Hemi vs Hurricane Engine which do you prefer?

[Brisoup1]

I recently ordered a 2026 Ram 1500 with the S.O. Hurricane Engine. Right before ordering, I test drove two different trucks. One with the Hemi, and one with the S.O. Hurricane Engine.
I chose the Hurricane Engine. It had more pep than the Hemi and was a lot smoother on power delivery. I know the Hurricane equipped Ram is rated to Tow and haul a little less, but I rarely approach the Hurricane's ratings. The engine has been out for two years now and I'm hoping any bugs has been worked out.

 

[CR 5th Gen]

I love my 26 hemi, i think it depends what you are looking for/enjoy in your engine, especially in regards to power delivery. The hemi gives me launch i love from the 5.7 plus I know what to expect when it comes to long term use. As soon as I heard there was one available in my area I jumped on it. But I see alot of pluses to the hurricane aswell.

 

[mikeru82]

There is already a current thread discussing this. A quick search would have brought up this thread...

Thread '2026 HEMI or Hurricane?'

Oct 31, 2025

Thoughts?

• securityguy
• Replies: 388
• Forum: 5th Gen General Discussion

 

[Brisoup1]

There is already a current thread discussing this. A quick search would have brought up this thread...

Thread '2026 HEMI or Hurricane?'

Oct 31, 2025

Thoughts?

• securityguy
• Replies: 388
• Forum: 5th Gen General Discussion

Thank you

 

[bunk22]

I think I responded in the other thread as well, but again, my two cents. I test drove another Ram Hurricane, a 2025 Warlock with 2500 miles. It was a demo and the price is $41k, so I was curious. My Ram isn't quite three years old yet, low miles with only 25,4XX at the moment. I love the 5.7, even though I believe it peaked ten years ago. It is strong, smooth, and has a wonderful rumble. But the reason I test drove the Hurricane is because I would pick that motor if I were to buy today. Even with the big tires, that Hurricane had fantastic mid-range torque, pulled like a freight train when that boost kicked in. If were towing heavy loads and/or lived at altitude, I think Hurricane would be a better choice, but neither describe me lol So for now, I'm still sticking with my old faithful, the 5.7 Hemi.

 

[Brisoup1]

Another thing that made me decide to get the Hurricane Engine is the long term reliability of the Hemi. When the truck is cold and first started, it almost sounds like the driver side exhaust manifold is leaking. Sometimes I get a whiff of exhaust gas that hasn't passed the catalytic converter. I know these manifolds has a tendency to break studs at the manifold gaskets, but my mechanic told me there wasn't any leaks from either manifold. He did find the exhaust gasket between the catalytic convertor and resonators leaking and replaced it. The noise died down some, but never went completely away. The engine also has the infamous "Hemi Tic" leading me to question the engine's long term reliability. I've owned this truck for nearly 7 years and it only let me stranded once and that was because we went away for a week and I forgot to disconnect the dashcam, killing the battery. As far as I knew, when they reintroduced the Hemi Engine, It wasn't substantially updated. It was basically the same engine as before.

 

[silver billet]

Another thing that made me decide to get the Hurricane Engine is the long term reliability of the Hemi. When the truck is cold and first started, it almost sounds like the driver side exhaust manifold is leaking. Sometimes I get a whiff of exhaust gas that hasn't passed the catalytic converter. I know these manifolds has a tendency to break studs at the manifold gaskets, but my mechanic told me there wasn't any leaks from either manifold. He did find the exhaust gasket between the catalytic convertor and resonators leaking and replaced it. The noise died down some, but never went completely away. The engine also has the infamous "Hemi Tic" leading me to question the engine's long term reliability. I've owned this truck for nearly 7 years and it only let me stranded once and that was because we went away for a week and I forgot to disconnect the dashcam, killing the battery. As far as I knew, when they reintroduced the Hemi Engine, It wasn't substantially updated. It was basically the same engine as before.

They fixed the lifter issue back in 2016-ish, switched manufactures and it has thicker needle bearings.

"Hemi tick" is a completely meaningless term these days, ask a random person what it is and you'll get a different answer. The hemi is not a completely silent engine especially cold, but it can be (like mine) buttery smooth and quiet with the right oil when all warmed up. Any engine with direct injection will have ticky sounds as well if you pop the hood you'll hear it tickin away.

As I said in the other thread, the hemi has decades of production and history, it has sold many millions of copies over its production run and has proven itself in the heavy duty segment. You buy what you feel comfortable with, but the hemi + zf 8 speed transmission was one of the reasons I purchased my truck.

 

[silver billet]

Great quote from a guy on another ram forum who used his 5.7 on the drag strip without worry:

The stock bottem end will live all day long at 6600 rpm,and there's guys even spinning SBE 5.7's to 7000 rpm with no issues.My truck had over 700 nitrous fueled dragstrip passes on it and 50,000 miles of spirited driving on it,shifting at 6600 rpm,and the last thing i ever worried about was the engine.It still pumped 215 to 218 psi on all cylinders and hot idled at 51 psi with 5W-30 Redline and dual remote filters when i sold it . 6100 is roughly where the stock cam noses over,and i'd never worry about the engine at that rpm,the fan belt might give a chirp on the shifts,but that's about it