Slap some bigger tires on the defender, even with 20 inch wheels, and it is clearly the winner…even though Motortrend felt it was the clear winner stock.

 

I agree that the idea of spending $85k on a new Defender (or Rubicon or Bronco), and then immediately spending another $15k to make it "off road capable," is a very odd thing. I think car makers believe it's not what everyone wants to do, and I can see the increase in "ready for action" types: most Broncos, all Wranglers, all the TRDs from Toyota, plus the new GX which comes ready to go on OT trims. If you have big bucks: LX, G Wagon, and Grenadiers - all ready to go. I've never driven a AT4 from GMC, but even the biggest SUVs are trying to meet consumer interest in multi-purpose SUVs. (Imagine if Jeep tried to make a Grand Wagoneer Rubicon trim?!) The market is expanding the number of "ready to drive as is" type of SUVs for consumers, and that's good for most buyers.

 

Having come out of a Rubicon background (well, not "out of"; I still have my 2014) I respectfully suggest you might find a Defender P400 with the best off-roading 20" tires you can fit to be plenty capable; in fact, I have a P400 on 20s, and did the rear brake mod so I can run OEM steel 18s as well, which I install for any sort of offroading trip. I have a Warn Zeon 12k hanging off the front and all the off-roading options LR sells and I carry a compressor around when I'm leaving the pavement because... well, honestly, just for comfort. Yep, 20-22 pounds of air feel better to my body than 34, but I don't see any big traction advantage over the lower factory pressure.

And I guess what I'm saying is, if I had saved all the trouble and expense of the 18" wheel mod and just bought the same Cooper Discoverer RT tires I have now, only in 20" size, I think my experience off-roading would be essentially the same as it is on the 18s, though my truck wouldn't look nearly as cool. And that's worth something right there (and I'm not kidding! I love a cool looking truck.)

But the thing about the Defender is that it's meant to do what a Rubicon can do in a thoroughly different manner. The only thing it really needs is bigger tires, for greater clearance, but going down to 18" wheels doesn't help that problem one bit. And I suspect the GX OT is also unable to run 33s or 35s without cutting something (although I could be wrong -- I've not read much about it.) So while I'm a huge fan of 17s (I ordered my Grenadier with 17s, and my Wrangler has 17s and a set of 16s with 37" bias ply dougnuts (shown) for off-roading), I don't think the Defender actually benefits from the little wheels and larger sidewalls.

 

I had a stock rubicon in 2003 and a 2013 aev jeep. My defender with a 1 inch lift and 33 inch tires is a different vehicle than the jeep. It does everything I want it to. But to say the Lexus is a better vehicle is, well, odd.

 

Defender 110 20 inch stock rims 1 inch gentleman's lift =33 inch tires I'll take that over the lexus over trail

33 Falken wild peaks at4ws

 

Both your Jeep and Defender look great! I too want to save the complexity of a lift, and just go with whatever mix and match the configuration website allows. In regard to your Defender, why did you pick the 20" rim vs. the available 19"?? I think the 19" is a good enough choice: I'll get some sidewall for curbs and potholes. Fine, it's not the 18"s, but it's enough. Choosing the 20" rim, I don't get the why? On road, the 19" should be just as good as the 20" rims, as you haven't changed any of the suspension or brake parts. And the tire size (circumference and diameter) are about the exact same... My interest in the 19" vs. the 20" is the unexpected thump (percussion impact) to a tire traveling 40 mph and hitting the unexpected pothole; it's not the same as slow crawling over rocky paths at a lower psi. In the highway scenario, you have what you have at the moment of impact; you can't "go slow" or adjust the height, traction or really any of the features - you're just going to have to take it. A friend of mine had a GTS Cayenne; when I asked him how he handled the potholes in the area he chuckled and said "you just can't hit any potholes. you must slow down and be sure." And there it is, that's the avoid. That's what I don't want. I have 18" rims now on a smaller and lighter LR, and when I was in the JLR showroom looking at the 21" Defenders - big rim and small sidewall, I was like "no way, not ever." On smooth pavement I'm sure it's superior - but I don't have that by me, so I want practical and durable.

 

Thanks!

I didn't get 19s orginally because none of the off-roading tires I like were available in 19". I suspect this is because 19" wheels were orphaned almost immediately after they came out. 18s were the top dog for a fairly long time, then 19s came out and were replaced very quickly with 20s as the biggest commonly available wheel, and that stayed at the top for a long time. So for this reason tire manufacturers never released very many options for 19", and particularly not in off-roading compatible treads and wall thicknesses. 17" probably has the most options, largely because every single JK Wrangler (2007-2018) except the Sahara model ran 17s, and they were selling a couple hundred thousand a year. Also, pickups ran 17" as the standard for years, and even still do in some of the more extreme off-roading packages. So there are lots of customers for 17s, and a lot for 18s, and a lot for 20s, but very few for 19s.

That said, if you don't envision running a class-leading AT or RT or MT tire on your Defender, 19" might make a fine compromise. On the other hand, I have 40,000 miles on my 2022, live in the middle of Atlanta with the type roads that chew wheels/tires up, and I've not had to replace any of the thin-walled fragile GYs that came on the truck. So it could be you're overthinking the 19-vs-20 thing.

 

For what it's worth, I've had three Land Rovers with 22" wheels and have the worst roads (factual) in the country. Never had a flat from a pot hole.

 

Probably correct. I had a loaner: 6 cylinder 110 Defender for 2 days, with the 20" and I hit many potholes with absolute determination to not give a *^%$ - and you know what, neither did Defender! So that was reassuring... I have had few problems with my LR over 9+ years, but one issue that has happened a few times now was related to tires. The high center of gravity and weight likely contributed to tires wearing more quickly than expected. this is why I was determined to "fix" a problem I had with my existing. The tire shops I went to pretty much kept me in the OEMs, and that was not the Kevlar or extra protection I had wanted. On the next, I wanted stronger tires. the other reason for the Q relates to ride quality at 80 mph on the highway: if there's anything from a 22" rim down to the 19" rim, which is going to be less bumpy for passengers? I'd expect the 19"s to have more cushion (along with the air suspension). That too was a factor - is that sound thinking?

 

If you're in a state like NJ, just wait - you will.... just kidding. You've got about 5 inches? of rubber sandwiched between the pothole's edge and your 5,000 lbs of Defender mass. Eventually, you hit a jagged edge somewhere. If you just bang straight down, the air suspension is terrific and maybe you've missed the edges. It's when you hit something sharp... granite curbs along the street are another hazard. snow plows bang them, the granite chips, then you get sharp granite. if you ever watch the tfl guys, they love defender and took one really early on up a trail. their defender probably lacked the air suspension, which i think is helpful in accepting some of the force (so the tire doesn't have to), but that's just a guess. In any event, it's terrific you've not had a flat, but i'm skeptical a 22" rim is a good choice if you're concerned with getting flats, but that's just me. on a 22" rim you can choose an all terrain tire, which gives you better odds. a larger sidewall is more likely to be protective to the tire, but as your experience has been, it's not the only consideration. some goodyear's have kevlar, and can fit a 22" rim, so there's that. climate matters too - i have a harsh winter and a baking summer - a few of those cycles can impact tire life expectancy. even the rubber TMPS tubes need replacing, as they too get brittle. how's the ride quality? have you noticed a trade off in terms of ride quality on the large rims vs smaller?