Performance: 2005 Stillen Nissan Titan

Plant your right foot, and it's the Titan's overwhelming V-8 power that clearly surpasses its rivals. Either Nissan is underrating the 5.6-liter's 305 horsepower or the competition is optimistically rating their V-8s. But if you crave even more thrust for your Titan, consider a forced-induction system from Stillen.

Pop the hood on Stillen's Titan, and you'll immediately see where the extra power comes from: An intercooled Eaton Roots-type twin-rotor supercharger sits atop the 5.6-liter DOHC V-8. Available with silver finish ($5995) or polished ($6595), the supercharger installation also fits the Nissan Armada and Infiniti QX56. Installation is straightforward and clean, and the clean theme is backed by a CARB-approved emissions certification.

Stillen's fresh-air intake system ($295) delivers 27-pound-feet more torque on its own, and its T-304 stainless-steel dual rear exhaust system ($634) emits a throaty sound and a solid 16-horse gain. With all three engine upgrades, chassis dyno testing showed 420 horsepower delivered at the rear wheels, which Stillen says translates to about 510 horses at the flywheel--205 over stock. From a stop, the added power overwhelms the rear tires, but once rolling, the big truck hustles to 60 mph in 6.0 seconds--1.2 seconds quicker than stock. Like a two-stroke motorcycle that gets "on the pipe," the Stillen Titan pulls strong down low, then pipes up with a second wave of added power above 4100 rpm.

Nissan's had issues with the brakes on its full-size trucks and SUVs--namely, marginal braking power to halt the 5000-pound-plus vehicles. To address this, Stillen offers two brake-upgrade packages. The basic upgrade ($1395) works with the factory 18-inch wheels and includes larger two-piston front calipers that clamp two-piece, cross-drilled 14-inch-diameter rotors. Our test truck had Stillen's top-end kit, which makes use of AP Racing six-piston front calipers clamping two-piece, cross-drilled/slotted 15-inch rotors. The AP wares are pricey ($3195), but they chop off a full 17 feet from the 60-to-0-mph stopping distance--the difference between a near miss and a totaled vehicle.

Further helping control the Titan is a set of oversize Stillen anti-roll bars ($163, front; $259, rear). Grippy BFGood-rich g-Force T/AKDW 295/45ZR22 tires surround gargantuan American Racing Prizm 22x9.5-inch wheels. Ride height remains stock, but the Titan would look (and perform) better with a few inches of ride height lowering. That's in the works.

Stillen adds dazzle to this test unit with a Street Scene chrome three-piece main grille ($149.95), along with a chrome in-bumper grille ($84.50). But make no mistake, the real sparkle is under the hood.