2004 Nissan Titan - Project Titan, Part 1

Last year, we lucky staffers were gifted with a pre-production Titan pickup to tweak and modify for use as an official support vehicle for Top Truck Challenge. At first it seemed like a dream come true--after all, it was an entirely new truck complete with all the attributes that earned it Four Wheeler's coveted 2004 Pickup Truck of the Year award. Beginning with such a capable platform excited our editors, along with the fact that Nissan promised it would be around awhile for us to use while covering events, trail rides, and the like.

We left our first project brainstorming session with a huge list of interesting ideas and concepts. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm turned to anguish when we found out that very few aftermarket parts exist for the Titan. As time passed, our efforts to change our Nissan's appearance persisted with little progress. Dozens of phone calls and countless Web searches revealed only a handful of products we could easily bolt on to distinguish our truck from the rest. One of the few products we found and actually liked was a set of fender flares from Bushwacker.

Bushwacker fender flares come in a flat black color, which didn't go very well with our pallet, so we had them painted by Earl Scheib in Glendale, California, to match the factory green paint scheme. Once installed, the flares gave the truck an aggressive look that complemented the assertive performance provided by the 305hp 5.6L Endurance V-8.

One of the coolest features of the Pro Comp coilover conversion kit is the chassis-specific coilover shocks built in-house by Pro Comp. These shocks simply replace the factory coilovers, which in effect raises the front of the truck by 6 inches.

These stout shocks feature 7/8-inch-diameter shafts and Viton O-rings for increased sealing performance.

We also turned to APE Wraps of San Diego, California, for a lower quarter vinyl wrap. Essentially, these guys are a team of graphic artists that can pretty much put anything you can imagine on any smooth surface. The graphics treatment was just what we needed to ensure our Top Truck Titan's identity wouldn't get confused with other trucks at the annual SEMA show where it was to be displayed.

As SEMA got closer, our stress levels climbed because nobody made a suspension lift for a 4WD Titan. Two weeks before SEMA, during one of our daily nail-biting sessions, we contacted Pro Comp Suspension to inquire about a new coilover conversion kit we'd recently caught wind of. As it turned out, Pro Comp had just developed a 6-inch Titan suspension lift that would allow up to 35-inch rubber with no trimming. Without hesitation, we quickly dispatched our Titan down to Pro Comp's Southern California manufacturing facility. A day later, we had a silky smooth ride quality and a full 6 inches of ride height to work with. We picked a set of Pro Comp 35-inch All-Terrain tires on 17-inch Pro Comp Extreme Alloy Series 1059 polished aluminum wheels to give our Titan just enough bling for SEMA.

Pro Comp has custom valving down to a science, which of course is how they guarantee a gentle ride quality. Each valve stack is composed of 23 individual parts assembled by hand in a clean room environment. This ensures zero contaminates, enabling a lifetime guarantee.

Once the 3-inch billet-aluminum lift blocks were installed under the rear leaf packs, we decided it would be best to install the optional pair of rear traction bars, which are designed to prevent axlewrap.

Every metal bracket Pro Comp builds is cut on a high-dollar laser machine creating a perfect fit each time.

How Does She Ride?
The amazing part about the Pro Comp 6-inch Titan lift system is that the handling improvements are so noticeable, you have to wonder if Nissan's engineers even knew what they were doing when they put together the OEM suspension. Instead of a hard basketball-like rebound and harsh transfers between the tires and the chassis, the Pro Comp kit made our truck ride gracefully. We loved the way the Pro Comp system smoothed out the entire dampening process with improved hydraulics and less poppy-spring rebound. It reminds us of a 1/2-ton Silverado. With reduced body roll, we felt much more in control during hard cornering than before.

We took our newly lifted TTC Titan out to Southern California's Glamis sand dunes over Thanksgiving weekend to flog it over some serious whoops. Indeed, the Pro Comp system held up to one of the most brutal thrashings we could dish out. An alignment and two new factory lower A-arms were all we needed to get the truck going straight again. Pro Comp stands behind its product, and now we know why.