Nissan released one of its most innovative and game-changing trucks in decades with its big, hulking Titan pickup. Available with one of the class-leading 5.6 Endurance V8 engines, the Titan boasted massive towing capacity and a world-leading 305 HP at the time of its showroom novelty. With all that power comes lousy expected fuel economy numbers. But have no fear, there are plenty of aftermarket performance products available to increase fuel economy and horsepower in that fantastic Nissan Titan pickup. Here is a brief summary of some of the items available at retailers.
A quick and relatively easy performance item to buy is a higher flow performance air filter from K&N or Airaid. Widely sold at retail stores like Pep Boys, Walmart, and Autozone, these filters only cost around $35-55 tops. These are designed to replace your existing stock filter and will increase airflow into your engine. A better breathing engine will give drivers a 20 HP gain and about a 1 to 3 mpg increase over the conventional filter. And best of all, these filters take only about 15 minutes to install and require only basic hand tools. As a result, you’ll also see lower maintenance costs and lower gas bills in a short period of time because they can be cleaned and reused.
Another popular and inexpensive add-on is a performance exhaust. Nissan Titans have a great sound from a restrictive stock setup. But with a custom exhaust system, the truck will dissipate the burnt gases more efficiently and thus increase horsepower and torque numbers effortlessly. There are many companies that sell a performance exhaust kit for the 5.6 V8 including but not limited to: Flowmaster, Nismo, Borla, Magnaflow and others. These manufacturers have ready-made kits that come with all the necessary hardware and only require an afternoon of work. In turn, it doesn’t take any time to make your truck perform like a muscle car.
And finally, another great addition to your Nissan Titan is a performance chip. Performance chips are designed to improve the truck’s computer for a much more efficient fuel curve and adjust shift points so the truck doesn’t work too hard towing. Performance chips are available from Hypertech and Superchips and cost around $80-100 depending on your application. Installation takes no more than half an hour and requires only basic hand tools. You will notice the difference with the performance chip.
And that’s the short list of popular aftermarket items that will give your Titan a 25% increase in fuel economy and up to 35-50 horsepower from stock. With a set amount of time in the evenings and some regular hand tools, you’ll make tackling this job easy with the attached instructions. There’s no better upgrade than adapting your Nissan Titan to function as a gas/electric hybrid. Popularized by last year’s surge in gas prices, hybrids not only save you fuel costs, but the IRS will pay you tax credits just for driving a clean-fuel truck. For information on how to transform your Titan into a fuel efficient hybrid, please visit my site below.
