.
1951 Plymouth Hemi V6
There were plans in 1951 for a Plymouth dual overhead cam Hemi V6 displacing designed by Chrysler's Powerplant Research and Engine Design division. Known internally as A173, it was meant to be a powerful, fuel-efficient alternative to V8 engine|Ford's V8] and to replace Plymouth's venerable flathead six. However, the plans were scrapped because of high build costs and the then-unusual design.Chrysler and Imperial
All Chrysler FirePower engines are oversquare; i.e. their bore is larger than their stroke.331
This first FirePower engine, used from 1951 to 1955, has a bore of and a stroke of for a piston displacement of, with a deck height of . The bore spacing, shared by all Chrysler FirePower engines, was, the largest of any first generation Hemi engines. Most used a two-barrel carburetor and produced, with the exception of the 1955 Chrysler C-300 equipped with dual Carter WCFB four-barrel carburetors and was rated at.The 331 engine was used in the following applications:
- 1951–1955 Chrysler New Yorker
- 1951–1954 Chrysler Imperial and 1955 Imperial
- 1951 Chrysler Saratoga
- 1952 Chrysler Saratoga Club Coupe
- 1952 Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton
- 1954 Dodge C Series
- 1955 Chrysler C-300
- 1956 Facel Vega FV2B
- 1958 Hongqi CA72
- The Chrysler Air-Raid Siren. At 138 decibels, it is reputed to be the loudest siren ever made.
354
The 354 engine was used in the following applications:
- 1956 Chrysler New Yorker
- 1956 Chrysler 300B
- 1956 Imperial Custom & Crown
- 1957 Dodge D-501
- 1957–1959 Dodge C Series Pickup
392
The 392 engine was used in the following applications:
- 1957–1958 Chrysler New Yorker
- 1957–1958 Imperial Custom, Crown, and LeBaron
- 1957 Chrysler 300C
- 1958 Chrysler 300D
- 1958 Facel Vega Excellence
DeSoto
DeSoto's Hemi engines were called FireDome and served as the naming convention for the DeSoto Firedome sedan.276
In 1952, DeSoto introduced its version of the FirePower, with a bore of and stroke of, for a displacement of. The bore spacing, shared by all DeSoto FirePower engines, was. Power output was. It was a hot seller, with 50,000 vehicles using the engine until it was replaced in 1954.341
Displacement was increased again for 1956 and 1957 to. Bore was increased to, but stroke remained at. The DeSoto Adventurer had a compression ratio of 9.5:1, using a special camshaft profile for hydraulic lifters, and produced using dual Carter WCFB four-barrel carburetors.The 1956 Adventurer was the premiere named high-performance version—the DeSoto equivalent of the twin four-barrel Chrysler 300.
345
The largest DeSoto engine for 1957 was the DeSoto Adventurer offering with square bore and stroke dimensions of 3.80 inches. The DeSoto Adventurer used dual Carter WCFB four-barrel carburetors for a rating of, producing one horsepower per cubic inch using a similar intake manifold to the 1956 341 Adventurer and a similar camshaft. The compression ratio remained at 9.5:1.Dodge
Dodge's Hemi was introduced in 1953 as the Red Ram. Dodge did not have a V8 engine until one was developed specifically for the line in 1953 based on the 1951 Chrysler hemi design, but downsized for these smaller cars. They have the smallest bore center spacing of any hemi engine at. They do not share any major dimensions or components with the larger Chrysler and DeSoto hemi engines, or the Plymouth A engines. From 1955 to 1958 lower-performance Hemi-based alternatives to the Dodge hemi were introduced by substituting less complex poly heads and valve train parts, including one variant only built as a poly. These were used in low-line 1955-58 DeSotos and Dodges, and 1955-56 high-line Plymouths.Dodge Trucks marketed their version of the Hemi under the name PowerDome.
241
Dodge introduced the engine in 1953. Bore was and stroke was. With a low compression ratio of 7.0:1, the 241 produced. For 1954, the more senior Dodges received a higher 7.5:1 compression ratio version. This engine is not the same as the Plymouth 241, which had polyspheric heads. The 241 Dodge Hemi only lasted two years, being replaced by the 270 for 1955.270
The D553 1955/1956 Dodge Red Ram Hemi 270 displaced and was used in premium 1955 and 1956 Dodge vehicles. Bore was and stroke was. It was not the same as the 270 poly-head. In the Dodge Coronet, the 270 produced at a compression ratio of 7.6:1. In higher trims like the Dodge Royal, the "Super Red Ram" featured a four-barrel carburetor and produced at the same compression ratio.315
For 1956, Dodge increased the displacement to with a longer stroke and a taller raised-deck block, but used polyspheric rather than hemi heads on the base version. The optional high-performance D-500 version had a four-barrel carburetor and a larger-valved Dodge hemispherical combustion chambered head.Also, a "race only" package called the D-500-1 or DASH 1 was available with a special aluminum dual four-barrel intake that sported a pair of Carter WCFB carburetors similar to the ones on the Chrysler 300B and DeSoto Adventurer. This engine used the same cylinder heads as the base D-500 model.
In 1957 the D-501 was the Chrysler 354 engine, not a Dodge-based engine.
325
Dodge released the "Super Red Ram" engine for 1957. It used a bore and stroke, and a polyspheric chambered head in its base version. A higher performance 325 was offered with hemi heads as the 'KD-500'. The 'KD-500-1' came with dual four-barrel carburetors. Even though the hemi headed offerings sported "dimples" in the valve covers for mechanical adjuster clearance, all engines had hydraulic lifters.Second generation: 426 1964–1971
Chrysler’s development program, 1962–66
In a 1967 professional journal, Chrysler laid out in full detail the chronology and particulars of the new hemi engine’s development:“In December 1962 a request was made of engineering staff to develop an engine and vehicle combination capable of winning stock car competitive closed circuit track events throughout the country. It was further requested that a version of the engine suitable for use in supervised timed vehicle acceleration drag events also be made part of the engine portion of this program. Both of these applications were to share the same basic design and development; thus a decision on the basic engine itself was one that required careful consideration. However, the decision for Chrysler was obvious. The hemi engine had been a production engine from 1950 until it was discontinued in 1958. The background of development that preceded the production version of the engine was available, as was experience in converting the engine for competition use. Chrysler hemi engines had been used previously in track events, and were still in use in many drag events….The design of the new hemi engine began in January 1963 with the Feb. 23, 1964 Daytona Beach, Fla. race set as the first target date. A number of engine design avenues were initially explored in order to gain as many performance and durability features as possible while still retaining much of the existing cylinder block tooling as practical. The final design selected was deemed to have the potential necessary to win and the program was launched. The engine requirements were to include a single 4 barrel carbuetor 426 cu in. track engine, and single barrel carburetor 396 cu in. track engine and a two 4 barrel carburetor 426 cu in. drag engine. Immediately following the initial introduction of the engine, a production run of several hundred drag engines and cars were planned to be built. This would serve to give widespread usage of the hemi on drag strips throughout the country and also serve as production backup to the track engine."
The article continued: "Experimental procurement of the 426 cu in. hemi engine was started in July 1963 and was completed by the end of November. The first engine ran under its own power on Dec. 6 1963. This engine was built as a track engine; the drag engine version was built later the same month. The 396 cu in. track engine had subsequently been removed from the rules and the engine was never built. This 426 cu in. track engine was used extensively throughout the 1964 season. The production of several hundred drag engines was completed by the end of the 1964 model year. Another production run of several hundred drag engines was made for the 1965 model year automobiles, with a considerable weight decrease for the engines obtained by the usage was restricted due to a change in eligibility rules which limited the scheduled race events in which the hemi engine was allowed to compete. A detuned high volume street version of the 426 hemi was designed, developed, eleased, and tooled as part of the 1966 model offering…With this release, full eligibility of the engine for 1966 track use was again established. A 404 cu in. version for use on certain tracks was also prepared for the 1966 season in complicance with the revised racing rules.”
Specifications
The 1960s 426 was the first engine called "Hemi" by Chrysler, the 426 was nicknamed the "elephant engine" at the time, a reference to its high power, heavy weight, and large physical dimensions. Its deck height and bore spacing made it the biggest engine in racing at the time.The 426 Hemi "Track" version, produced for use in NASCAR, was raced in a Plymouth Belvedere in 1964 by drivers such as Richard Petty. It was not initially available to the general public. Complaints by Ford regarding its power led to the "Race Hemi" being banned from NASCAR's 1965 season due to its unavailability in production vehicles. However, several special homologated production versions of the Dodge Dart, the Plymouth Fury, and later, in 1965, the Dodge Coronet, were produced with aluminum fenders and bumpers for drag racing and made available to the general public.
Chrysler introduced the "Street Hemi" in 1966 for its intermediate range of cars and sold the required number of Hemi engines to the public to homologate its use for stock car racing in NASCAR events in 1966. The detuned “Street” engine differed from the “Track” and “Drag” versions in many ways: lowered compression, bearing cap material, a different finish on the crankshaft journals, piston weights, piston clearance, piston pin size, valve springs and intake manifold design. The “Street” engine featured a heated intake manifold, cast iron exhaust manifolds, automatic choke, and a milder cam.
The "Street Hemi" version was rated at at 5000 rpm SAE gross and at 4000 rpm of torque. In actual dynamometer testing, it produced and of torque in purely stock form. Chrysler's sales literature published both the gross and net ratings for 1971.
The “Track” and “Drag” engines were more alike than the “Street” engine was with either. Among differening specifications in these racing engines for 1964-66 were: piston weights, intake valve diameter, water pumps, carburetion, camshaft profiles, and construction material.
There were many differences between the Hemi and the RB engine#426 Wedge|426 Wedge], including the Hemi having cross-bolted steel main bearing caps and a different head bolt pattern. Although all manufacturers were familiar with multi-valve engines and hemispherical combustion chambers, adding more valves per cylinder and designing the complex valvetrain they require were expensive ways of improving the high–revolutions per minute breathing of production vehicles. By canting the angle of the NASCAR-mandated two valves per cylinder, significantly larger valves could be used. Both the Chrysler 426 Hemi and all Chrysler RB engines were oversquare, with the 426 Hemi and 426 Wedge sharing a bore and stroke. Blocks for the 426 Hemi were stress relieved at the factory, to prevent cracking under high RPM loads.
The "Street" version of the second generation Hemi engine was used in the following vehicles:
- 1966–1970 Dodge Coronet/Plymouth Belvedere
- 1966–1971 Plymouth Satellite
- 1966–1971 Dodge Charger
- 1966–1971 Jensen FF
- 1966–1971 Jensen Interceptor
- 1967–1971 Plymouth GTX
- 1968 Dodge Dart Super Stock
- 1968 Plymouth Barracuda
- 1968–1971 Dodge Super Bee
- 1968–1971 Plymouth Road Runner
- 1969 Dodge Charger R/T
- 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
- 1970 Plymouth Superbird
- 1970–1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda
- 1970–1971 Dodge Challenger
- 1970 Monteverdi Hai 450
In racing
Third generation: 2003–present
The current-production "HEMI" engine heads are flatter and more complex than the 1950s–'70s Hemi V8 chamber. The combustion chambers are no longer truly hemispherical. It uses a coil-on-plug ignition system and two spark plugs per cylinder to shorten flame travel leading to more consistent combustion and reduced emissions. Like most of Chrysler's past-model Hemi-head engines, the 5.7 L version is rated at approximately one horsepower per cubic inch. For the 2009 model year power was increased to 357-395 horsepower and 389-410 lb·ft depending on application. It also achieved 4% better fuel economy. Variable valve timing was also introduced.A new variable displacement technology called Multi-Displacement System is used in some versions which can shut off two cylinders on each bank under light load to improve fuel economy.
5.7
The 5.7 L HEMI was released for model year 2003 on the Dodge Ram pickup trucks to supplant the Magnum 5.9 engine. From 2004 to 2013, it was the only available gasoline engine in the Ram Heavy Duty. Chrysler later made the 5.7 L Hemi available in all models of the 2004 Dodge Ram, Dodge Durango, the 2005 Chrysler 300C, Dodge Magnum R/T, Jeep Grand Cherokee, the 2006 Dodge Charger R/T, Jeep Commander, the 2007 Chrysler Aspen, the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T, and the 2022 Jeep Wagoneer. For manual transmission applications, cylinder deactivation is not included.The Hemi in the Ram delivered and, but and for the 300C and Magnum R/T, which is exactly more than the old 5.9 engine. It is a 90-degree V8, 2-valve pushrod design like the past Magnum series engines, displacing, with a bore of and a stroke of.
The 5.7 L Hemi is made at Chrysler's Saltillo Engine plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.
The Hemi was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for 2003 through 2007, and again in 2009.
This engine has been used in the following vehicles:
- 2003–present Ram 1500
- 2004–present Dodge Durango
- 2005–2008 Dodge Magnum R/T
- 2005–2021 Chrysler 300C
- 2010, 2012–2023 Chrysler 300S V8
- 2005–2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee
- 2006–2023 Dodge Charger R/T
- 2006–2010 Jeep Commander
- 2007–2009 Chrysler Aspen
- 2009–2023 Dodge Challenger R/T
- 2022–2023 Jeep Wagoneer
2009 VCT Revision
Cylinder heads were revised to increase flow. Though the intake manifold was also changed on all applications, it was still model-specific. The Dodge Ram, non-Hybrid Electric Vehicle Chrysler Aspens, and non-HEV Dodge Durango utilized an active intake manifold with a short runner valve to optimize torque and horsepower. At lower engine speeds, the valve was closed, resulting in improved low-end torque from the longer runners. At higher engine speeds, the valve was opened, diverting the incoming air into the center of the manifold. The shorter runners resulted in improved horsepower. Passenger cars, Jeep vehicles, as well as HEV Chrysler Aspen and HEV Dodge Durango did not use this manifold; instead, these vehicles utilized a passive intake manifold, which did not have a short runner valve. Also, the new cylinder head came with different spark plug seats: tapered seats were replaced with gasket seats. This change made it impossible to use the old OE Champion RE14MCC4, so the new spark plugs that came with 5.7 HEMI became NGK LZFR5C-11. Besides different seats, the spark plug gap grew from.039" to.043".
Engines mated to the six-speed manual transmission or used in the Ram Heavy Duty did not feature the Multi-Displacement System. The new version of the 5.7 L had five different camshaft profiles, all with VCT:
- Active intake without MDS
- Active intake with MDS
- Passive intake without MDS
- Passive intake with MDS
- HEV application
- 300C/300S V8:,
- Charger R/T:,
- Challenger R/T automatic:,
- Challenger R/T 6-speed manual:,
- 2009–2012 Ram 1500 truck:,
- 2013+ Ram 1500 truck:,
- Ram 2500/3500 truck:,
- Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Commander:,
- 2011+ Dodge Durango:,
- 2009 Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango non-HEV:,
- 2009 Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango HEV:,
- 2022 Jeep Wagoneer:,
6.1
Applications:
- 2005–2010 Chrysler 300C SRT-8
- 2006–2008 Dodge Magnum SRT-8
- 2006–2010 Dodge Charger SRT-8
- 2006–2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8
- 2008–2010 Dodge Challenger ''SRT-8''
6.2L Supercharged HEMI (SRT Hellcat)
Applications:
- 2015–2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat/Hellcat Redeye
- 2015–2023 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat/Hellcat Redeye
- 2018–2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
- 2021, 2023–present Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat
- 2021–2024, 2026–present Ram 1500 TRX
SRT Demon
Applications:
- 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon
6.4
The production version of the 392 HEMI was developed in 2010, launched in the 2011 model year Dodge Challenger SRT8 with variable camshaft timing as well as MDS in cars with automatic transmissions. The new 392 HEMI, codenamed "Apache," is based on the third-generation 5.7 L HEMI, codenamed "Eagle," and shares few parts with the 392 crate engine. The "Apache" 6.4L features forged steel crankshaft, hypereutectic cast aluminum pistons with floating pins, 10.9:1 compression ratio, 2.14in intake valves and 1.65in exhaust valves.
Special-edition Chargers and Challengers equipped with this engine, and the engines themselves, featured "392 HEMI" badging in commemorative reference to the first-generation engine of the same displacement. In other applications, the engine is badged as "6.4L HEMI." Output is and ;
For the 2015 model year, horsepower was increased to and torque to in the Charger and Challenger SRT 392 and R/T Scat Pack models; the Grand Cherokee SRT only saw a 5 bhp increase. Export models of the Chrysler 300 SRT retained the and output.
Applications:
- 2023 Chrysler 300C
- 2012–2014 Chrysler 300 SRT-8
- 2015–2021 Chrysler 300 SRT
- 2011–2023 Dodge Challenger SRT-8/SRT 392/Scat Pack
- 2012–2023 Dodge Charger SRT-8/SRT 392/Scat Pack
- 2018–2024 Dodge Durango SRT
- 2012–2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8/SRT
- 2022–2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneer
- 2021–2025 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392
- 2026 Dodge Durango R/T
Ram Heavy Duty truck and chassis-cab version
The BGE 6.4L features a grey cast iron block shared with the 6.2L Hellcat engine, which features reinforced bulkheads and ribs. The aluminum heads of the BGE 6.4L are also shared with the Hellcat 6.2, manufactured with additional ribs and cast from 356-T6 aluminum. The BGE 6.4L features dished pistons to achieve a lower compression ratio of 10.0:1, vs the 10.9:1 compression ratio of the SRT variant.
The engine rpm is limited to 5800rpm in pickup truck models, and 4660rpm when paired to the Aisin transmission.
In 2016, it replaced the 5.7 L as the standard gasoline engine in the chassis-cab models, and for 2019 became the standard gasoline engine in 2500 and 3500 models.
Power numbers:
- Ram 2500/3500 pickup and 3500 SRW chassis-cab with RFE or ZF 8HP transmission:,
- Ram 3500 Mega Cab and 3500 DRW chassis-cab with RFE or ZF 8HP transmission, 3500 SRW/DRW with Aisin transmission:,
- Ram 4500 and 5500 chassis-cab:,
Mopar 426 HEMI (2012–2014)