I purchased a Titan 2wd LE CC a few weeks ago and I am still a little unhappy with the ride. I purposely did not get the towing package because my last truck (F-150 Lariat) had one and it got terrible gas mileage. I was hoping that not getting one would make the mileage a little better on this one, but so far I am only getting 13 mpg. That's another story. Anyway, all the trucks I test drove had a towing package and my truck had to be delivered from another state. I was very happy with the ride on the trucks with the towing package and shortly after I got mine I realized it wasn't the same. I know there will be a difference between overall ride because of the lower gear and more torque associated with the Big Tow, but my concern is the bouncy-ness of my truck. Not only is it bouncy, but it is like I feel every bump on the road. I even went back to the dealer and drove one with a tow package to verify.
I have followed the advice of some on the site and paid really close attention to the air pressure in the tires. Lowering it to sub 35 psi in the rear has helped. I also added the factory tow hitch and that has steadied the back end to some degree (less shake after a bump). Also, I made sure that all the lugs nuts were tightened. Some were a bit loose, but I don't think that really had any effect.
I have spoken to the dealer and Nissan and they had no good suggestions. In fact the service manager at the dealer said, "I just bought one and I am having the same problem. Let me know if you figure out how to fix it." Yes, that is what he said to me. I know that the service guy at the dealer and I can't be the only people in America to have this problem. I would appreciate any advice.
I have researched every where I could and studied the back end of both a 2wd with and without the Big Tow and every indication is that the suspension is exactly the same between the two. If this is incorrect please let me know.
I have researched every where I could and studied the back end of both a 2wd with and without the Big Tow and every indication is that the suspension is exactly the same between the two. If this is incorrect please let me know.
I have a CC without the tow package, and it rides very nice in my opinion. I've rode in every model pickup under the sun, and I felt that the Titan had one of the most car like rides out there. I know this doesn't help much, but I wanted to let you know that not everyone is experiencing this. Maybe it's just a difference in tastes.
I have a CC without the tow package, and it rides very nice in my opinion. I've rode in every model pickup under the sun, and I felt that the Titan had one of the most car like rides out there. I know this doesn't help much, but I wanted to let you know that not everyone is experiencing this. Maybe it's just a difference in tastes.
I find the Titan overall has a fine ride but does suffer in comparison to my prior Tundra in a few instances. The front end of the Titan does seem to dip and flex more on "whoop de whoop" type road features. I live in an area where many roads are undulating or have dips and the Titan does rebound a little much. The other short coming is concrete freeway expansion joints at about 75 mph. Coming into Phoenix for the first time on I-10 was quite a nasty surprise for me. The Titan just plain does not handle that well vs. my prior Tundra and my prior F-150 for that matter.
Other than that, I find the ride quite nice, body roll and yaw in minimized in tight corners, and the steering is responsive with agile handling for a vehicle of this size.
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The harder I work, the "luckier" I seem to get. Go figure.
Terrible solution,but try adding 200-300 lbs in the bed
I know this isn't a very "clean" solution,but have you tried adding some weight-maybe 200-300 lbs to the rear?Maybe the shocks have to be squatting a little more to get into the range where they dampen better.These vehicles have to be sprung so "heavy" to be able to carry and tow the rated loads.The extra weight of the hitch helped some,why don't you just test another 200 lbs.Cat litter containers will hold about 40-50 lbs of water.
I had a 86 Toyota truck that rode like a buckboard.With 300 lbs of water in the bed(about 30 1 gal milk jugs) it rode much better.
For the sharpness over bumps I would drop the tire pressure to the lowest level the manual allows(I don't have one yet,so I should probably butt out,but...).I don't like the move to bigger wheels on trucks,it increases the weight,and decreases the sidewall height.This takes a toll on the ride comfort;maybe it sways less,since there is less flexy sidewall,but...I'll take the comfort.
What wheel-tire size did the trucks you drove have?You have 18" and 265/70 which has the almost the same height sidewall as the XE 245/75 17",so it shouldn't matter.You don't have offroad do you?I would guess not
since you were concerned with mpg.
Well,wish I could be more help,these are half assed potential cures.Charlie PS Dealers used to drop the tire pressure so soften the ride on their demos.Kinda dangerous,so they probably don't do it any more.
THE FREEWAYS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ARE REALLY BAD.. I EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM..WHEN I TEST DROVE IT WAS ON A SMOOTH STREET SURFACE AND SMOOTH HIGHWAY SO THE RIDE WAS GREAT..NOW I AM DOIN THE EVERYDAY FREEWAY DRIVE AND I HATE THE RIDE..THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF WOULD BE TO CHANGE THE STRUTS AND SHOCKS..BUT NO AFTERMARKET MAKERS MAKE THEM FOR THE TITAN....WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WAIT...I HEARD EDELBROCK SHOCKS ARE VERY SOFT AND WILL GIVE YOU A SOFTER RIDE....OR RANCHO ADJUSTABLES....
Quote:
Originally Posted by belrod20
I purchased a Titan 2wd LE CC a few weeks ago and I am still a little unhappy with the ride. I purposely did not get the towing package because my last truck (F-150 Lariat) had one and it got terrible gas mileage. I was hoping that not getting one would make the mileage a little better on this one, but so far I am only getting 13 mpg. That's another story. Anyway, all the trucks I test drove had a towing package and my truck had to be delivered from another state. I was very happy with the ride on the trucks with the towing package and shortly after I got mine I realized it wasn't the same. I know there will be a difference between overall ride because of the lower gear and more torque associated with the Big Tow, but my concern is the bouncy-ness of my truck. Not only is it bouncy, but it is like I feel every bump on the road. I even went back to the dealer and drove one with a tow package to verify.
I have followed the advice of some on the site and paid really close attention to the air pressure in the tires. Lowering it to sub 35 psi in the rear has helped. I also added the factory tow hitch and that has steadied the back end to some degree (less shake after a bump). Also, I made sure that all the lugs nuts were tightened. Some were a bit loose, but I don't think that really had any effect.
I have spoken to the dealer and Nissan and they had no good suggestions. In fact the service manager at the dealer said, "I just bought one and I am having the same problem. Let me know if you figure out how to fix it." Yes, that is what he said to me. I know that the service guy at the dealer and I can't be the only people in America to have this problem. I would appreciate any advice.
I purchased a Titan 2wd LE CC a few weeks ago and I am still a little unhappy with the ride. I purposely did not get the towing package because my last truck (F-150 Lariat) had one and it got terrible gas mileage. I was hoping that not getting one would make the mileage a little better on this one, but so far I am only getting 13 mpg. That's another story. Anyway, all the trucks I test drove had a towing package and my truck had to be delivered from another state. I was very happy with the ride on the trucks with the towing package and shortly after I got mine I realized it wasn't the same. I know there will be a difference between overall ride because of the lower gear and more torque associated with the Big Tow, but my concern is the bouncy-ness of my truck. Not only is it bouncy, but it is like I feel every bump on the road. I even went back to the dealer and drove one with a tow package to verify.
I have followed the advice of some on the site and paid really close attention to the air pressure in the tires. Lowering it to sub 35 psi in the rear has helped. I also added the factory tow hitch and that has steadied the back end to some degree (less shake after a bump). Also, I made sure that all the lugs nuts were tightened. Some were a bit loose, but I don't think that really had any effect.
I have spoken to the dealer and Nissan and they had no good suggestions. In fact the service manager at the dealer said, "I just bought one and I am having the same problem. Let me know if you figure out how to fix it." Yes, that is what he said to me. I know that the service guy at the dealer and I can't be the only people in America to have this problem. I would appreciate any advice.
I mentioned that "problem" on one of my very first posts after I purchased mine as well. It did improve dramatically after reducing tire pressure to the recommended level of 35 psi. It was originally at 44psi . It is especially noticeable when driving on concrete freeways. However that "problem" is not really a problem that is just how the suspension is. I had a Jeep CJ5 that had a modified suspension for my off roading and man talk about bustin your kidneys on the highway. But take that baby out on the trails and boy was it smooth. Suspensions need to be stiff on trucks that can carry the payloads and handle the towing that the Titan can. Try doing some heavy towing or put a good size payload in your bed and you'll notice what I mean.
THE FREEWAYS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ARE REALLY BAD.. I EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM..WHEN I TEST DROVE IT WAS ON A SMOOTH STREET SURFACE AND SMOOTH HIGHWAY SO THE RIDE WAS GREAT..NOW I AM DOIN THE EVERYDAY FREEWAY DRIVE AND I HATE THE RIDE..THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF WOULD BE TO CHANGE THE STRUTS AND SHOCKS..BUT NO AFTERMARKET MAKERS MAKE THEM FOR THE TITAN....WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WAIT...I HEARD EDELBROCK SHOCKS ARE VERY SOFT AND WILL GIVE YOU A SOFTER RIDE....OR RANCHO ADJUSTABLES....
You wanna drive on rough roads? Come to Colorful Colorado. California freeways seem like glass tabletops compared to ours. The Titan's ride is excellent...for a truck. It's WAY better than my F150 was and a little better than my old GMC. Maybe I've just gotten used to bouncing around the Denver Metro area. And here it is spring again, so the potholes will triple in quantity and size. Glad I got 4WD and all that Titan power so I'll be able to climb out of some of those things! But I digress.
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Colorado
2004 Red Brawn LE KC
Born 12-16-03
I agree that, for a truck, the Titan rides just fine. Definitely no worse than and probably better than the full size trucks of various makes that I have been in lately. And light years better than the Frontier and GMC Envoy I used to have. At cruising speed on the interstates it almost puts me to sleep...This is after rolling almost 9k miles in a few months with trips up to Maryland, and down to Disney World through the terrrible roads in SC and the ridculous construction zones in FL. If they figure out a way to make it handle like a Lexus and still have the capabilities it has, I would be amazed...
I'll bet the differrence your feeling between a non-big tow and the big tow is the differrence in stiffness of the frame. Having the the tow pkg. mounted to the frame makes it much stiffer as there is a pretty rugged support attached to both frame rails, I'd guess a non big tow truck would wiggle and creak more over bumps than a truck with the tow pkg.
I'll bet the differrence your feeling between a non-big tow and the big tow is the differrence in stiffness of the frame. Having the the tow pkg. mounted to the frame makes it much stiffer as there is a pretty rugged support attached to both frame rails, I'd guess a non big tow truck would wiggle and creak more over bumps than a truck with the tow pkg.
I purchased the Nissan hitch and attached it to the frame. And you're right, it did take some of the wiggle out.
THE FREEWAYS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ARE REALLY BAD.. I EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM..
I am in Memphis and live in the downtown area. There is no doubt that I am driving on some of the worst streets that the city has to offer. I can't say that I hate it yet, but I am very frustated. I really don't want to go out and buy aftermarket suspension less than a month after I bought the truck, but that may be the only way I will be completely happy.
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Technical discussion about the suspension components.
05-02-2004, 11:18 AM
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