Hello, I will see my OCTA around June 27. It's currently on the Freesia Leader near Panama.
I'm trying to sort out this Wheel/ Tire choice and speed limiting question. I've gotten conflicting information from both the Dealer and enthusiasts regarding the chosen wheel and tire choice in regard to potential top speed.
When I built it I was never told that my wheel and tire choice would affect the potential top speed. That would have been great to understand.
After I heard this via forums and early Youtube reviews, I checked with my dealer. He confirmed he thought that was the case and my choice would limit the potential top speed to under 100mph, as documented in the literature. He was unsure this could be reversed in service.
Since then, the Dealer (who has now delivered one to another customer) told me that they did not believe this could be the case. He absolutely did not believe this would be a mechanical or electronic limitation, even with the smaller wheels and offroad tires.
But they did believe we'd have to "Agree" in writing... that based on the wheel and tire choice we'd keep the speed under 100mph. But he did not believe this was a mechanical/ electrical limitation built into the vehicle, but more of an implied agreement from the Purchaser that we'd sign off on by buying the vehicle... effectively removing liability from JLR I assume.
I'd like to know for sure.
Is this supposed limit built into the Octa via digital/ mechanical means? Or is it something owners must agree to with specific build specs?
If so, can it be reversed?
Does anyone have confirmation or personal testing in this regard? Maybe it's too soon.
Thanks!

 

Road and Track's article on the OCTA mentions this - Road and Track OCTA

The Octa's top speed will be limited by tire choice. The 22-inch all-seasons are rated to cope with the 155 mph the car is fully capable of, while the regular all-terrains cut that to 130 mph. Choosing the more aggressive Duratracs drop the number to 112 mph, but with the exact same tires getting a lower 99 mph limit in Europe—which pretty much corresponded to the 103-mph limiter fitted to the car I drove in South Africa, and before long that started to feel restrictive on some of the fine, empty roads of the Western Cape.

My question would be do all OCTA's get a speed limiter fitted or just the ones in South Africa.

From ChatGPT

The Land Rover Defender OCTA has a speed limitation that varies based on the tire choice. With 22-inch all-season tires, the top speed is limited to 155 mph. When equipped with the 20-inch wheels and standard all-terrain tires, the top speed is 130 mph.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

• 22-inch Michelin Primacy all-season tires: Limited to 155 mph.
• 20-inch wheels and standard all-terrain tires: Limited to 130 mph.
• 20-inch wheels and advanced all-terrain tires: Limited to 159 km/h (approximately 99 mph).

I am sure someone with a new OCTA will chime in with there findings after speed testing,

 

Yep, this has been mentioned in a lot of the coverage on media. But not yet confirmed in the real world... to my knowledge. Hoping someone can confirm! Thx

 

Well, the speed limiting factor was explained by my dealer, contained in the literature when ordering and mentioned at the LR Experience - “irreversible”. Not sure my statement is a “confirmation”. In one of the early Lucky8 OCTA videos, Justin said he ordered the 22” for the speed rating. He is, of course, an avid off-roader. Sure enough one of the first things he did was switch out the 22’s for the 20” Duratracs.

In my case, I got the BF Goodrich Trail Terrains and tried to make a switch when delivered. My dealer did not have any “OCTA” tires in inventory to even make a switch, if that makes sense.

 

Yea thanks for sharing that. Still getting mixed info from Dealers. Hope to have absolute clarity soon.

 

At the OCTA preview in Los Angels a year ago the JLR rep showing the vehicle to us said the tire size ordered forever dictates the top speed, it is locked and unchangeable. That same day when we completed our order preference (using the same JLR vehicle configurator but not viewable to the public at that time) and we reached the tire section, the rep said again our choice would lock in the vehicles top speed and it can not be changed even by the dealer. A number of reviewers and articles have said the same thing.

That said, there are a lot of things the GAP Tool can do the dealer software can't.

I live in the Peoples Republic of Washington State, they go bananas at anything over 60 MPH so a fixed 99 MPH forever max speed doesn't bother me.

I'm more annoyed the 2026 OCTA gets a 9 HP bump to 635, cleaner tail lights, and the large screen. They should have put all that into the 2025.5 OCTA's.

 

I’m fairly sure this limitation has also existed on the p525 V8, which is limited if you order the 20s but goes 155 on the 22s.

I have a V8 that came on 20s and I’ve never felt the need to go fast enough to test it due to not having a death wish.

With that said, I’d also love for GAP tool folks to chime in, can the limit be changed on V8 or OCTA?

 

Where do these roads exist that allow someone to push the top limits of speed at up to 155 mph? Don’t think I would feel safe in a top heavy, high clearance vehicle such as the Defender. A road hugging, low slung bonafide true sports car maybe, but although I’ve had my Defender reach just over 100 for a few short stints on long open stretches, and backed off because I don’t feel comfortable at that speed should I need to make an evasive maneuver or worse, have a tire give out, I certainly wouldn’t feel confident to see 155 on the display. But hey, to each his own. Drive safe, arrive alive.

 

I actually know a lot of roads where you can drive at those kind of speeds.

 

Rock crawling at 100mph is almost as much fun as dodging beach umbrellas at 120.
Why else buy an OCTA? Let’s get with it Chuck.