Looking to Buy - 6 vs 8 cylinder?

[HSKR R/T]

I mean, go over to the Wagoneer forum and click on the "problems/issues/TSBs" section. HOURS and HOURS of reading. It's a disaster. That vehicle (based on Ram 1500 largely) got the engine first.

So just like any automotive forum

 

[BowDown]

i have to respond.
yeah, lot's of high mileage turbos' but they are not hurricanes......not bashing just speaking from my actual experience i have had turbo cars.
we went through this before diesel turbo yeah great! gasoline not so much.
according to google AI lol the highest mileage hurricane RAM has 44k on it.
it's a cliché but it hold's true "the light that burns twice a bright burns half as long" the new wave of turbo 2.0's and 1.5's 4 bangers won't hold up long term either they are not meant to, let's be clear the manufactures want you buy cars/trucks every few years they only care that it makes it past the warrantee. but 2026 RAM 10 year 100k is promising if they stay in business that much longer.
there are many hemi's with well over 200k and i'll eat humble pie if the hurricane get's anywhere near that point.
with millions of hemi's on the road yeah you have some hemi's with issues but percentage wise not huge even when you factor in e-torque.
i hope i'm wrong about the I-6, time will tell.
i am biased as a whole i am anti turbo no matter what I-6, V6, V8, 4 banger hell even 3 banger. NA all the way

Im calling BS on that.
My 2020 Limited got minor damage in an accident this week. I picked up my rental yesterday, 2025 Ram 1500 Laramie with the SST and already 25K miles on it so I have both to compare side by side.

1st impressions, whoever claims the coli suspension trucks ride as good as the air ride trucks, BullS**t. My 97K limited with the factory 22's rides far better than this coil spring truck on tires with more sidewall.
2nd. Granted, I've only had it since yesterday and only drove about 10 miles I would not trade my 5.7 truck for a hurricane truck only because the improvement in power isn't worth a new payment.
If I were buying today, I would the hurricane powered truck over the HEMI. The mid range of the standard output hurricane is exactly what I thought it would be. Part throttle driving is far better, mid range power is far far better, top end power is similar which I expected because both trucks have about the same HP.

Initial standing start is similar until about 5-7 mph then the SST takes off but I haven't really beat on it from a standing start, just normal driving. The mid range power the hurricane has vs the HEMI isn't even close, the hurricane is far superior in that area, I can only imagine what the HO feels like.
Driving at normal low speeds where the HEMI feels lazy, this truck does not, it simply accelerates with ease. the added complexity and longevity comments are subjective and silly at this point because its an unknown and mainly from people who want the engine to be bad or troublesome, remember all the complaints about the etorque system complexities? My truck has 97K miles on it and not a single issue with etorque or anything else.

I also don't like UC5 but that has nothing to do with nothing





Bottom line is the hurricane is better than the HEMI if you're looking for increased power. If you just want a truck to go from point A to point B, the HEMI or the regular V6 would be fine.
Id have no issue buying the hurricane, again, I wouldn't trade my current truck for it but that's because I don't want a new payment simply for the hurricane improvement but if I were buying and the 2 trucks were sitting side by side at the same price and options or the HEMI $1500 or so less, Id take the hurricane. Not even a second thought

 

[BowDown]

Well we've already seen:

- 14 hours of labor to change a simple water pump (!)
- Exhaust routing on some models won't even allow for transmission fluid/filter changes, which means people just won't do it, which means shorter trans life
- Timing jobs are a nightmare
- Electrical issues galore

I mean, go over to the Wagoneer forum and click on the "problems/issues/TSBs" section. HOURS and HOURS of reading. It's a disaster. That vehicle (based on Ram 1500 largely) got the engine first.

So yeah, if it's that bad early on (which is to be expected with an overly complex design from Europe) then you can easily guess how it's going to be at 100k, 150k, or beyond. Good luck.

No, fuel economy isn't slightly better. EPA cert only pegged it at 1 MPG better, but in the real world guys are finding that it's worse, which is typical of small turbo engines. Check out Getty's Garage....he's tested them all and the Hurricane is at the bottom of the list.

I don't believe that for one second

 

[wvinson]

Been seeing various references to "tuner". Is this specific to the Hurricane engine?
Does adding a tuner kill the expected gas mileage?
Assume you remove the tuner when taking the truck in for service to avoid them from voiding any warranty?

Back on topic....
I have been loitering on this board for a while, researching for when my truck goes belly up.
Since I tend to keep vehicles as long as it reliable, I have been fighting a similar scenario.

With longevity in mind, the Hemi has its own list of well know potential issues and including the etorque system increases them.
The Hurricane has its own concerns.

Not sure what to do so I asked Grok to compare turbo and non-turbo engines.

On average, non-turbo engines may last 20–50% longer than turbo engines under similar conditions. For example, a non-turbo engine reaching 250,000 miles might outlast a turbo engine by 50,000–100,000 miles. However, modern turbo engines (e.g., those from BMW, Ford, or Volkswagen) with advanced materials and proper care can narrow this gap.

It's a plug and play tuner that they make for many different manufacturers --- gas mileage unchanged -- since it's plug and play, you just remove it (unplug) it from your vehicle without a trace.

 

[wvinson]

i have to respond.
yeah, lot's of high mileage turbos' but they are not hurricanes......not bashing just speaking from my actual experience i have had turbo cars.
we went through this before diesel turbo yeah great! gasoline not so much.
according to google AI lol the highest mileage hurricane RAM has 44k on it.
it's a cliché but it hold's true "the light that burns twice a bright burns half as long" the new wave of turbo 2.0's and 1.5's 4 bangers won't hold up long term either they are not meant to, let's be clear the manufactures want you buy cars/trucks every few years they only care that it makes it past the warrantee. but 2026 RAM 10 year 100k is promising if they stay in business that much longer.
there are many hemi's with well over 200k and i'll eat humble pie if the hurricane get's anywhere near that point.
with millions of hemi's on the road yeah you have some hemi's with issues but percentage wise not huge even when you factor in e-torque.
i hope i'm wrong about the I-6, time will tell.
i am biased as a whole i am anti turbo no matter what I-6, V6, V8, 4 banger hell even 3 banger. NA all the way

I'm sure there are lots of higher mileage Grand Wagoneer's out there since they've been out since '22 and they have the same hurricane engine. I haven't heard of any real (widespread) issues.

 

[Biga]

With all the comments on electrical/software issues, if getting a 2025 build, is there a build date after which you are safe from some of these gremlins? I might get a 2025 based on being able to get better pricing if you take a 2025 off the lot today.

I got one of the early builds. April of 2024 and have had 0 electrical issues.

 

[LOWRMPG]

Well we've already seen:

- 14 hours of labor to change a simple water pump (!)
- Exhaust routing on some models won't even allow for transmission fluid/filter changes, which means people just won't do it, which means shorter trans life
- Timing jobs are a nightmare
- Electrical issues galore

I mean, go over to the Wagoneer forum and click on the "problems/issues/TSBs" section. HOURS and HOURS of reading. It's a disaster. That vehicle (based on Ram 1500 largely) got the engine first.

So yeah, if it's that bad early on (which is to be expected with an overly complex design from Europe) then you can easily guess how it's going to be at 100k, 150k, or beyond. Good luck.

No, fuel economy isn't slightly better. EPA cert only pegged it at 1 MPG better, but in the real world guys are finding that it's worse, which is typical of small turbo engines. Check out Getty's Garage....he's tested them all and the Hurricane is at the bottom of the list.

540 > 395

It is really that simple if you want to 'guess' at what a motor might do over time.

 

[BowDown]

540 > 395

It is really that simple if you want to 'guess' at what a motor might do over time.

Not really, especially if the engine is built for that power and the application.

 

[BowDown]

An update to the comparison between the two trucks, I retract my previous statement about the hemi and the hurricane being similar until 5 or 7 miles an hour, the the standard output trim hurricane throws you back into the seat. This engine is night and day hands down superior to the hemi in every way.

Normal driving is superior, this engine has power everywhere the hemi does not. Those people people poo-pooing the hurricane, you've clearly never driven one

 

[LOWRMPG]

Not really, especially if the engine is built for that power and the application.

not sure at all what that means

 

[BowDown]

not sure at all what that means

Your comment seems like it suggests a engine that makes a lot of power will have shorter longevity. My comment was if the engine is built correctly, it'll last as long as a less powerful engine

 

[LOWRMPG]

Your comment seems like it suggests a engine that makes a lot of power will have shorter longevity. My comment was if the engine is built correctly, it'll last as long as a less powerful engine

No, not at all. My comment was the only non-subjective piece of this discussion is that the I6TT HO makes insanely more power than the V8. Everything else is speculation.

 

[RedFred]

Well we've already seen:

- 14 hours of labor to change a simple water pump (!)
- Exhaust routing on some models won't even allow for transmission fluid/filter changes, which means people just won't do it, which means shorter trans life
- Timing jobs are a nightmare
- Electrical issues galore

I mean, go over to the Wagoneer forum and click on the "problems/issues/TSBs" section. HOURS and HOURS of reading. It's a disaster. That vehicle (based on Ram 1500 largely) got the engine first.

So yeah, if it's that bad early on (which is to be expected with an overly complex design from Europe) then you can easily guess how it's going to be at 100k, 150k, or beyond. Good luck.

No, fuel economy isn't slightly better. EPA cert only pegged it at 1 MPG better, but in the real world guys are finding that it's worse, which is typical of small turbo engines. Check out Getty's Garage....he's tested them all and the Hurricane is at the bottom of the list.

1: I never had to change a water pump on any car or truck I owned, and I keep most of them for 100k+ miles
2: Exhaust routing for transmission fluid change? Ram doesn't recommend trans fluid change, so my last Ram with the 8 speed transmission was traded in with 207k miles on it and I never did a transmission fluid change.
3: I'm not sure what timing jobs is? I change the engine oil and air filter and the truck better run. If not I'm looking for a new truck.
4: I'm at 20k miles on my 2025 and no electrical issues, or issues at all for that matter.
5: MPG, real world numbers measured by me going from a hemi to the hurricane, shows about 1 MPG more. I don't care what the window sticker says, I'm only telling you what my experience is driving the same routes with the 2 different motors.

 

[RedFred]

i have to respond.
yeah, lot's of high mileage turbos' but they are not hurricanes......not bashing just speaking from my actual experience i have had turbo cars.
we went through this before diesel turbo yeah great! gasoline not so much.
according to google AI lol the highest mileage hurricane RAM has 44k on it.
it's a cliché but it hold's true "the light that burns twice a bright burns half as long" the new wave of turbo 2.0's and 1.5's 4 bangers won't hold up long term either they are not meant to, let's be clear the manufactures want you buy cars/trucks every few years they only care that it makes it past the warrantee. but 2026 RAM 10 year 100k is promising if they stay in business that much longer.
there are many hemi's with well over 200k and i'll eat humble pie if the hurricane get's anywhere near that point.
with millions of hemi's on the road yeah you have some hemi's with issues but percentage wise not huge even when you factor in e-torque.
i hope i'm wrong about the I-6, time will tell.
i am biased as a whole i am anti turbo no matter what I-6, V6, V8, 4 banger hell even 3 banger. NA all the way

I prefer NA cars and trucks myself. But I also have and had a lot of cars with turbos. I never replaced a turbo on any car. Even my first car was an 1987 RX7 Turbo and I drove that to 165k miles before selling it to someone. I'm all for a V8 pickup, but I'm just tired of the tired old hemi that debuted in 2009 truck. It's time for a new and more powerful V8. Until then, my hurricane has plenty of power and I am going to assume reliability until it proves me wrong. So I am gonna give it the benefit of the doubt until something factual comes out that should concern me. So far, so good.

 

[CalvinC]

If your top priority is an engine that will be trouble free for 250k miles, snag a 2nd Gen Tundra, 2015-16 F150 5.0 or 2021+ 5.0.

Otherwise just drive em all, see which one you prefer being behind the wheel of, and let Future Homer deal with what happens in 100k miles.

 

[T’s Tungsten]

I’m a rookie so apologize in advance if this is a silly question. Looking to make a new purchase. Do I grab a 2025 with the 6 banger or do I build a 2026 with the v8 coming back? Any general consensus on here amongst the gang of which is better/preferred? Pros and cons of each? Thanks in advance.

I just purchased the 2025 1500 Tungsten about a month ago. I really like the power of the hurricane high output. Seems far more quicker than my 2013 1500 hemi 5.7 that I had. But I’m having a problem with my Tungsten’s instrument cluster. The odometer keeps resetting back to 634 miles after I shutdown the engine. I should be well over a 1,000 miles bye now. Took it in today, but didn’t have a loaner, but taking it back to dealer on Monday loaner or not.

 

[LOWRMPG]

I prefer NA cars and trucks myself. But I also have and had a lot of cars with turbos. I never replaced a turbo on any car. Even my first car was an 1987 RX7 Turbo and I drove that to 165k miles before selling it to someone. I'm all for a V8 pickup, but I'm just tired of the tired old hemi that debuted in 2009 truck. It's time for a new and more powerful V8. Until then, my hurricane has plenty of power and I am going to assume reliability until it proves me wrong. So I am gonna give it the benefit of the doubt until something factual comes out that should concern me. So far, so good.

20K on mine, no issues at all, just 540hp roaring down the road.

 

[Mystic Rhythms]

i have to respond.
yeah, lot's of high mileage turbos' but they are not hurricanes......not bashing just speaking from my actual experience i have had turbo cars.
we went through this before diesel turbo yeah great! gasoline not so much.
according to google AI lol the highest mileage hurricane RAM has 44k on it.
it's a cliché but it hold's true "the light that burns twice a bright burns half as long" the new wave of turbo 2.0's and 1.5's 4 bangers won't hold up long term either they are not meant to, let's be clear the manufactures want you buy cars/trucks every few years they only care that it makes it past the warrantee. but 2026 RAM 10 year 100k is promising if they stay in business that much longer.
there are many hemi's with well over 200k and i'll eat humble pie if the hurricane get's anywhere near that point.
with millions of hemi's on the road yeah you have some hemi's with issues but percentage wise not huge even when you factor in e-torque.
i hope i'm wrong about the I-6, time will tell.
i am biased as a whole i am anti turbo no matter what I-6, V6, V8, 4 banger hell even 3 banger. NA all the way

First of all, a quick check of Autotrader shows 2 2025 Ram 1500's with the turbo and over 84,000 miles.
Secondly, your argument about there not being any high mileage Hurricane engines out in the world vs all the high mileage Hemi's is a little like saying that the 3 year old isn't as experienced as the 74 year old.
Well, duh....

 

[RAL]

Hurricanes have been out for about five years now. They are not new motors anymore and if they were some sort of horror show we would hear it by now.

Biggest risk with turbos traditionally is oil temperature and temperature related lubrication issues. Modern synthetic lubricants and effficient and capable cooling systems address that risk. And the straight six will generally leave more room in the engine bay when normal repairs and maintenance are needed.

Love the 5.7 in my 2020 but if I were buying today I would likely opt for the Hurricane.

Also I understand the 2026s have a 100k mile powertrains warranty so I would do the math and figure out if that is a better deal than a ‘25 where you have to buy the extended warranty for anything beyond 50k on the powertrain.

 

[LOWRMPG]

Hurricanes have been out for about five years now. They are not new motors anymore and if they were some sort of horror show we would hear it by now.

Biggest risk with turbos traditionally is oil temperature and temperature related lubrication issues. Modern synthetic lubricants and effficient and capable cooling systems address that risk. And the straight six will generally leave more room in the engine bay when normal repairs and maintenance are needed.

Love the 5.7 in my 2020 but if I were buying today I would likely opt for the Hurricane.

Also I understand the 2026s have a 100k mile powertrains warranty so I would do the math and figure out if that is a better deal than a ‘25 where you have to buy the extended warranty for anything beyond 50k on the powertrain.

Remember, that warranty offer is only valid on a MY2026 you purchase before 9/2/2025. It isn't as if that is all purchases on MY2026 Rams. So if you're buying a new truck in the next 4 weeks, you can factor in a larger warranty.