Cummins’ Columbus Engine Plant is the Home of the 2016 Nissan Titan XD’s Turbo Diesel V8
Cummins. Since 1989, that company name has been synonymous with diesel-powered Dodge and Ram pickups. It still is, but now Cummins can be associated with another automotive manufacturer: Nissan. The 5.0-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel that will be under the hood of the 2016 Titan XD light-duty/heavy-duty tweener truck will come out of the company’s Columbus Engine Plant (CEP) in Columbus, Indiana. Nissan and Cummins were kind enough to invite me to tour the facility recently.
Within the 45,000-person city once ranked sixth in the U.S. in terms of architectural innovation and design by the American Institute of Architects sits a 1.4-million-square-foot glass-front building. Nearly a third of that space, 500,000 square feet, will be devoted to the construction of the next-generation Titan’s oil-burner.
In the consumer-grade truck market, Cummins is known for creating torquey I6s. However, such a design wouldn’t fit into the future Titan’s engine bay, so the company decided upon a V8 instead. A commercial-grade 5.0-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel, which shares more than 70 percent of its parts with the Nissan-specific motor, will find its way into vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of up to 30,000 pounds.
After donning a high-visibility vest and protective eyewear, I, along with my colleagues in the Texas Auto Writers Association, was taken to numerous locations within the CEP complex to see the 5.0-liter engine in various stages of assembly and the parts that go into it. For instance, on the front cover line, I saw the water pump and thermostat that will keep the Titan XD’s power plant from overheating. Cummins also gave me a glimpse of its V8’s compacted graphite iron block, composite valve covers, and high-pressure common rail injection system. At the turbo line, I got en eyeful of the low- and high-pressure cores that will go into the Holset two-stage turbocharger and provide users, according to Nissan, a way to “say goodbye to turbo lag” and hello to “solid acceleration.” Every turbo will be tested onsite at the CEP.
Cummins has gone to frigid places such as Bemidji, Minnesota, Colorado, and Alaska to evaluate the cold-weather performance of this new chain-driven DOHC diesel. Its Bosch ceramic glow plugs will heat up in less than two seconds. In such low-temperature climates, the manufacturer uses a synthetic 5W-40 oil (and non-synthetic 10W-30 in hotter weather). As if such bone-chilling locales weren’t enough of a shakedown, Cummins cold soaks each V8 for 8-12 hours. Buyers will be able to keep their engines warm with an optional block heater.
The 2016 Nissan Titan XD won’t be priced and in showrooms until later this year, so certain hard facts about its engine and the truck itself are not yet available. Yes, the 32-valve diesel will generate 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque in a tabletop line and be attached to a nine-liter diesel exhaust fluid canister that will use 1-4 gallons of urea for every 100 gallons of diesel burned. However, Nissan still hasn’t released the hauling and tow ratings for the truck. As of right now, it’s on track to be J2807-compliant, carry more than 2,000 pounds in its bed, and tow in excess of 12,000. The Cummins V8 will provide 45 percent more torque at cruising speeds and 20 percent better fuel economy when pulling a load.
Power from the aluminum-headed engine, whose block is made out of compacted graphite iron, will be routed through an Aisin six-speed automatic, but it’s still unclear how much more than a regular Nissan V8 the Cummins unit will cost and how Nissan will allocate Titan XDs to its dealers. Warranty terms are unknown as well. Fortunately, once finished Titans start rolling out of Nissan’s plant in Canton, Mississippi, they’ll be available in a variety of trims, ranging from a work truck package to PRO-4X to Platinum Reserve.
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