DODGE HEMI - Everything You Need To Know | Up To Speed

(car screeching) - It's the crossram-breathing, fire-snorting, eardrum-deafening V8 that took America by storm. This absolute unit of motor has powered

everything

from muscle cars to your muscle dad's truck. - Does that thing have a Hemi? - Yes. (car engine roar) - It is such a strong legend that, for the first time, we dedicate an entire video to an engine. This is

everything

you

need

to

know

to get up to

speed

with Hemi! - Ram charger! (electronic music) - If you've been around since the early days of Up to Speed, you

know

that we love Dodge and Dodge loves us.

I tattooed his name on my chest. They sent me a note when I was sick. Also this Christmas sweater and these sweet Legos. And we all know that Dodge made the Hemi popular. But before we get into all the Hemi cars we know and love, I must first give you a little history. The good thing is that this is a history program. (dog barking) Hello baby, no, no. Did you arrive lost? Cars from the early 20th century had no power, baby. Benz's patented truck engine generated two-thirds of the horsepower. Can you imagine two thirds of a horse?

Rough! If you wanted to go fast, the best way to do it back then would be to jump off a cliff. (sliding sound) The main problem with engines in Grandpa's time was twofold. First was the location of the valve. Early engines used what is called a side-valve design, where the valves were located inside the engine block. The air and fuel mixture enters one side of the combustion chamber and has to exit in the same direction. Because the air and gas mixture had to enter and exit the same side of the combustion chamber, the free flow of air was restricted.

That limited power. The side valve design was inexpensive and easy to manufacture, so it was sufficient for many brands at the time. I mean, I don't blame them. At that time the cars were only about four years old and everyone was happy with them. Except one company, Welch. Now, Welch was a small automobile manufacturer located in Pontiac, Michigan. In 1904, they abandoned the 4-L model. A seven-passenger car with a 336 cubic inch 4-cylinder engine that produces 50 horsepower. In 1904. So how did Welch manage to generate so much power at a time when other automakers would struggle to produce half as much?

Well, put on your engineering hats, Ram shippers, because it's about to get technical for a minute. (electronic music) They didn't go with the side valve design, with a flat head, no. The 4-L model used a

hemi

spherical combustion chamber. This sweeping, sweeping shape completely changed the way the engine generated power. The

hemi

spherical combustion chamber increased the volume of the air-fuel mixture to be burned while minimizing the surface area inside the chamber. (electronic music) All the new things they

need

ed to add to make an overhead valvetrain work made the new engine more expensive to build. But the benefits were immediately evident.

Just as my ex-girlfriend from high school showed up at my door with Nolan, I immediately became a father. (Laughter) And although Welch only built four 4-L models, his influence reached far in the automotive world. Brands such as Fiat, Peugeot and Alfa Romeo were experimenting with hemispherical heads. It's pretty interesting that Alfa Romeo and Fiat were playing with Hemis and now they're all part of Dodge. So I'm sure by now you're all wondering, "I thought this damn video was about Dodge. When does Dodge show up?" I'll tell you. In 1940, Chrysler began developing an engine for fighter jets, the coolest vehicles ever created.

It's about fighter jets, rockets, horses, NASCAR, Volkswagen golfs. The engine they came up with was a gigantic thirty-six-liter V16, called Chrysler 14-2200, with Roman numerals. The engine was actually designed to run in reverse, so that when mounted on an airplane, there would be room for nose-mounted weapons. The hemispherical combustion chambers were not sufficient for the engine to generate power at 25,000 feet. At that altitude, there isn't much oxygen to burn. So they had to find a way to get more air into the engine. Do you see where I'm going with this? That's how it is. In addition to a 36-liter engine, Chrysler also installed a big ol' boy, made by General Electric, in the rear.

The end result was a maximum power of 2,500 horsepower at just 3,400 RPM. Although Republican Aviation built two P47 fighters with the 1422 under the hood, the war was almost over by the time the engine was ready. Isn't it always like this? The war ends just before you can use the cool stuff. After the war, Chrysler's engine development team continued to experiment with hemispherical designs. First of all, on single cylinder lawnmower engines, believe it or not. Then in V6 engines. They were too weak, too heavy, too long or too raw. Chrysler's next-generation engine would have to be... - The V8 engine. - Yes, and the V8 engine. - In 1950, the Chrysler team was hard at work, just in the laboratory, starting up the new engine.

It was a 331 cubic inch V8 with a forged steel crank. Hydraulic lifters and those sweet, sweet war-testing hemispherical heads. I have a slightly hemispherical head because my parents left me in the crib too much when I was a baby. (whimsical music) Hemispherical heads may be great for motors, but they're not great for babies. Be sure to rotate your baby at least once every hour to two hours. (whimsical music) Chrysler was on top. They called this little beast Chrysler Firepower. Yuck! No head of power knows him by any other name. The first generation Hemi (car engine roars).

Hemi firepower debuted in Chrysler cars like the Imperial, New Yorker and Saratoga to broaden the claim, naturally. People love the high-powered Hemis, and the success convinced Chrysler management to share the love of the Hemis across all of its brands. But instead of using the fire engine, Dodge and DeSoto designed their own Hemi engines for their cars. - Announcement of the new DeSoto Firedome 8. - A 276 cubic inch V8 that generates 160 horsepower. - This is your new Red Ram V8 engine. - Ram Chargers! - It had 140 horsepower. (Car engine roars) In the late 1950s, Chrysler Imperials and New Yorkers were available with a 392 cubic inch Hemi with 10:1 compression making 345 horsepower.

Get out of town. (Car engine roars) But although the engines were fantastic, it was increasingly difficult to justify installing them in passenger cars. I mean, having three companies design their own engines was getting expensive, and their complicated overhead valve design, remember, was really expensive to build. So Chrysler phased out the Hemi in 1958. An additional factor in the death of the first Hemis occurred in 1957. The Automobile Manufacturers Association, also known as the Scrooge McDucks of the automotive world, banned all manufacturers from getting involved in racing. . Wouldn't you know? A few years later, after the ban, Ford and Shelby started making fast engines again. - That?

I thought we all promised. - They say: "Do you believe in that little gentlemen's agreement?" - Yeah. I thought we were all boys, buddy. - Yes, friend, we are boys. But that won't stop us from trying to be the best. - I should have known. I have to go to train. Ram chargers, in deployment. (car engine sounds) - Chrysler president Lynn Townsend enters. The guy had two sons who spent a lot of time on Woodward Avenue, which was a street racing hotspot in Detroit. Then Lynn's kids told her that her cars were a little boring and that they got hit a lot on the streets.

Not that it's something you want to hear from your children. She decided that the Chrysler family needed a total makeover. Chrysler engineers quickly got to work on a new engine called the B-Engine or Wedge. The engineers did a great job because the Wedge was a dominant force on the race track, but not so much on the ovals of NASCAR, which was basically the biggest marketing tool automakers had in America at the time. Lynn's racing engine group leader Tom Hoover, who also probably invented the vacuum cleaner, had a suggestion. - If you want to go to Daytona and do it like a stinker, let's adapt the hemi head for the Wedge engine. - And Lynn said... - You're crazy, you're crazy. - They had 10 months until their work would debut in the 1964 Daytona 500.

The team used the 426 cubic inch Max Wedge engine as a base. These things used crazy looking cross ram intakes and huge valves for excellent airflow. The Wedge boasted incredible compression ratios, with a maximum available of 13.5:1. Just hearing one of these things start up is enough to send your rivals running for the hills or make the little guy wrinkle his butt. (Car engine roars) After 200 grueling laps, they took first place, second, third, with Richard Petty, the king, in the number one position. The Hemi was back. (birthday blower) The engine development team also built a 426 Hemi optimized for drag racing.

Obviously it's fucked up. Duh, that's what they do. In its quest to dominate NHRA drag racing, Chrysler built turnkey race cars from the factory. Built to race in the 1964 Superstock class. Wish I had one. The new rules required that no fiberglass or aluminum body work be allowed. So Chrysler stamped the bodies of these cars from super thin steel. Imagine the thinnest steel you have ever seen in your life. Okay, are you doing it? Thinner. And the weight loss didn't end there. The interiors were basically dismantled. They made the intakes from magnesium and the cylinder heads cast from aluminum.

These cars were known internally as A-864 cars, available in Plymouth Savoy form. In 1965, these cars received the designation A-990 and can be heard as Dodge Cornets or Plymouth Belvederes. (Car engine roars) Now, all this success would be for nothing if Chrysler didn't make the hemi available to the people. The Hemi Street engine was tuned for reliable daily driving. The camshaft was smoother, the springs were softer and everything was better for low RPM driving. But the valves, lifters, connecting rods, rocker arms and crankshaft were all carried over from the A-990 engine. This was a 425 horsepower racing engine for the daily driver, back in the damn '60s. (car engine) By 1966, the street hemi was available in Dodge and Plymouth, B-Body cars like the Coronet, Belvedere, Satellite and Charger, if you can afford it, friend.

The hem was a $1,105 option, which is almost $9,000 in today's money. When most of their cars were redesigned in 1968, including the beautiful new Coca-Cola bottle charger, customer interest in the Hemi was greatly renewed. I mean, these cars look amazing, and all that power, it's a no-brainer, it's easy. (Car engine roars) For the rest of the '60s and into the- I'm sorry. Friend, come here. What's in your mouth? (shock) The second-generation Hemi peaked in 1969 and 1970 when Dodge and Plymouth used it to power their pointy factory race cars. The Daytona and the Superbird. These cars were so far ahead of the competition that NASCAR had to water them down in 1971 to make the racing even remotely interesting. (car engine roar) In the NHRA, Hemi's Superstock Darts and Barracudas continued to blow everyone away, something they still do today, in the Dodge Hemi Challenge, held every year at the Nationals.

NHRA USA. (car engines roar) With a legacy like that, it's no wonder the 426 Hemi is one of the most iconic engines of the muscle car era. So how do you track it? Emissions regulations killed the 426 Hemi in 1971, but fortunately, Hemi fans didn't have to wait long to get the new Hemi on the block. Unfortunately, the resurrected Hemi wasn't exactly what they had in mind. (car engine cranking) The 1981 2.6-liter Hemi, available in the Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant, was a 4-cylinder engine built by Mitsubishi and peaked at 92 horsepower, slightly less than the horsepower of the previous Hemis.

But this little Hemi was technically a Hemi because it had hemispherical heads. Naturally, Chrysler sent that Mitsubishi Hemi to live on the farm with my childhood pets. So the Hemi name lay dormant for 16 years, until 2003, which is the same year a little movie called The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King came out. Coincidence? In my line of work, there is no such thing. The Dodge Ram was available with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 for the 2003 model year. The Hemi produced 345 horsepower at 375 pounds (murmurs). Those BV numbers madePeople from all over the world will walk up to the Rams and ask, "Does that thing have a Hemi?" - Yes. (

speed

ing car) Soon, the Hemi wasn't just for trucks.

Cars from across the Chrysler family were getting the Hemi treatment. I'm talking about Dodge Durango, I'm talking about Chrysler 300c, I'm talking about Dodge Magnum, I'm talking about Jeep Grand Cherokee, I'm talking about Dodge Charger. (car speeding up) But this new Hemi was a little different from the Hemis of yesteryear. The heads were no longer half-sphere shaped. In comparison, the combustion chamber was much shallower and flat. There were still only two valves per cylinder, but they now had two spark plugs. The second spark plug lit shortly after the first, which helped with emissions. The 5.7-liter Hemi may not have been exactly the same as the legendary 426, but it's still a damn Hemi and people were excited.

But when the Dodge and Chrysler SRT8 models came out in 2005, they needed something with a humble little baby of power. (speeding car) Three hundred CSRT8s, Magnum SRT8s, Charger SRT8s, and the rest of the SRT8s were equipped with larger 6.1-liter Hemis. Changes such as increased displacement, some intake casting, and forged crankshaft allowed the 6.1 to achieve 425 hsprs, the same as the old 426. The Hemi received another boost in 2011, with the introduction of the 392. The 392 had been available for years as a great engine for race cars, but became widespread under the hood of SRT8 cars like the Charger and Challenger.

The beefier engine now produced between 470 and 485 horsepower, far surpassing the legendary 426 while being smaller and more efficient. But you already know that the best was yet to come. (snaps fingers) Thank you. Throughout this entire history, the Hemi has remained naturally aspirated. Relying on your great position to make all that power baby. But what if the Hemi was... I don't know, it just spitballs here (mumbles) What if it was supercharged? That's exactly what we discovered in 2015, when Dodge launched the Hellcat, a 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi. Putting in a monstrous 707 hours. (Car roars) Chrysler didn't limit the Hellcat to Dodges.

In 2018, the Jeep Trackhawk put 707 hours on the ground, with all-wheel drive. I've driven one with a bigger fan, it's one of the craziest cars I've ever driven. For the launch, friend, we used a two-speed supercharged Huracán. (car roaring) (laughter) One hundred and four miles an hour. You should know by now that 707 horsepower wasn't enough, man. So in 2018, Dodge gave us the Challenger Hellcat Demon, which used a larger 2.7-liter blower that increased horsepower to 808 on 91 octane, 840 on 100 octane. (car speeding up) We did a whole episode on that car, so if you want to learn more about it, check it out here.

I also drove one on something else and unpacked it as well. It comes with a damn box. Plus, it's not even the craziest you can buy anymore. What (bleep) is going on here? Are there no rules anymore? Last year at the SEMA show, Dodge unveiled its most extravagant Hemi yet. One thousand horsepower. 950 lb-ft crate motor for the price of $30,000. They call it Helephant because yes, these guys are the best at naming trash. - What are you going to call your car? - I don't know, the Taurus. - What are you going to call yours? - The hellish cat. - The demon. - The Helephant.

Most metal (bleep) ever seen. This fattest 7-liter guy ever has an aluminum engine block, forged pistons, the Demon's valvetrain, and an updated supercharger. Dodge hasn't put the Hellephant in a production car yet. (Car engine roars) I don't think any output I can write can be as good as listening to Hemi one more time. Colby. (Car engine starts) Just like when my ex-high school girlfriend showed up at my door with Nolan, I immediately became a father. (laughs heartily) I love you.