What the heck is a "hemi"?

FearoftheNight

Diamond Member
Feb 19, 2003
5,101
0
71
That suv or minivan commerical w/ the guy and his "hemi" is pissing me off. WHat ish a hemi anyway!??!?
 

RU482

Lifer
Apr 9, 2000
12,689
3
81
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
A marketing gimmick.

may be partially true, but just look at the difference in power compared to similar sized ford and chevy trucks. Not to mention the 16 spark plugs you'll need to change at tune up time with the Hemi
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,600
1,005
126
Originally posted by: redly1
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
A marketing gimmick.

may be partially true, but just look at the difference in power compared to similar sized ford and chevy trucks. Not to mention the 16 spark plugs you'll need to change at tune up time with the Hemi

Bah, ratings by the manufacturer. I've heard those Dodge trucks lose something like 25% in the drivertrain and they aren't any faster than competing trucks with similar engines.
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
Feelin' hemi: Big engines back in style
Drivers across the country seek power under the hood
  • The popular Hemi, which dates to the 1950s, gets its name from the hemispherical shape of its combustion chamber, which Chrysler executives say allows it to produce more power and achieve greater fuel economy. Chrysler introduced the newest version of the Hemi in 2002 on heavy-duty trucks, then began offering it as an option on the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup and Durango SUV.

    Chrysler says a Hemi-equipped 2004 Ram 1500 can get 14 miles per gallon in the city and 18 mpg on the highway, roughly 10 percent better than the non-Hemi engine in the previous Ram.
 

Tab

Lifer
Sep 15, 2002
12,145
0
76
Originally posted by: FearoftheNight
That suv or minivan commerical w/ the guy and his "hemi" is pissing me off. WHat ish a hemi anyway!??!?

I hate that commerical too
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Just another engine. One which doesn't push the Dodge fullsize pickup to 60 as fast as the Nissan Titan's engine (sorry I have no other numbers from that review) :)
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,986
11
81
Hemispherical combustion chambers produce more power and achieve greater fuel economy than what? Flatheads?
 

moshquerade

No Lifer
Nov 1, 2001
61,504
12
56
Originally posted by: FearoftheNight
That suv or minivan commerical w/ the guy and his "hemi" is pissing me off. WHat ish a hemi anyway!??!?
you have got to be kidding, right?
 

TGregg

Senior member
Dec 22, 2003
603
0
0
Well, from the commercials during the Superbowl, only morons respected a Hemi. That one guy was flame-broiling his steaks, then set himself on fire. During the regular season, they had this one loser in a hair net who worked at a fast-food drive through dreaming of a hemi, and his co-worker (a grill jockey) doing the same while his grill caught fire.

Sounds like the folks who like hemis are complete losers.
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,514
44
91
Originally posted by: redly1
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
A marketing gimmick.

may be partially true, but just look at the difference in power compared to similar sized ford and chevy trucks. Not to mention the 16 spark plugs you'll need to change at tune up time with the Hemi
Actually, Ford's famous 427 was a Hemi too, just not advertised with that name. Almost all modern engines are at least semi-hemis and a good number are actual hemis that just aren't advertised as such.

ZV