Alloy Wheels
#2
Hi Jon,
I am going to preface this by saying that I am still waiting for my new Defender which is on a ship off of West Africa at this moment...
I have had a Disco 3 for years and know the challenges of swapping original wheels for aftermarket. I'd advise you to take care as you need to ensure every element is Ok, including importantly the load rating of the new wheels. Very few aftermarket wheels that appear to match LR have a high enough load rating for these cars, and you could end up with invalidated insurance, or worse if one failed on you.
I have ordered the "Steel" wheels and All Terrain tyres with my car, and don't want to spend around $6000 buying a dealer set of alloys - but I happen to have two beautiful sets of spare alloys from my D3 which have alternative tyres fitted, and can be swapped over as everything matches...apart from wheel offset - which is 41.5mm on the 2020 Defender, but 53mm on the D3 wheels.
To get around that I have purchased a set of German Engineered spacers which bolt on to the existing wheel studs and have a new set of 14x1.5mm studs to bolt on the D3 wheel, with the spacer thickness correcting the offset.
For anyone wanting to do similar, getting hold of good used D3 / D4 rims (at least here in Oz) is still relatively easy due to the number of people who have done exactly as you are intending, but foolishly junked the originals in the process.
Probably not the answer you wanted, but hope it helps.
Cheers Oldmowgli
I am going to preface this by saying that I am still waiting for my new Defender which is on a ship off of West Africa at this moment...
I have had a Disco 3 for years and know the challenges of swapping original wheels for aftermarket. I'd advise you to take care as you need to ensure every element is Ok, including importantly the load rating of the new wheels. Very few aftermarket wheels that appear to match LR have a high enough load rating for these cars, and you could end up with invalidated insurance, or worse if one failed on you.
I have ordered the "Steel" wheels and All Terrain tyres with my car, and don't want to spend around $6000 buying a dealer set of alloys - but I happen to have two beautiful sets of spare alloys from my D3 which have alternative tyres fitted, and can be swapped over as everything matches...apart from wheel offset - which is 41.5mm on the 2020 Defender, but 53mm on the D3 wheels.
To get around that I have purchased a set of German Engineered spacers which bolt on to the existing wheel studs and have a new set of 14x1.5mm studs to bolt on the D3 wheel, with the spacer thickness correcting the offset.
For anyone wanting to do similar, getting hold of good used D3 / D4 rims (at least here in Oz) is still relatively easy due to the number of people who have done exactly as you are intending, but foolishly junked the originals in the process.
Probably not the answer you wanted, but hope it helps.
Cheers Oldmowgli
#3
What is the stock offset and width on the Defender wheels? On the disco 5, the 20s are 47mm offset and 9.5 wide with 5x120mm bolt pattern.... don't forget center bore of 72.5mm as these are hub centric wheels with shoulder bolts rather than bolt pattern centered with acorn nuts... i can trade wheels with a lot of late model range rover sports. The defender shares many parts with the disco and may be the same. I picked up 4 wheels that wod have been 3800 at the dealer for 450ish$ shipped on ebay. And you can get 4 tpms that work on amazon for $125 and have two wheelsets that are fully functional.
#4
I wouldn't go with any aftermarket wheels as Land Rover OEM wheels are engineered to take the weight of the vehicle and offroad abuse. They also have an extra strong bead seal (that tire installers hate) that allows you to air down the tires when needed.
I have multiple sets of 19" LR3 and 20" LR4 take-off wheels since they were so easy to pick up cheap on ebay. However, everything I have read tells me they do not fit the Defender unless you use spacers as noted above. (Same bolt pattern and hub bore, but the Defender offset is 41.5) I suspect Defender take-off wheels will be hard to come by and I'll have to spend the $3800 for winter tire wheels.
I have multiple sets of 19" LR3 and 20" LR4 take-off wheels since they were so easy to pick up cheap on ebay. However, everything I have read tells me they do not fit the Defender unless you use spacers as noted above. (Same bolt pattern and hub bore, but the Defender offset is 41.5) I suspect Defender take-off wheels will be hard to come by and I'll have to spend the $3800 for winter tire wheels.
The following 2 users liked this post by PaulLR:
Oldmowgli (10-31-2020),
Troyan2019 (10-30-2020)
#5
What is the stock offset and width on the Defender wheels? On the disco 5, the 20s are 47mm offset and 9.5 wide with 5x120mm bolt pattern.... don't forget center bore of 72.5mm as these are hub centric wheels with shoulder bolts rather than bolt pattern centered with acorn nuts... i can trade wheels with a lot of late model range rover sports. The defender shares many parts with the disco and may be the same. I picked up 4 wheels that wod have been 3800 at the dealer for 450ish$ shipped on ebay. And you can get 4 tpms that work on amazon for $125 and have two wheelsets that are fully functional.
18" - 8J x 18 ET41.5, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/70/R18
19" - 8J x 19 ET41.5, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/65/R19
Stock Discovery 3 / 4 wheels:
18" - 8J x 18 ET53, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/60/R18
19" - 8J x 19 ET53, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/55/R19
So primary difference is the offset which is 11.5mm different. Unless a spacer to correct offset is used, Disco wheels will foul at the rear if fitted to the New Defender.
#6
I meant to add that if Disco 5 Wheels have a 47mm offset they would need a 5mm spacer or be likely to scrub tryes a bit on the Defender due to the offset difference.
I am also guessing the 9.5J wheel width would give clearance issues with the Defender suspension based on some YouTube video from PowerfulUK where they swapped wheels over with other LR items, and explain wheel offset a bit.
I am also guessing the 9.5J wheel width would give clearance issues with the Defender suspension based on some YouTube video from PowerfulUK where they swapped wheels over with other LR items, and explain wheel offset a bit.
#9
Hi Oldmowgli,
Stock 2020 Defender wheels:
18" - 8J x 18 ET41.5, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/70/R18
19" - 8J x 19 ET41.5, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/65/R19
Stock Discovery 3 / 4 wheels:
18" - 8J x 18 ET53, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/60/R18
19" - 8J x 19 ET53, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/55/R19
So primary difference is the offset which is 11.5mm different. Unless a spacer to correct offset is used, Disco wheels will foul at the rear if fitted to the New Defender.
18" - 8J x 18 ET41.5, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/70/R18
19" - 8J x 19 ET41.5, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/65/R19
Stock Discovery 3 / 4 wheels:
18" - 8J x 18 ET53, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/60/R18
19" - 8J x 19 ET53, 120 x 5 PCD with 14x1.5mm stud threads for shoulder bolts, centre bore 72.6mm and recommended tyres 255/55/R19
So primary difference is the offset which is 11.5mm different. Unless a spacer to correct offset is used, Disco wheels will foul at the rear if fitted to the New Defender.
Thanks very much