Originally Posted by ColdSRT
I know the chevy motor has a better following and more aftermarket parts but the modern hemi motors have gained a great following and it gets better almost daily. When comparing the two motors in question when not considering aftermarket support the hemi wins in my book. More power with less displacement...Also to the best of my knowledge the modern hemi motors given the same cubes the modern motors are more efficeint. That is what we should be judging motors by. Who can build the most power with the least cubes.
In that comparison, they are so close its hard to say there is a definite winner:
The 6.1L Hemi (425) $6,950 market / $10,250 retail
By math: 6.1L = 372.2 Cubic Inches making it a
1.141 HP / cu in (425 hp / 372.2 cu in)
In actuality the 6.1L is a 370 Cubic Inch motor (
Mopar Performance Crate 370 / 6.1L ) making
1.148 HP / cu in (425 hp / 370 cu in)
At a cost of $6,950 that equates to $18.78 / cu in or $16.35 / HP
The 6.2L LS3 (430/436 HP) $6,195 market / $9,794 MSRP
By math: 6.2L = 378.3 Cubic Inches making it a
1.136 HP / cu in @ 430 HP or 1.152 HP / cu in @ 436 HP
In actuality the 6.2L is a 376 Cubic Inch motor (
GM Performance LS3, 6.2L Crate Engines) making
1.143 HP / cu in @ 430 HP or 1.159 HP / cu in @ 436 HP
At a cost of $16.47 / cu in or $14.40 / HP @ 430 HP or $14.20 / HP @ 436 HP
... And these numbers only hold true if we believe the 6.1L is 425 HP motor and the 6.2L LS3 is a 430/436 HP motor.
Having seen a multitude of these cars on my dyno I can say I have seen 370-375 RWHP from both 6.1L 5 speed Autos and 6.2L 6 speed Autos completely stock in good weather and almost 390 RWHP from a 6.2L Manual C6. Bottom line is that this equates to a flywheel rating near 450 HP from both.
What does it all mean?
They are both within 6 cu in (370 vs 376) of displacement, within $750 (6,950 vs 6,195) of total cost, within 0.005 HP in efficiency rated at HP / cu in (1.148 vs 1.143) and within $2.40 / cu in or $1.90 / HP. Seems like a toss up to me ... what's your brand of preference or which has the best aftermarket or OEM support.
Originally Posted by ColdSRT
Also the guys at allpar said that with the 6.1 and a six speed that 26 mpg highway was easily achieved. So that takes the gas mileage off the table.
As far as MPG, the manual Vette 6.2L gets EPA 16/26 and the auto gets EPA 15/25 and the Challenger auto gets 13/19 for the auto and the manual at gets a nice boost to 14/22 (
motortrend). Skip shift sucks and both companies cheat the EPA scores with it... I hope the SS Eliminators work on the Dodges as they do on the GMs. SS saves you on the gas guzzler tax but its annoying to drive with.
LOL more info to ponder.
