ASD Dad

Rick - I emailed Katzkin today. I have bought from them before and love the quality and fit. If they end up not working I may see about trying to get a partial credit on ones that due fit, they brand new but are now 6 months old (they were made in Dec '14). If they dont fit or they wont give me a credit I'll take some photos and let you know. They are gray and black padded leather built with the airbag cutouts inside.

Before I get too much into this look here : http://www.titantalk.com/forums/titan-performance-modifications/15837-diy-air-box-mod.html This has been going on with the Titan 5.6 since it came out over a decade ago. In a nutshell Nissan made a long snorkel that extends into the factory air box for NVH reasons (noise). That puts the air intake right up against the corner of the box and also takes up volume in the box. Neither are good. If you look at your air filter you will notice that most of the dirt is in the corner where the intake tube ends vs. the entire filter. Mine was dirty after a couple thousand miles in that corner while the rest was brand new looking. After doing this mod the air box volume increases and the whole filter is being used more efficiently. I noticed a very very negligible amount of noise increase. You can also help this mod by doing a drop in filter like an Airaid, K&N, etc. OK, that out of the way it is very simple to do to our NV's and so far it HAS helped in MPG believe it or not. I really see zero harm in trying the mod out, there is no risk to the motor and the noise barely noticeable if at all. There is one slight difference with the NV vs. the Titan. 1) There is a 10mm (all bolts are 10mm) bolt that is tucked inside a recess of the air box towards the front of the vehicle. You will see it down past the windshield washer reservoir. I could not get a wrench or anything else into that recess with the reservoir in place. You will need to use your 10mm socket and remove the reservoir or move it to the side enough to get a wrench onto that bolt. There is one hidden bolt on the reservoir UNDER it. You will feel it and just need an extension to back it out. Once that is moved I disconnected the wires and moved the whole thing out of the way so I could get a box end wrench on the recessed air box bolt. I did NOT remove the lid of the air box like in the link above, there was more than enough slack and room to move the lid off towards the firewall. Once the bottom was pulled out I used a small flat head screwdriver to wedge into the tab holding the snorkel in. It pulled right out. I then cut the snorkel to length and it snapped right back in. I did this mod 5 tank fulls of gas ago. I monitor every tank and hand calc each fill up. Before this mod my average was 14.1 MPG. Since doing this mod I am now averaging 14.6 MPG. A whole 1/2 a MPG! Yes, that is paltry and pathetic but hey, it is free and easy. Some guys are seeing more gains with an aftermarket filter. For me this was a proof of concept mod. If it worked I was going to do a full Airaid intake as they are seeing much better gains using it and it has repeatable dyno results across multiple motors. I am more interested in the HP gains for towing vs. MPG gains but they are seeing decent results there. Before anyone asks or states: my daily commute is a boring one. Between working full time and having two kids in therapy up to 70 hours a week combined my 7 day a week drive is very very routine. Every day is the exact same drive, same traffic, same everything. This isnt like I did the mod and took a trip or decided to go all over the place. It was the same old same old over the course of the test.

Doesnt that just give you the warm and fuzzies since you paid so much for a brand new vehicle and can get zero after purchase support from the manufacturer? I am going through something a little similar right now with Macy's corporate. Bought a very expensive sectional couch and it keeps getting "delayed" or "damaged" on delivery day. Corp keeps giving us the run around and now wont return calls. I'd be pretty ticked if a major manufacturer like Nissan cant control their voicemail system or call customers back. Are they A) that inept at customer service, B) have that many people calling in that they cant keep up or C) both of those! Either option isnt a good one. Hope you hear from them.

Update - Visit with dealership went better than expected and about the same as expected... Took them an hour after arrival to get my van back into the shop. After it got back there the tech only took off the side panel of the seat vs. remove the seat cushion to inspect. I asked why he didnt remove the whole cushion and he stated that would take "hours" and he really didnt see anything wrong from the outside... Radio worked as I pulled in so they couldnt really test it. That was the bad news. The good news is the new service manager was much nicer than the other guy. He gave me two free oil changes and rotations for the wait and delay in calling me back the first time around. He also told me the next time the radio acts up I just need to take a cell phone video of what is going on. I can then email it to him and he can get approval to get the radio swapped out for a new one. The seat - well we are at a stalemate right now. He understands my concerns and he even felt the issue. He thinks it is a design issue vs. flaw with where the seams meet. He told me Nissan is balking since the entire seat runs them $2700!! That is due the airbags and everything else built into them. I asked about just the bottom cushion and he wasnt sure. He is going to his regional manager to talk to him about options. The other bad news is that I bought some Katzkin seat covers from a member here in case this all went south. He told me they work on all the 3500's and after seeing the seat apart I dont believe they work on any power seats. There are no cutouts or holes for the drivers side controls. They will work on non-power or the passenger seat. I think I am going to email Katzkin the part numbers sewn into the covers and ask them.

I've reported every spam post the day posted with no result. Other forums I belong to those get zapped within 24 hours max.

The radio started working again today... Didnt work all morning and just went out at lunch and it works perfectly! I'm still going in tomorrow to have it looked at and my seat worked on.

Welcome to the site! There is a ton of room in these vans.

Mine's Silver! The OP has a black one. Black and SC summers would Not get along!

I think somebody else looked into the adapters and they are not compatible with the NV yet. I have used them in the past with excellent results as long as the radio is also compatible. I dont believe there is a way to wire the factory adapter directly to an aftermarket radio. I've been out of the install business for a long time now but I would think there would be way too many issues.

Welcome to the site! I imagine with 8 kids that Tahoe was getting cramped. NVP definitely has the room.

Well it turns out I am going to Nissan of Greer this Saturday after all. I got in the van, started it up and radio has zero sound. Controls all work including steering wheel controls but no sound. Tried FM, AM, XM, Nav and Bluetooth. Zip. Better be an easy fix, I have that trip coming up and I dont plan on driving hours in silence!! So add broken radio to my above issues. Just turned 3000 miles and its not starting off well. BTW - we researched a while and found absolutely nothing that would meet our family needs besides the NVP V8 model. 2 adults, 3 kids, 2 big dogs and associated gear plus ability to tow at least 7000#. My Toyota was out of room and payload. Looked at a Ram Cummins Megacab with a cap for the dogs but price and maintenance was not good. Other diesels were smaller with same maintenance issues. Most 1/2T trucks were pushing payload numbers. Other options. Look for an Excusion. We tried and if they're nice they're insanely expensive. If priced right they need lots of work. 3/4T Burb? Rare and newer ones had a super soft suspension that needed upgraded to eliminate float when hauling. Sprinter and Transit both don't tow anythig large. Ford E series or Chevy Express vans are ancient and drive and feel like a tugboat on land. So it's either learn to live with the NVP or change how we do trips... I had considered selling the camper for something smaller and lighter but wife vetoed that idea for now. Kids are young, two are special needs and we need the room.

I did find another NVP, this dealer had two on the lot. I didnt feel anything and I dont feel anything on the passenger side. Dealer insisted they felt nothing on mine but he didnt sit in it long enough. Next closest NV dealer is 2 hours away. Dont feel like being on the road for 4 hours in driving... Getting rid of it is not an option right now unless it ends up being I have to find another dealer. A) I would take a bath on a trade with it being brand new with 3000 miles on it. B) I can fix both issues on my own if it really came down to it but I shouldnt have to fix the seat issue. I actually have brand new Katzkins leather covers for it sitting in a box. They dont have the same seams, just big panels of padded leather. They were/are my backup plan should Nissan stiff me on repair. I have no intention of putting up with the seat long term. Power wise I am sure I can get used to it and when empty it is fine for daily driving. The Toyota was deceptively quick but 4.30 gearing and 400ft/lb of torque will launch even a pig quickly. There are plenty of bolt ons for the 5.6 Nissan motor to wake it up should I want to go that route. I am making the call to Nissan soon, right now we are dealing with a family health emergency.

So just got a call from Nissan of Greer. Seems the Service Mgr I was dealing with has been let go. Big shocker. New guy called just now and told me that Nissan will NOT cover my seat under warranty. I need to bring it back and let their body shop remove the cushion, remove the leather and see if they can figure out what the issue is. If they see nothing I am SOL. If they see something or cant fix it then they need to resubmit for approval. What a flipping joke this is becoming. It's been a Month since I was told Nissan would cover it and they just needed to wait on the part!! Dealer isnt exactly close by so I either fix myself or waste another day of driving and sitting there. I am leaning towards fixing this myself at this point... I can say I will never recommend this dealer to anybody I talk to and I get plenty asking about my NVP. Their sales dept was fine but forget it if you need service.

Do you have a ton of idling going on to get that low of mileage? That just seems insane to be that low. Is that all traffic or idling at sites as well? I have relatives that live in CA and one said their old 10 mile commute could take up to an hour depending on traffic. That is just beyond crazy to me. I'd be on a bike way before I sat in that traffic!

I agree with Chris, if I were road going and traveling a ton I would much rather have a setup like yours. Current needs dictate a trailer or lots of tents though! 3 kids under 7yrs of age and two large dogs to cart around to campgrounds right now!

Andy, first trip is coming up soon. We're heading north through the NC and TN mountains. Made the trip in the past with zero issues but got a little hesitant after the short test tow. Would have preferred a closer trip but no time. I'm guessing it will be fine but I won't have that big headroom of power I'm used too. I'll just be planning farther ahead and not hammering up the hills. I may just start adding bolt ons for the fun of it. I wouldn't mind having more power day to day either!

Just curious how you guys that are pulling decent sized campers feel the power is when pulling grades. My prior TV was a Tundra 5.7 and I could pass people going uphill when towing our 6600# camper. I never had to worry about merging. I never had to worry about the 7% grades locally. Tundra was stock but we're talking 400lb/ft of torque and over 380hp. I took a test tow with the camper and had to pull out onto a 2 lane 55mph country road. When empty the NVP has zero issues with getting quickly to speed and I was satisfied with the lower powered motor especially in a much larger vehicle. Let's just say I was surprised in a not so good way when merging out into traffic pulling the camper. NVP and camper were empty too other than the year round stuff we store in the camper. Once I got too speed it maintained it just fine but it was flat ground. So wanted to ask - everybody satisfied with their V8 towing power? Is this just something I'll need to get used too? I've always had plenty of power when towing past campers, this is the first time I felt underpowered. I know there are plenty of bolt ons that the Titan guys like such as the Airaid intakes, several exhausts and headers. Then there are the ECU tuners from Bully Dog and Superchips. All show repeatable dyno gains.

Why isn't this covered under warranty? From glancing it looks like your NV is 3 yrs old with 42k miles. The poster Chris Commercial Manager on here is in Charlotte. Are you at his dealership?

Jerry - Routine work I can inquire at my local dealer who is 20 min away and see if they can service it. For actual work like my seat being replaced they told me I had to go to a NV dealer.

There's zero reason it won't. They're the exact same size in diameter and the 265 is only about 3/4" wider total so less than half an inch per side.

Just wanted to update on this. On 4/28 Greer Nissan called me to tell me that Nissan had approved replacing the lower seat cushion on the driver's side as a "Good will gesture". Took them 8 days to get that approval but they got it. Fast forward to today, one month later since taking it in. Still no seat cushion in sight. I called today and was told "we have no idea where it is, they send it when they send it." I asked if they can call about the issue before I tear the stupid seat apart on my own to get it done. They told me they would try and get back to me next week... I am beyond displeased that I am stuck with those people. I've got a few closer dealers but none are authorized for the NV's. I haven't had my first service yet and I am already dreading going there. My other choice is to make a day trip out of it with a 4 hour round trip drive plus whatever the actual service time is. I am giving them until Tues and then I start calling the regional rep and national service line. I just dont want to get blacklisted at the dealership for the remainder of my ownership of this van...

Welcome! That sounds like it will be one nice camping rig! Be sure to post up photos when you get it and as it goes through its makeover. Cant help much on the questions. I am considering changing out my wheels and tires but havent looked very far into it yet.

What camper do you have? Our next will be a super slide again. We had a shorter Salem 26TBUD that had a huge slide even though it was only 26' long and it was so roomy in the main area vs. our new camper. The new camper gives the kids their own bunk space which is why we went with it (plus we love the outside kitchen).

Here is the Topper rack. Pretty nice for $400. 12 feet long, 7 cross bars and has the side rails. Lifetime warranty as well for defects.

Most are heavier. A few things make this one lighter. 1) no "super slide" - the slide is shallow only going out a couple feet vs 4 feet for a super. The slide is my couch, stove, sink area. 2) it is made cheap! I mean they used the thinnest materials possible on it... I have had to fix numerous little things or reinforce areas that get heavy use. It's also showing pretty good wear and tear after 3 years and a little over a dozen trips. Nothing major but we can tell this wont be around a decade without some work. On the other hand my in-laws have a Trail Manor. It's ultra light and super crazy engineered but built like a tank. No slides of course but I am amazed how well put together it is. However it also cost a good $10K more than ours! Coachmen makes almost the identical trailer to ours but with a full super slide and a little better materials. It weighed in empty at the same weight mine is full. Thanks for the compliments. We camp 3-5 times a year typically. Years ago I tent camped. Once married and had a kid we had a Pop-Up. Had more kids so moved up to TT's. We're going to try and keep at it 30'-ish max on length from now on since we tend to stick to State Parks and most have restrictions on length. Plus over 30' gets pretty long and tricky during maneuvers. I already had one incident with a 30' and those concrete posts that guard gas pumps! Thought I had it cleared and clipped 6" of the rear corner of the camper. Peeled it open like a tin can!