How did Nissan score a deal with Cummins for their diesel Titan???

[Crunch]

Ford must be ready to go on a serial killer spree after this. They tried all kinds of ways to get a Cummins in their trucks. So who likes this idea? Click on the link and then click the engine button on the right side. The Cummins looks pretty sweet!

The 2016 Nissan Cummins Diesel Titan
"All New Nissan Titan XD 2016 Cummins
310 HP WITH 555 LB-FT OF TORQUE

The all-new Cummins 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel[*] is the heart of the next-gen TITAN XD.
This beast of an engine brings heavy-duty attitude and torque to half-ton pickup territory,
and does it with better fuel economy than its gasoline counterparts."​

 

[Wayne M.]

Wellllll, It's a long story. Most of it can be read in back issues of the TDR mag and on this forum. Basically the ISV was to go into the Ram before the Eco we have now. At the time, things at Chrysler was kinda rocky and then the 2008 crash hit, sending things into a spin for a lot of people. The project was shelved- IMHO Cummins was left holding the bag on this stillborn project. Enter FCA and the 4th gen truck development, and it's obvious FCA wanted to use THEIR engine. This left Cummins looking for a chamber for this bullet. Cummins finished prototyping and one thing leads to another (more things than I know) and Nissan gets a huge diesel influence. Were all waiting to see one on the road! And yes, Ford must be going crazy but I think the ISV is too small for Super Duty work.

 

[JR]

Ford says it has no plans to introduce a diesel into the F150 series or passenger vehicles. They've went all in with the turbo charged direct injection route.
If they ever did go diesel it would probably be in house as well (like the 6.7).

 

[Doubleclutch]

I think Ram also considered the V8 Cummins as a little over kill for the 1/2 ton, and competition for the 3/4. Like it or not, the Eco-Diesel fills a pretty good niche!

 

[DonFitzwater]

"If they ever did go diesel it would probably be in house as well (like the 6.7)."

And yet another turd would be born. I made the mistake of a 6.7 Powerstroke. Never again.

 

[crispyboy]

I heard an internet rumor that Ford will be using the 3.5 Ecoboost as an engine option in the F250 along with the 6.2 gas or 6.7 diesel. At this time I don't think they are going to fool around with diesel in the F150 as the 3.5 ecoboost seems to very popular.

 

[hemijimmy]

I have always been a Mopar guy since 1960's. Dodge has made a few bad decisions over the years and I think not using the Cummins new V8 for 1/2 ton trucks is one of those. Time will tell how popular they are. I realize Dodge is stepping up production on the Eco Diesel trucks so they must be doing well. When they begin pushing several hundreds of thousands of miles we will get a better idea of longevity. From what I see so far most are pretty pleased with Eco Diesel. Anyone know where they are built ?? Ill bet not USA, that disappoints me a lot. Like Chrysler after being bailed out of foreclose in the 1970's turning right around and building plants in Mexico. Sorry but when my tax dollars bail out a USA corporation from Chapter 11 I want them to provide USA jobs in return. Yes I still buy Mopar trucks and cars. It just pisses me off. Ok I feel better thanks.

 

[RustyJC]

Another factor is that Nissan snared Fred Diaz away from Ram. Diaz was the brand manager for the Ram and knew full well the drawing power of the Cummins diesel to sell trucks. Diaz was given the reins for the redesign of the Nissan Titan pickups and knew that Cummins was sitting on their 5.0L V8 diesel looking for a customer after Ram scrapped the 1/2 ton Cummins diesel project. I'm sure Diaz had the phone number of his contacts at Cummins from his Ram days memorized. You notice Mr. Diaz also speced the Aisin transmission for the Titan.

And, as they say, the rest is history (yet to be made, in Nissan's case).

Rusty

 

[Tuesdak]

Another factor is that Nissan snared Fred Diaz away from Ram. Diaz was the brand manager for the Ram and knew full well the drawing power of the Cummins diesel to sell trucks. Diaz was given the reins for the redesign of the Nissan Titan pickups and knew that Cummins was sitting on their 5.0L V8 diesel looking for a customer after Ram scrapped the 1/2 ton Cummins diesel project. I'm sure Diaz had the phone number of his contacts at Cummins from his Ram days memorized. You notice Mr. Diaz also speced the Aisin transmission for the Titan.

And, as they say, the rest is history (yet to be made, in Nissan's case).

Rusty

He be exactly correct in the "Cummins with a RAM, Dodge, or Nissan Wrapper".

To the targeted market this may not matter: To me this is a lower life engine with limited life stretchy timing chains, aluminum heads wearing the gaskets out with different expansion rates, and Glow Plugs. I don't care if Glow Plugs are made of Diamonds from compressed Unicorn Farts - they are NOT lifetime and will be trouble at some point. To say anything else will have proven history call it a LIE. Maybe they mean that when the glow plugs fail they take the engine completely out thus ending the engine's "lifetime". Ether or a set of jumper cables is all you need to ruin 8 glow plugs in under 2 seconds... Regardless it may have a longer average life than some other diesels out there.

Above all it comes from a proven company that knows how to design and build good diesel engines unlike GM, Oldsmobile, Ford, and the troublesome also rans.

 

[Wayne M.]

Right on x2!!!

 

[Mike Ellis]

That Nissan looks pretty impressive on the specs, I will be very interested to see one in real life. Here in the DFW area the 1/2 ton EcoDiesel Rams get rave reviews from the folks that have bought them, but I am still skeptical of the longevity of the engine. I have much more faith in the Cummins brand.

I wonder if the seats in the Nissan will be as comfortable as one might hope looking at the "zero gravity" design. I am a cranky old fart and in my dotage I find that comfort has moved WAY up my list of important stuff in a vehicle. Kinda sad, since comfort wasn't really even on my list for many years. :{

 

[bhaugen]

I for one am curious to see how this all falls out. For my needs this may fit into what I would be looking for. I don't need the new 3/4-1 ton trucks with the excessive hp and torque numbers they are putting down. I have an 03 1 ton and according to the specs on the titan, it has similar hp and torque numbers on paper, but are they at similar rpms? If the price is between a 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton trucks this may fill a niche.

 

[JUeckert]

Ford tried all kind of ways to get a cummins in their trucks, when was that? As for glow plugs being a trouble at some point.. Yea, but so can injectors, and pumps , grid heaters, and the list goes on.. I have owned over 25 different pieces of glow plug equipped equipment, tractors, trucks [several each Gm and Ford] and never had a glow plug ruin an engine.. Never took out a set of glow plugs by hooking up jumper cables wrong on any pickup i have owned either, or the machine they were hooked up to.. I have certainly had some idiots that work for me hook them wrong more times than one.. Anything is possible, but i have never had it happened.. As for ether making them go bad, only if the plug is activated, and if thats the case, odds are your in for bigger issues then a swollen glow plug.. I take it no one has seen what can happen to a 5.9 when ether hits a hot grid heater.. Truth really be known, it's been my experience 5.9's even without grid heaters have a lower tolerance to ether then idi Gm or Ford diesels.. Glowplugs not activated of course.. But thats just my experience..

 

[Wayne M.]

Ether is a forbidden word in these parts.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Well as luck would have it my wife and I went to the Texas state fair in Dallas today, and the first thing we saw coming in the gate was a big Nissan display with several of the Cummins Turbodiesel Titans, including a couple hooked up to big gooseneck trailers, in the various trim levels. Also had a body-off 4wd frame with the engine, Aisin transmission, transfer case all in plain view. Very impressive setup indeed. I sat in a couple of them and climbed all over them, Nissan has sure come a long way. I bet this new Titan will put them on the map big time.

Also they had a big Chevy display on the other end of the park by the midway, where you could test drive the various vehicles. I was beelining over there for a chance to drive a Corvette, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a nice Colorado with Duramax diesel sitting right in front of the building. They said it would be on sale in November, did not have any diesels to drive but the truck was nice enough that I decided to test drive the gasser version. They had a nice little short course with a section of culverts, off camber, steep hill etc, and the Colorado drove very nice indeed over it. Not a bad little truck at all, but a bit of a cramped driver area for those of us that like to sprawl out and have scratchin' room.

It was a pretty nice trip for a diesel fan. They of course had plenty of Ford, Chevy, and Ram diesels on display as well but I am already plenty familiar with them so didn't pay too much attention.

 

[NIsaacs]

Off Road.com says the pickup might be rated 8500-9000 GVWR, not exactly 1/2 ton sized......

Nick

 

[Mingoglia]

Off Road.com says the pickup might be rated 8500-9000 GVWR, not exactly 1/2 ton sized......

Nick

They're supposed to be a "tweener" between a 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton, so that sounds about right. That's certainly more 3/4 ton than 1/2 though.

 

[EGroeneveld]

I think a lot of people will cross shop the Nissan/Cummins to the F250/Ram2500/GM2500.... more competition is good to help keep the prices in check and the ratings ever increasing.

I'm often amazed how many people want to use a 250/2500/Nissan sized truck to drive to work and then pull their travel trailer. Just like we see a lot of Toyota Tundras pull RV trailers and even smaller fifth wheels.

I personally think the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel was a big miss...the shortbed only with CC, payload and weight ratings make it a horrible choice if you want to tow or haul.

I really think FIAT needs to increase the GVW and capabilities of the 1500 EcoDiesel.

A Ram 2500 with the V8 Cummins would have been a great choice. And save the 6.7 Cummins for the 3500.

 

[Wayne M.]

When is the unveil of the Titan anyways?

 

[NIsaacs]

They're supposed to be a "tweener" between a 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton, so that sounds about right. That's certainly more 3/4 ton than 1/2 though.

Yes, I figured all along it would be a 5/8 ton. However my '01 2500 is rated 8800 so they might pass me up With 6 bolt wheels I would guess the rear axle will be a semi-floater, 8500/9000 and a 1 ton payload seems like a lot. Seems like every time I see an article about the truck it seems to get bigger, yet at the start of advertising is was touted as a 1/2 ton

We had a 9 ft. overhead camper on my '91 D-250 once, that was enough......yet I see these mini-motorhomes (way bigger than my 9 footer) mounted on the little Toyota and Nissans, they have always seemed to over gvwr the little buggers.

Nick