The 2026 Stellantis Gas Engine Lineup

If you own a Ram 1500, a Jeep Wrangler, a Grand Cherokee, a Gladiator, a Dodge Durango, or any of the late-model Charger or Challenger variants still in service, you are running one of six gas engines built by Stellantis (Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Jeep). Each has its own personality, its own known weak points, and its own argument for permanent ceramic friction protection.

This guide walks through every gas engine in the current and recent Stellantis catalog, matches each to the correct Cerma product, and gives you honest framing on what Cerma can and cannot do for the well-known issues - including the MDS lifter saga, the 2025 Hemi gap, and the brand-new Hurricane twin-turbo inline-six.

Engine quick-reference card

3.6L Pentastar V6 - The Stellantis Workhorse

The Pentastar is the engine you find when you don't ask for anything special. Base Ram 1500, base Wrangler, base Grand Cherokee, base Gladiator, every Pacifica - all Pentastar. With eTorque mild-hybrid assist on most trucks, it makes 305 hp and 269 lb-ft, paired with an 8-speed automatic.

The Pentastar is generally one of the more durable engines Stellantis has built. The notable exception is the 2011-2013 left-bank cylinder head defect - a manufacturing flaw causing premature rocker arm and valve seat damage. Stellantis extended warranty coverage on the affected heads, and the issue was largely resolved by the 2014 production year.

Where Cerma helps:

• Bearing and cylinder wall friction reduction - the universal Cerma value across all engines
• Camshaft and valvetrain wear protection - reduces friction on cam lobes and rocker contact surfaces
• High-mileage Pentastars (150,000+ miles) - where compression has slowly degraded and oil consumption is climbing
• Post-warranty-extension head replacements - excellent preventive maintenance for the new head

Where Cerma does not help:

• Existing 2011-2013 head defect damage - that requires the Stellantis warranty repair
• Failed rocker arms or valve seats already showing symptoms

Cerma sizing for 3.6L Pentastar V6: 2oz Gas Engine Treatment ($105.60).

3.0L Hurricane Twin-Turbo Inline-Six - The New Architecture

The Hurricane is Stellantis's bet on the future of internal combustion in the half-ton truck. It is a clean-sheet 3.0L twin-turbo inline-six that debuted in the 2025 Ram 1500 and replaced the Hemi (briefly) before the Hemi returned for 2026.

The Hurricane comes in two output levels:

The Hurricane has more torque than the V8, more horsepower than nearly every competitor's standard engine in the class, and noticeably better fuel economy. It is a genuinely impressive piece of engineering.

The honest caveat: the Hurricane is new. It launched in 2025. Every twin-turbo direct-injection engine has its own long-term wear pattern that takes years of fleet data to surface. The CGI block, forged crank, and aluminum head are conventional choices made well; the twin-turbo low-pressure setup is also conservative engineering. There is no specific known weak point to flag at this writing - and that itself is worth noting honestly.

Where Cerma helps the Hurricane:

• Preventive friction reduction from the first oil change - getting ceramic protection in place before any wear develops
• Twin-turbo bearing protection - paired with the Cerma Turbo Treatment, which we strongly recommend on any twin-turbo platform
• Cylinder wall protection on a high-cylinder-pressure engine - the Hurricane runs aggressive boost levels and benefits from any friction margin

Cerma sizing for 3.0L Hurricane (SO and HO): 2oz Gas Engine Treatment ($105.60). Add the Cerma Turbo Treatment ($65) for the twin-turbo system.

5.7L Hemi V8 - The Comeback Engine

The 5.7L Hemi V8 has been the soundtrack of Ram and Mopar performance for two decades. After being unceremoniously dropped from the 2025 Ram 1500 in favor of the Hurricane, the Hemi returns for 2026 with eTorque mild-hybrid assist - 395 hp, 410 lb-ft, and an eTorque-augmented 130 lb-ft of launch torque.

Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis publicly acknowledged dropping the Hemi was a mistake. The 2026 Ram 1500 trucks ordered with the Hemi include a fender-mounted "Symbol of Protest Badge" - a marketing move that turned a corporate U-turn into a customer-facing celebration.

The MDS lifter issue - honest disclosure

The famous "Hemi tick"

Many 5.7L Hemi owners report a top-end ticking that becomes audible after 80,000 to 150,000 miles. There are two distinct mechanisms commonly conflated:

1. Lifter tick - related to MDS lifter wear or collapsing. Cerma helps preventively; cannot reverse damage.
2. Exhaust manifold bolt tick - broken manifold studs and warped manifolds causing an exhaust leak that sounds like a top-end tick. Cerma cannot fix this. It is a pure mechanical issue requiring stud replacement and (often) manifold replacement.

If your Hemi tick changes pitch with engine load or you can hear it from outside the cab near the wheel wells, it is likely manifold-related. If it's centered above the engine and changes with RPM, it is more likely lifter-related.

Cerma sizing for 5.7L Hemi V8: 2oz Gas Engine Treatment ($105.60).

6.4L Hemi 392 - The Naturally-Aspirated Big Bore

The 6.4L Hemi 392 is the naturally-aspirated Hemi with both more displacement and (significantly) stronger internals than the 5.7L. It produces 470 hp and 470 lb-ft, and it powers the Wrangler 392 (the most extreme factory Wrangler ever built), the Grand Cherokee SRT (legacy), the Durango SRT 392, and the Charger/Challenger Scat Pack variants.

The 6.4L shares MDS architecture with the 5.7L Hemi - which means the same lifter exposure. The disclosure box above applies to the 6.4L exactly as it does to the 5.7L. The compensating factor is that the 6.4L's bottom end is robust enough to handle considerable abuse and high-mileage operation; the lifters fail before anything more serious goes wrong.

The 6.4L Hemi runs hot. Wrangler 392 owners in particular report high oil temperatures during off-road or sustained high-load operation. Friction reduction helps directly here - Cerma's primary contribution is exactly the metric the engine struggles with.

Cerma sizing for 6.4L Hemi 392: 2oz Gas Engine Treatment ($105.60).

6.2L Supercharged Hellcat Hemi - The Apex

The Hellcat Hemi is its own category. 700 horsepower base (Hellcat), 717 hp (Trackhawk), 797 hp (Redeye), and various Demon-spec variants beyond. Forged internals, IHI twin-screw supercharger, no MDS, and a thermal management system that has to work hard at all times.

Hellcat Hemis appear in the Durango SRT Hellcat, the (legacy) Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, the discontinued Charger Hellcat (sedan), and the discontinued Challenger Hellcat. The current Charger Daytona is electric; there is no current Hellcat-Hemi production vehicle in the new car market, but a vast installed base exists.

The Hellcat-specific reliability picture

Hellcat Hemis are surprisingly durable when stock and properly maintained. The forged rotating assembly handles factory boost without complaint for hundreds of thousands of miles. Where Hellcats run into trouble:

• Heat soak - aggressive sustained driving causes intercooler and supercharger heat saturation; power drops dramatically until the system cools
• Supercharger snout coupling wear - the snout drives off the supercharger via a wet-clutch coupling that can fail. This is supercharger-internal and uses a separate gear oil.
• Belt slip under sustained boost - the supercharger drive belt can slip and lose boost when stretched
• Tuning damage - aftermarket tunes pushing past factory boost levels are the #1 destroyer of Hellcats. This is owner-induced, not engine fault.

How Cerma fits

The Hellcat's supercharger has its own gear oil for the snout assembly - Cerma engine treatment does not enter that section. What Cerma does protect: the long block. Cylinder walls, main and rod bearings, camshaft, valvetrain. On an engine producing 700+ horsepower, every percentage point of friction reduction translates directly to thermal margin.

Cerma sizing for 6.2L Supercharged Hellcat Hemi: 2oz Gas Engine Treatment ($105.60).

Engine-to-Product Matching at a Glance

One application is permanent. The Nano Silicon Carbide ceramic bonds to engine metal over the first 3,000 to 5,000 miles of driving and lasts the life of the engine. The treatment survives every oil change.

The 2025 Hemi Gap - What It Means for Used Buyers

Ram dropped the 5.7L Hemi from the 2025 Ram 1500, replacing it with the Hurricane. The Hemi returned for 2026. This creates a unique situation in the used market that owners should understand:

• 2024 and earlier Ram 1500 trucks: Hemi 5.7L available alongside Pentastar V6 and EcoDiesel
• 2025 Ram 1500: Hurricane SO/HO and Pentastar V6 only - no Hemi available
• 2026 Ram 1500: Hurricane SO/HO, Pentastar V6, and the returning Hemi 5.7L V8 with eTorque

If you are shopping a used 2025 Ram 1500 and you want a Hemi, you cannot get one. If you are shopping a used 2024 Ram 1500 and you want a Hurricane, you cannot get one. The cleanest way to read this: 2025 is a Hurricane-only year; 2026 forward is the choice-of-three era.

The Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, Gladiator, and Durango did not have the same gap - their Hemi availability tracked their own product cadences.

Frequently Asked Questions