2026 HEMI or Hurricane?

[foxmc]

I don’t think it’s really all that complicated:

The Hurricane is a rational choice.

The Hemi is the emotional one.

Reliability is just speculation, and repairability is more important to me - on that they both trade drawbacks and come out even.

However for 26 the warranty goes some way to render both aspects irrelevant.

There’s no formula on a spreadsheet or spec on a brochure that indicates Hemi is better. Every objective data point favors the Hurricane.

But I’m ordering the Hemi.

If I was drag racing or towing with my truck regularly I’d go Hurricane. But having done a substantial amount of both activities with a highly modded 3.5 EcoBoost F150, I’m done with that chapter.

You don’t get to enjoy WOT constantly during every drive, but a classic, smooth V8 rumble, well damped suspension, and great brakes make a difference throughout every drive. (I’ll be addressing the latter 2 aspects via aftermarket).

Pretty much nailed the entire discussion. I'm on the opposite end - shopping for an HO purely out of stubborness and not wanting to give up power relative to the current car, but after driving both, it's clear that I'll miss the rumble, and nothing else.

 

[bunk22]

I don’t think it’s really all that complicated:

The Hurricane is a rational choice.

The Hemi is the emotional one.

Reliability is just speculation, and repairability is more important to me - on that they both trade drawbacks and come out even.

However for 26 the warranty goes some way to render both aspects irrelevant.

There’s no formula on a spreadsheet or spec on a brochure that indicates Hemi is better. Every objective data point favors the Hurricane.

But I’m ordering the Hemi.

If I was drag racing or towing with my truck regularly I’d go Hurricane. But having done a substantial amount of both activities with a highly modded 3.5 EcoBoost F150, I’m done with that chapter.

You don’t get to enjoy WOT constantly during every drive, but a classic, smooth V8 rumble, well damped suspension, and great brakes make a difference throughout every drive. (I’ll be addressing the latter 2 aspects via aftermarket).

I think you nailed it, well said. In my past, I loved going fast, racing. I had a 1995 Mustang GT with your standard formula for going fast, h/c/I/exhaust and a Vortech S-trim. Then a modified 03 Cobra, to my C6 LS2 with basic mods and later on, a 2015 Mustang GT with basic bolt-ons, custom tuned, 3800 stall, ran a 10.92@127, etc. So I was new to the truck world when I purchased my first 2015 F150 5.0. A drunk driver tuned that up so I got back into boost with a 2.7 F150 and felt it needed a bit more so I turned 5-Star tuning.

But like you said, buying the Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi was an emotional decision. I heard the 5.7 was going away so I found a nice Ram 5.7 and made the deal. I don't buy trucks to race or go fast, but it is nice to have a truck that can get up and go and 5.7 can do just that. It isn't going to win races in the 1/8th or 1/4 mile, and I don't care. Hell, the 1/2 ton is probably too much for my needs anyway. I'm a retired veteran and I have a service dog, a Belgian Malinois, and the back seat is a perfect size for him to rest, move, etc. I think the 5.7 Hemi, as it sits, peaked ten years ago. Why not improve the motor, make it a DOHC motor, whatever. I am very impressed by the 5.0 Coyote but RAM has made me a fan of their trucks. That Hurricane equipped Warlock I drove, haunts my dreams lol I am done modding vehicles to make them go fast or handle better. If it's more than just a custom tune, I am not interested. But that damn Hurricane motor had me smiling and dreaming lol

 

[BowDown]

My '19 Hemi/eTorque averaged 14.1 over the 72K miles that I had it.

That was hand-calculated by logging every single fill-up the whole time I had the truck.

When people report those really high MPG numbers on a Hemi, if they don't specifically say it was hand-calculated, I just assume it is based on the lie-o-meter on the dash and ignore it.

I compared every single hand-calculated tank against what the onboard computer (lie-o-meter) said and it was virtually always off and the lie-o-meter always said it did better than it really did. Sometimes by over 2 MPG.

I do have to add: I changed my truck at the first tire change, from the stock wheels to OEM-sized 20" wheels and then went with 33" A/T tires, instead of the stock 32" highway tires. Based on my comparison of mileage before and after, I think the 1" bigger tires cost me around 1.5 MPG in worse fuel economy.

I hand calc'd my 20 Limited every tank for 2 years, the fuel computer vs hand calc was never more than 2-3 tenths apart and I averaged mid 17's in mixed city driving.
Now, my Tungsten is wayyyy off, it regularly displays mid 18's in mixed city driving but hand calc'ing it shows a consistent 1.2-1.5 less than the computer or 16.5-17 mpg over the same route and at the same rpm. Of course my limited was 75 mph @ 2000 rpm and the tungsten is 70 mph at 2000 rpm

 

[BowDown]

I don’t think it’s really all that complicated:

The Hurricane is a rational choice.

The Hemi is the emotional one.

Reliability is just speculation, and repairability is more important to me - on that they both trade drawbacks and come out even.

However for 26 the warranty goes some way to render both aspects irrelevant.

There’s no formula on a spreadsheet or spec on a brochure that indicates Hemi is better. Every objective data point favors the Hurricane.

But I’m ordering the Hemi.

If I was drag racing or towing with my truck regularly I’d go Hurricane. But having done a substantial amount of both activities with a highly modded 3.5 EcoBoost F150, I’m done with that chapter.

You don’t get to enjoy WOT constantly during every drive, but a classic, smooth V8 rumble, well damped suspension, and great brakes make a difference throughout every drive. (I’ll be addressing the latter 2 aspects via aftermarket).

The bolded is 100% correct. Id add to the last paragraph; I do not go WOT constantly and rarely for that matter. I have just under 4000 miles on my truck and have been WOT maybe 7-10 times but I do enjoy having power in areas where the HEMI is dead, basically 2500-4000 rpm. The hurricane at part throttle in that same RPM range just goes whereas my Limited needs significant throttle input to accelerate; for me, its more than WOT driving

 

[BowDown]

Pretty much nailed the entire discussion. I'm on the opposite end - shopping for an HO purely out of stubborness and not wanting to give up power relative to the current car, but after driving both, it's clear that I'll miss the rumble, and nothing else.

Yeah, I'm really over missing the V8 rumble that I really on hear at startup as these trucks (or mine does) go into MDS 4 cylinder mode fairly quickly. I don't miss the HEMI at all

 

[BowDown]

I think you nailed it, well said. In my past, I loved going fast, racing. I had a 1995 Mustang GT with your standard formula for going fast, h/c/I/exhaust and a Vortech S-trim. Then a modified 03 Cobra, to my C6 LS2 with basic mods and later on, a 2015 Mustang GT with basic bolt-ons, custom tuned, 3800 stall, ran a 10.92@127, etc. So I was new to the truck world when I purchased my first 2015 F150 5.0. A drunk driver tuned that up so I got back into boost with a 2.7 F150 and felt it needed a bit more so I turned 5-Star tuning.

But like you said, buying the Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi was an emotional decision. I heard the 5.7 was going away so I found a nice Ram 5.7 and made the deal. I don't buy trucks to race or go fast, but it is nice to have a truck that can get up and go and 5.7 can do just that. It isn't going to win races in the 1/8th or 1/4 mile, and I don't care. Hell, the 1/2 ton is probably too much for my needs anyway. I'm a retired veteran and I have a service dog, a Belgian Malinois, and the back seat is a perfect size for him to rest, move, etc. I think the 5.7 Hemi, as it sits, peaked ten years ago. Why not improve the motor, make it a DOHC motor, whatever. I am very impressed by the 5.0 Coyote but RAM has made me a fan of their trucks. That Hurricane equipped Warlock I drove, haunts my dreams lol I am done modding vehicles to make them go fast or handle better. If it's more than just a custom tune, I am not interested. But that damn Hurricane motor had me smiling and dreaming lol

View attachment 208398

I can understand that, all my friends are car guys with modded cars. I didn't mod my 5.7 and as easy as the hurricane is to increase power, I have zero interest in messing with it. I want quiet and luxury while still having a truck.
I can get in my car for the V8 rumble/modded V8 rumble but I get tired of that S fast

 

[70runner]

Previous truck was 21 Rebel with ED. Great truck, 25mpg, until one day the electronic shift module failed. Took RAM 3 months to find/make one. By that time I had decided to get a new truck. The RebelX Hurricane SO has one flaw, with the radio on, I cannot hear it start. Remarkably quiet.

If I need to hear a rumble, I'll take the 70 Roadrunner 440-6 for a spin.

 

[CalvinC]

I hear you guys on having a toy with the V8
That was an option - keep the EcoBoost truck and scoop up a pony car or V8 Vantage, then I could get a 3rd pedal as well.

Went back and forth, that was a tougher decision than Hemi vs Hurricane for me.

 

[SD Rebel]

Something interesting, TRD Jon, a well known YouTube Toyota creator, previous owner of Tundra V6 turbos and V8s, recently stated his RAM RHO with HO Hurricane is his favorite truck up to now. He did have some initial issues with engine lights, but they seem to have figured that out. Even with that, he stated it's his favorite truck ever. Pretty high praise for a life long Toyota fan.

 

[Jupiter58]

I have friends with 6.4 HD trucks who say their fuel mileage is absolute crap. One guy even bought an older power stroke Ford to pull his camper because his towing mpg in his RAM was single digits.

Even with my lift, 35" tires, and off-road front bumper I still get 14-15mpg average on freeway at 70-80mph. Usually about 13mpg mixed driving . That's with my Pulsar set to performance and running premium fuel.

Of course towing heavy is crap on any gas motor. I consider my 5.7 mileage not towing to be crap.

 

[Jupiter58]

My '19 Hemi/eTorque averaged 14.1 over the 72K miles that I had it.

That was hand-calculated by logging every single fill-up the whole time I had the truck.

When people report those really high MPG numbers on a Hemi, if they don't specifically say it was hand-calculated, I just assume it is based on the lie-o-meter on the dash and ignore it.

I compared every single hand-calculated tank against what the onboard computer (lie-o-meter) said and it was virtually always off and the lie-o-meter always said it did better than it really did. Sometimes by over 2 MPG.

I do have to add: I changed my truck at the first tire change, from the stock wheels to OEM-sized 20" wheels and then went with 33" A/T tires, instead of the stock 32" highway tires. Based on my comparison of mileage before and after, I think the 1" bigger tires cost me around 1.5 MPG in worse fuel economy.

Yeah, mine is hand calculated also. That is all I post about. My lie o meter is pretty consistent at 1 mpg better so it’s a fairly good indicator what to expect at the pump.

 

[Jupiter58]

Something interesting, TRD Jon, a well known YouTube Toyota creator, previous owner of Tundra V6 turbos and V8s, recently stated his RAM RHO with HO Hurricane is his favorite truck up to now. He did have some initial issues with engine lights, but they seem to have figured that out. Even with that, he stated it's his favorite truck ever. Pretty high praise for a life long Toyota fan.

Not surprised at that. More power and several generations better technology and luxury than even current Toyotas. Used to be one would buy their big v-8 for reliability but it might take them to the end of the decade or more to prove their turbo motor is reliable after the horrible issues the first year.

 

[StuartV]

I hand calc'd my 20 Limited every tank for 2 years, the fuel computer vs hand calc was never more than 2-3 tenths apart and I averaged mid 17's in mixed city driving.
Now, my Tungsten is wayyyy off, it regularly displays mid 18's in mixed city driving but hand calc'ing it shows a consistent 1.2-1.5 less than the computer or 16.5-17 mpg over the same route and at the same rpm. Of course my limited was 75 mph @ 2000 rpm and the tungsten is 70 mph at 2000 rpm

I'm on my 4th RAM 1500. 2009, 2019 (5th gen), 2021, and now a 2025.

All of them have been like I described my current one. They all have been consistent in saying that I was getting better mileage than I actually was. And consistent in being inconsistent in how much they're off. Sometimes only 0.5 MPG off. Sometimes 2.5 MPG off.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Not surprised at that. More power and several generations better technology and luxury than even current Toyotas. Used to be one would buy their big v-8 for reliability but it might take them to the end of the decade or more to prove their turbo motor is reliable after the horrible issues the first year.

The first year issues were all software related, not mechanical issues with the engine.

 

[fishslayer]

My '19 Hemi/eTorque averaged 14.1 over the 72K miles that I had it.

That was hand-calculated by logging every single fill-up the whole time I had the truck.

When people report those really high MPG numbers on a Hemi, if they don't specifically say it was hand-calculated, I just assume it is based on the lie-o-meter on the dash and ignore it.

I compared every single hand-calculated tank against what the onboard computer (lie-o-meter) said and it was virtually always off and the lie-o-meter always said it did better than it really did. Sometimes by over 2 MPG.

I do have to add: I changed my truck at the first tire change, from the stock wheels to OEM-sized 20" wheels and then went with 33" A/T tires, instead of the stock 32" highway tires. Based on my comparison of mileage before and after, I think the 1" bigger tires cost me around 1.5 MPG in worse fuel economy.

I hand calculate my mpg because we were taught math in my school..With my 5.7 E Torque I consistently get 20 to 22 mpg hiway and 14 to 16 city..I gdt 10 mpg towing a 12k pound dump trailer..But there are no hills in the swamp