The 2016 Nissan Titan and Titan XD’s standard engine will be a revised version of the company’s 5.6 Endurance V8 paired with a new seven-speed automatic. High compression, more power and variable timing is supposed to do a lot for the truck’s capability and economy figures. Finally.
The Cummins V8 you’ve heard so much about will be a few-thousand-dollar option on the Titan XD only. The gas V8 will still be the most common mill in new Nissan Titans.
The Titan we’ve known for ten years also ran a 5.6 V8, apparently the same V8 in many ways. Rated at 317 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque and paired with a 5-speed automatic, the EPA certified the outgoing truck at a pretty miserable 18 MPG highway and 13 MPG city, one worse on both figures for the 4WD version.
The new V8 bumps compression to 11.2:1, and a variable timing system is supposed to optimize the engine’s operation for power and economy as needed. “Throttle response is enhanced by directly controlling the intake valve, rather than using the traditional method of controlling intake with a throttle valve, and valve timing and opening with non-variable camshafts,” Nissan explains in a press release.
The engine will still run regular-old 87 octane gasoline.
With these tweaks the new Titan’s V8 is bumped up to 390 horsepower at 5,800 RPM and 401 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 RPM. That puts it close to par with Ram’s 5.7 HEMI V8, between Chevy’s 5.3 and 6.2 V8 options, and a little over the 5.0 Ti-VCT V8 in the Ford F-150.
The Nissan’s gas engine will be paired up to a new 7-speed automatic, though no talk of gear ratios has been made yet.
With improvements to the frame and output, we should see a bump in capabilities on the new Titan from the outgoing truck’s 7,400 pound towing max and approximate-2,000 pound payload capacity even if the gas truck isn’t quite as beastly as the optional 5.0 Cummins diesel V8.
More details as we get them. For now, here are all the specs Nissan’s released about the next evolution of their gas-powered truck engine and powertrain.
ENGINE
| Name | Endurance V8 |
| Cam design | DOHC |
| Orientation | Longitudinally mounted |
| Cylinders / configuration | V8 |
| Block / head composition | Aluminum alloy / aluminum alloy |
| Displacement (liters) | 5.6 (5552 cc) |
| Horsepower | 390 @ 5,800 rpm |
| Torque (lb-ft) | 401 @ 4,000 rpm |
| Bore & stroke (mm) | 98 x 92 |
| Compression ratio | 11.2:1 |
| Maximum engine speed | 6,000 rpm |
| Induction system | Naturally Aspirated; Direct Injection Gasoline (DIGTM) |
| Valvetrain | 32 valve; Continuous Variable Valve Timing Control System (CVTCS); Variable Valve Event and Lift (VVEL) |
| Engine mounts | Solid |
| Recommended fuel | Regular Unleaded |
| Emission certification level | Tier3 Bin 200(EPA) / LEV3-ULEV200 |
| Exhaust | Stainless steel |
DRIVELINE
| Drive configuration | RWD or part-time 4WD |
| Transmission type | 7-speed automatic |
| Electronic locking rear differential | Standard – PRO-4X |
Images via Nissan
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