Hemi conversion 5.7 or 6.1
02-06-2011, 10:36 AM
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JK Enthusiast
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Hemi conversion 5.7 or 6.1
Ok people need some more info. Going to do a hemi swap this summer. Starting to look and purchase the motor I'm going to run soon. 5.7 or 6.1? What are best donor vehicles to get these out of. I have a stick shift and wish to keep this.
02-06-2011, 10:42 AM
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02-06-2011, 01:02 PM
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The only company I'm aware of doing a manual trans hemi conversion is Burnsville Offroad. I'm curious what transmission they're using for this conversion though? If I was doing the swap myself I'd say for the money spent a 5.7 is more than enough. You can find 5.7's fairly cheap, the AEV conversion kit is what's really expensive. As mentioned the power is made at lower RPM's where needed. Also don't overlook the power you can make with a cam, heads, intake, etc. If I was having a shop do the entire project, I'd just go with the 6.1 and be done with it. Plus you'll have bragging rights and be able to put that SRT8 sticker on 
Just my opinion of course.
hxxp://www.burnsvilleoffroad.com
Just my opinion of course. hxxp://www.burnsvilleoffroad.com
Last edited by wayoflifette; 02-07-2011 at 11:22 AM.
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02-06-2011, 01:43 PM
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02-06-2011, 09:06 PM
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Personally, I prefer the factory 6.1 over the 5.7 or the 5.7VVT. The factory 6.1 has a cast high rise intake manifold and not the plastic intake manifold present on the 5.7 or the 5.7VVT. Moreover it lacks the MDS or the variable rate camshaft which I see as more parts that could fail on me at the worst time. The internals on 6.1 are all upgraded and high performance parts and each piston has oil squirters to aid in cooling. Neither the 5.7 nor the 5.7VVT have the squirters.
The heads on the 6.1 are also ported and polished. The 6.1 has D shaped exhaust ports that breathe into specially designed header tubes that are heat shielded.
The 6.1 is just a well designed high performance engine lacking any special internal controls to switch between 4 cylinder and 8 cylinder mode. It's designed to deliver tons of V8 power all the time. That I like!
The only drawback to the 6.1 is that it requires usage of premium fuel. The 5.7 requires mid-grade fuel and the 5.7VVT can use 87 octane and get close to the 6.1's hp and torque numbers.
You can't go wrong by picking any of the HEMI options but I personally think of the 6.1 as the engine I would build. High performance but with longevity and a measure of reliability incorporated.
The heads on the 6.1 are also ported and polished. The 6.1 has D shaped exhaust ports that breathe into specially designed header tubes that are heat shielded.
The 6.1 is just a well designed high performance engine lacking any special internal controls to switch between 4 cylinder and 8 cylinder mode. It's designed to deliver tons of V8 power all the time. That I like!
The only drawback to the 6.1 is that it requires usage of premium fuel. The 5.7 requires mid-grade fuel and the 5.7VVT can use 87 octane and get close to the 6.1's hp and torque numbers.
You can't go wrong by picking any of the HEMI options but I personally think of the 6.1 as the engine I would build. High performance but with longevity and a measure of reliability incorporated.