Increased rotational weight incurs an acceleration penalty and increased fuel consumption along with changes in response.

The L405 is on a different mission and we tune the suspension on that vehicle differently than the Defender. We're also using different types of wheel designs which mask their weight on that vehicle. A 22" L405 will not ride like a 22" Defender.

Don't worry though- we have a 23" option on the L460 I'm sure you'll love and we've managed to take the edge off it

 

An acceleration impact on a car that weighs more than a full size Range Rover is laughable.

Yes L405 rides much softer but the ride on 22s with the Defender is good. It's not going to ride better than 20", but it's good.

 

Physics is a funny thing sometimes. You'd be surprised what 5 pounds can do to a 5500 lb vehicle when applied in the appropriate location.

However, we of course offer as many wheel options as we can to make sure everyone is happy. It sounds like 22" is the way to go in your situation. However, for those on the forum curious what the folks in the UK who designed the vehicle would recommend- it would be 18" and 19" wheels on the P300 and 19" wheels on the P400.

20" is the compromise size that we do most of our sales volume with and can be taken off-road using care (and not lowering the tire pressures like certain people on Youtube).

 

I'm familiar with the concept of unsprung weight and it's impact on driving dynamics, but I think the OP would like 22s and the way you are describing them seems to come from an engineers POV. Real world driving, yes the ride isn't as good as an 18 and if you're looking to go off road, 22 shouldn't be your choice. But for everyday driving the ride on the 22s is surprisingly good and I wouldn't scare him off if that's what he wants. OP I'd go test drive a Defender with 22s and see what for yourself. Also to answer your earlier question, the calipers I have are black V8 6 pots that come on the '23 model year.

 

The only real issue with the 19's is lack of tire options.

Now, if the same designers had only used the same brake caliper on 18" and 20" wheel-equipped Defenders, I wouldn't have to spring for new calipers (I'm not going to grind down the factory ones) to go from 20's to 18's.

 

If you think it looks better and you won’t be doing any serious off roading, go for it. You will not notice much difference in ride quality between 20s and 22s. If you intend staying on tarmac, the ride is pretty darn good actually—even on the crap roads where I live. And as someone said, the brakes are only smaller if the car originally came with 18s. You will get a little less gas mileage and slower acceleration times going with a bigger wheel—but you’d only know it using a stop watch.

 

Ahh if only we had considered that during our multi-year development program

Let's get serious for a moment. It's not like we are looking to increase our costs and complexity- we put the larger calipers on the P400 for a reason. It's a very heavy vehicle (even more so than the P300) and it's going to see some serious towing usage from people. Wrangler & Bronco owners can only dream of towing 8,000lb/3600kg. It's also notably more powerful and needs to be brought down from high speeds (repeatedly) in a hurry because some folks treat a powerful SUV like a sports car.

You can handle just about any encounter with the 19" wheels and the appropriate tire (at the correct pressure). The P300 is the truer off-roader for a number of reasons and more likely to see that duty around the world- so it has 18" wheel options. Additionally, the crowd in the US that typically pays P400 money doesn't want the 18" wheels. We know because we interview hundreds (actually thousands on Defender) of people before these vehicles go on sale. Many of them existing Land Rover owners. I can count on my hand how many times we've met someone willing to pay $80,000+ for a Defender who would like to option 18" wheels.

People across the pond in the US need to understand that your idea of off-roading and overlanding isn't always the same as the rest of the world (or desired). I would not like to be in South America or remote parts of the African continent trying to find a 35" tire.

Ultimately, if everyone makes a big enough fuss to the retailers we'll go back to the drawing board- we're always willing to spend the money and make the customers happy. However, thus far, the demand hasn't been there.

Hope this helps provide some insight into the situation.

 

Thanks for all the replies and info guys.
While I am sure I would love to take my Defender off road, the reality is that I am a city dweller and spend 99% of my time on paved roads.
Good to know that 22"s should work fine with my X!

 

I’m no expert, but I’m not buying this argument.

1) the 18” wheel rear calipers seem to be identical to the 20” wheel rear calipers. The only difference being some extra metal “bumps” that can be easily ground down with no apparent change in braking performance.

2) the front brakes are identical (18” vs 20”). The only difference being a bolt-on “puck” that is easily removable with no apparent change in braking performance.

3) the rotor size is identical (18” vs 20”)

4) there are many vehicles available with high towing capacity and small wheel size (ex; Ford F150, ~10,000 pound towing capacity, 17” wheels).
If other manufacturers can do this, why can’t Land Rover?

5) if people need a high-capacity towing vehicle, they’re not likely to get a Defender. They will get a full-size pickup truck (in the US).

If Land Rover truly wanted to improve braking performance, there are other ways of doing this. There are many low-profile multi-piston calipers that have greater braking force vs the bulky single-piston brakes Land Rover uses.

 

^^^
Here's some more examples of high towing capacity and small wheel size:
(US market specs)
(2022 models except for the Land Cruiser)

Ford Expedition: 9,300 pounds, 18" wheels
Nissan Armada: 8,500 pounds, 18" wheels
Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon: 8,400 pounds, 17" wheels
Toyota Land Cruiser (2021): 8,100 pounds, 17" wheels