Also @ChrisVH

You probably already know this but the mud scraper on the fronts needs to be removed from the front setup when you have 20" rims. It's a 1 minute task once the wheels are off. One Torx T30 screw.

 

Thank you! No, I wasn’t aware the scraper needed to be removed. Where is this located on front? I ordered the black Kimberleys, but just saw a pic of the smoked grey on a white Defender like mine, and might change the color to smoked grey from black. How do you like that color, and any issues with the finish coming off (abrasion, chipping, etc…)?

 

LOL, that would be great! And you can, in one sense. While a tire that does all of those as well as it can is going to be compromised compared to 3 modern duty-specific tires (i.e. an aggressive MT, a smooth, quiet passenger car tire, and an actual snow tire), it will be better at all 3 than the best dedicated tires of 30 years ago. So you could console yourself that you have a better single tire than people did in the early 90s who had 3 sets of dedicated tires.

But yeah, unfortunately you’re in a tough spot. I have the luxury of never needing snow performance in Atlanta, so I have the OEM Goodyears on my 20” OEM rims, and a set of Cooper RTs (the micro-category between AT and MT that includes tires like the Ridge Grappler) on a set of OEM 18” steelies, and I’ve got all my needs covered. I just completed a long road trip to SW Colorado and back specifically for off-roading there, and while the RTs are far more bearable than the MTs I had on my Jeep when I’d do similar annual road trips to Moab, it was still a relief to get back home and swap the 20” road tires back on.

But it sounds like you either need 3 sets, or willingness to compromise between the road noise of the OEM tire and the off-road performance of an RT/MT on one of your sets, with real snows on the other set, or give up on snow performance and have the setup I have.

 

Picture from the no-lift tire thread sticky.

 

Thank you everyone for the great information here. Does the car need to be taken to the dealer for any software related updated after the caliper swap? Or is it simply a bolt on project followed by a bleed to make sure there's no air in the lines?

 

My indy shop was careful to insure the electronic park brake was disengaged prior to turning off the engine, lifting the vehicle and replacing the rear calipers (instructions on how to prevent the park brake from engaging are in the owner's handbook.) After swapping calipers and bleeding the brakes, the shop owner went for a test drive and got all kinds of faults, emergency braking not available, loud clicking of the pedal when braking, poor braking, etc. After a few miles, all faults and warning messages suddenly disappeared and the brakes started behaving normally. Your mileage may vary, but that was their experience with my caliper swap.

 

Even though I’ve pulled calipers and replaced discs on plenty of cars and Jeeps, and even though I’ve installed 3 winches on Jeeps, for the very reason you are hesitant to do this job I elected to go to a well-regarded local LR indy, even though I was his first L663. He was recommended by Lucky 8, whose winch kit and rear brakes I was using. He was on the phone with them a bit, and had the truck for 2 days. In the end, it was all perfect and I didn’t have any problems and was so thankful I had farmed this work out. But I laugh thinking about a professional shop that specializes in the brand taking two days to install a winch and swap out rear brake calipers. It’s insane how complicated these things have gotten.

As much as I’m enjoying the Defender, I have a spot in the Grenadier queue since February, for this very reason. I’ve always enjoyed working on my Jeeps and sportscars and I’d like to have the option of doing so again. I took one look at the giant winch install manual from LK8 and said no way.

 

Thanks @umbertob and @NoGaBiker for providing your experiences and perspectives. I would def prefer to knock this out myself but those fault lights have got me worried. @umbertob did the owner ever see the lights come back on again after they mysteriously turned off?

 

Nope, no more fault lights since the end of that test drive. Perhaps bleeding the brakes the old fashioned way (one tech in the car pressing the pedal on demand, the other by the caliper with a hose and a bucket to collect brake fluid) caused the faults to begin with, but the electronics eventually figured it out and all fault lights and dire messages disappeared for good (according to my indy mechanic, dealers hardly ever bleed the brakes anymore... perhaps that's why?) Since then, braking performance has been exactly the same as it was before the calipers were swapped - excellent.

 

I’ve tried to order the rear caliper replacements from a couple online sources, and get blocked when I supply my VIN. They require a VIN to get the calipers, and then tell me they can’t sell to me because of the incompatibility of fitment. So, I am a bit stuck… does anyone have a good source for the LR calipers that won’t block me?