Hemi or 360?
Rookie
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 96
Likes: 0
From: Dallas, Texas
Had a 99 Durango 4x4 with the 5.2. Terrible gas mileage and slow as a turtle with a hangnail. I did put 250 K on it with no problems though. The Hemi (I've had two) has more power, better mileage (At least in a pickup) and you can give the proper response when someone says: "That thing got a Hemi"? Booyah!
Champion
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,697
Likes: 3
From: Cape Carteret NC
my 360 has been damn good to me.. after you address the inherit issues with it, it is as solid an engine that's ever been made..
it has a lower power curve than the hemi, meaning it works better down low.. the hemi flat out blows it off the road above 2k rpm, though.. mudding? hemi.. trailing? 360.. towing/hauling? weird- I'd rather haul with the 360, but tow with the hemi.. that is a question of how gears are paired to the trans and engine, though.. speaking of which:
the 46rfe behind the 360 is a hunk of crap from the get go.. it has a bad design for cooling it off (check ball), and has all kinds of issues otherwise.. first is too short, second is too tall, and the step between too drastic.. same with third and o/d.. the torque converter is garbage and has an unpublished stall of 1850rpm, which is ridiculous for an engine that comes into the curve at 1100rpm or so.. put a ~1500 to 1600 stall speed converter in there, and of better quality than the oe, and you lose much of the issues plaguing that setup..
the 545 is far FAR better a rig, even though it can trace it's roots back to the same torque flight 727 design as the 46RFE..
the 360 has a short stroke.. that is good for torque.. if you stroke, you get a 408- (406, but let's not get technical with .030 boring quite yet) which has the coveted ratio of displacement to stroke every rodder wants.. it can be an absolute monster of a platform- and I'd take that over a hemi any day of the week.. but then you're back to transmissions that bolt up.. which again, sucks.. it can be addressed with a 46rfe mega viper for around $3k or so, and that problem is absolutely solved..
anyway- engine wise and engine only (which is hard to split from the function of getting power to the tera), the hemi is more efficient and affective at producing torque and power.. it just does it in a higher range.. engine only, and both OE- the hemi, hands down..
the hemi is FAR more tunable that the 360..
now, given a purse to build, of say $10k? and for the purpose of a TRUCK engine- I'd take the 360 and stroke to 4" and bore .030 to give the coveted 4x4 piston face and stroke ratio, put better heads on it, drop an RV or low range cam in it, better intake manifold, and a mega viper behind it.. for a truck, it would blow a hemi away in power, torque, range, speed, and get this: it could easily be more economical to run.. go figure.. many believe this platform to be the engine mopar should have made..
it has a lower power curve than the hemi, meaning it works better down low.. the hemi flat out blows it off the road above 2k rpm, though.. mudding? hemi.. trailing? 360.. towing/hauling? weird- I'd rather haul with the 360, but tow with the hemi.. that is a question of how gears are paired to the trans and engine, though.. speaking of which:
the 46rfe behind the 360 is a hunk of crap from the get go.. it has a bad design for cooling it off (check ball), and has all kinds of issues otherwise.. first is too short, second is too tall, and the step between too drastic.. same with third and o/d.. the torque converter is garbage and has an unpublished stall of 1850rpm, which is ridiculous for an engine that comes into the curve at 1100rpm or so.. put a ~1500 to 1600 stall speed converter in there, and of better quality than the oe, and you lose much of the issues plaguing that setup..
the 545 is far FAR better a rig, even though it can trace it's roots back to the same torque flight 727 design as the 46RFE..
the 360 has a short stroke.. that is good for torque.. if you stroke, you get a 408- (406, but let's not get technical with .030 boring quite yet) which has the coveted ratio of displacement to stroke every rodder wants.. it can be an absolute monster of a platform- and I'd take that over a hemi any day of the week.. but then you're back to transmissions that bolt up.. which again, sucks.. it can be addressed with a 46rfe mega viper for around $3k or so, and that problem is absolutely solved..
anyway- engine wise and engine only (which is hard to split from the function of getting power to the tera), the hemi is more efficient and affective at producing torque and power.. it just does it in a higher range.. engine only, and both OE- the hemi, hands down..
the hemi is FAR more tunable that the 360..
now, given a purse to build, of say $10k? and for the purpose of a TRUCK engine- I'd take the 360 and stroke to 4" and bore .030 to give the coveted 4x4 piston face and stroke ratio, put better heads on it, drop an RV or low range cam in it, better intake manifold, and a mega viper behind it.. for a truck, it would blow a hemi away in power, torque, range, speed, and get this: it could easily be more economical to run.. go figure.. many believe this platform to be the engine mopar should have made..
Thread Starter
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Record Breaker
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 1,530
Likes: 1
From: Lakefield, Ontario
Thx for the thoughts guys, drewactual thats a very detailed post, and quite intresting! I took out 3 hemis and 4.7 yesterday and im blown away. The first was a 2005 hemi with a 2" lift, magnaflow cat back and a K&N with 138000 kms. It rode smooth and damn it could fly! Unforetuneatly the dealer was asking waaaaaay to much for it, they wanted 16,700 out the door!! So i said no. I checked out that red hemi i posted but it was whining real good and just didnt sound healthy so i backed off from it. Next was a silver 4.7. It rode smooth but it just felt lacking.... really solidified my mind on a hemi. The kast i looked at was a bright yellow hemi, and man did it sound good! Gibson side pipes and a K&N. Felt kind of weird steering however and it was real rusty underneath. Unfortuneately no ads to show you guys. However heres the trucks im going to see today!
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/RAM...howcpo=ShowCPO
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/RAM...howcpo=ShowCPO
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/RAM...howcpo=ShowCPO
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/RAM...howcpo=ShowCPO
Im also going to go look at this one soon.
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ395108533
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/RAM...howcpo=ShowCPO
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/RAM...howcpo=ShowCPO
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/RAM...howcpo=ShowCPO
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/RAM...howcpo=ShowCPO
Im also going to go look at this one soon.
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ395108533
Last edited by Johnn123; Jul 27, 2012 at 04:20 PM.