Okay, I'll be joining the Defender 110 V8 club this weekend. I am now a LAND ROVER convert after having been bit by the LR bug after purchasing a brand new 2025 Ranger Rover P530 SE L with the twin turbo V8 - an absolutely astounding SUV that leaves others in the dust in all aspects IMHO. So the Defender 110 V8 will be my daily, with factory installed fixed steps, glossy grey color, classic mud flaps to be installed plus 20" Octa replica Forza wheels to come in at a future date.

For you Defender V8 owners, do you recommend going all in and doing all the aluminum upgrades for the cooling system right off the bat or is it okay to just wait until 50K miles or so? My idea is to keep these LRs for as long as I can. Every time I drive my RR I just can't believe how great this ridiculously heavy SUV feels.

BTW the insanity question relates to owning TWO Land Rovers and nothing else.

 

Welcome to the LR club. I would recommend you leave all the upgrades you mentioned alone for the time being. The jury is still out on the benefits of such upgrades not to mention that it could void your factory warranty. If you decide to do the upgrades, wait until the warranty is expired. I also own a 2025 Range Rover P550e, a 2025 Range Rover Sport P530, and a 2025 Defender P300. I did own a 2022 Carpathian Edition Defender V8 and also owned a 2020 Defender P400 and a 2023 Defender P400. I personally prefer the P300 4 cylinder on the Defender especially for off roading purposes. And no, you are not insane for owning two Land Rovers :-)

 

I’d recommend waiting until after warranty before doing any preventative repairs like this. Those plastic components fail with time and mileage (heat cycling).

Also, the aluminum components aren’t always failure proof.

PS - I thought JLR replaced those old plastic manifolds they’ve been running since 2010 finally with aluminum on new production models? So you may be good to go.

 

I have three, so I think you're good... ;-)

 

I would check yours when you get it. Some have the 2 front cross over pipe, the upper and lower part, in aluminum from the factory. I replaced them on our L405 with the oem aluminum pipes and replaced the rear crossover with another new oem.

I would wait for now, time and/or mileage can cause the leaks. I did them on our L405 at 4 years, only 22k miles and they were starting to weap.

 

Well, thank you all above for the replies. Took delivery of the '26 Defender today and I'm pleasantly surprised on how it drives and with the exhaust orchestra it provides. Running on stock 20" wheels with the factory goodyear all terrain tires my first impressions are the 110 V8 being a bit more bouncy than the GLS63 it replaces. But I really like the interior and the space, not to mention how tall it actually is. I've ordered it last year just before the hacker attack they've suffered so not too bad getting it in April. The Pivi is pretty much the same as the '25 RR and I think the audio quality on the Defender is better than in the RR - both meridian. Now I'm deciding which tires to get for the Octa replica wheels, mixed use pavement (80%) and occasionally off road (20%) I am leaning towards the Falken Wildpeak A/T 275/55/20 - the stock meats right now are 255/60/20.

As for the Y-Pipe I haven't checked yet but it is my understanding that even though revised to a version without seams, they're still all plastic.
Next steps are front windows tint, classic mud flaps and then wheels/tires.

 

Congrats!

we originally had a 2019 RR full size autobiography and a Defender X 110 P400. We ended up selling them both for a 2024 Defender 110 V8 and very happy with the choice.

somewhere around 2018ish I believe they upgraded to a newer design plastic y pipe. Around 24 they upgraded to aluminum from the factory.

Some pics from doing the job on our RR. Our 24 has them from factory. Very easy to check if you lift the engine cover.

 

Thank you for the reply with pictures. I checked mine and the exposed pipe is indeed aluminum just like shown in your pictures. I can't tell on the smaller Y-Pipe that resides underneath the supercharger as it's hidden. The thermostat housing in my '26 is still plastic though.

Edit: As shown above by Skyfall, JLR now offers genuine aluminum parts to replace the plastic ones, so it's possible the newer '24-'26 already came equipped with both

https://www.roverparts.com/engine-co...es-lines/ECAP/

 

Can you tell me more about this? I have a 2017 SV with about 74,000 miles, It is still original parts but has been inspected and everything is still good. The dealer I've worked with for 15 years can do factory upgraded/aluminum parts but suggested it isn't really necessary yet.
As I understand it, there are factory parts that are now better than when the L405 was shipped.

Mine is the SV autobiography with diamond stitched seats and it is truly wonderful for multi-hour long drives, much nicer than my 2007 LR3 I've had since new LOL

Thoughts ?

 

Welcome to the LR addiction. If you’re insane, quite a few here are too. We own a 2025 Defender and 2026 Range Rover. Cheers 🍻