@aao4473 - I just re-read your post that someone replied to. In your "Current mods #2", if I read that right you changed from the Coopers back to the KO2's. That right? Last summer you had a great post about testing them all and I thought you were a Cooper fan after your results. Did I miss read that or can you give another stellar insight into why the switch? Can you tell I'm JUST about ready to quit posting thread Q's and before I make the leap....(And I'm committed to following your trail re: caliper grinds & will document the journey).

 

Hey Grouse, sure thing.



Short version, the 20inch wheels are the limiting factor in enjoying and unlocking the defender’s off-road capabilities, especially when your defender does not have the extra diff. Like mine.



And Long detailed version



So for my first setup, I started with the 20inch redbourne alstons and 275/55/20 KO2s, the wheels were heavy and the tires just didnt work well with 20 inch wheels it was a bad combination and I can tell that the defender suspension didn't like the setup, it was too stiff as if there wasn't any suspension rebound or tire cushioning.



So I changed the tires to Cooper at3 which are way less aggressive than the KO2's and very close to the stock goodyear tire, they were good onroad and good for light offroad, BUT the 20 inch wheels were the issue it just didnt give me the confidence to push the defender when offroading, and as a general rule, bigger wheels result in a rougher ride and generally, 20 inch wheels are heavier than 18 inch wheels.



Then Evo Corse announced the 'Dakarzero' lightweight 18inch wheels for the defender, bought these and slapped on them a set of used cooper at3 from my friend's tireshop to test them out, the driving experience and dynamics were different as night and day. the defender was lighter, it was soaking everything onroad and offroad, I knew straight away that it was the 18inch wheels, went back to my friends tireshop and installed the KO2’s and so far they are really good on road and amazing offroad.



So in conclusion, you will be fine if the defender will spend most of its time on road with light off-roading, 20 inch wheels with off-road tires is a love-hate relationship, a combination that doesn’t really work.

 

Perfect! Just what insights I was looking for, @aao4473 . I am in fact committed to going to 18's down from my 20's. I live in Texas. My cousin calls it "a drought state, interrupted by torrential flooding". So while dry, we get a lot of wet and when it comes it's in buckets. From what I've been reading, I'm thinking of going Nitto Ridge Grapplers over my formerly loved KO2's because they should be less squirrely in rain. I just read your deep insights favoring the Coopers on 20's that were completely off my radar. Thanks for the re-validation.

Now to keep waffling on tire size for a few more days....

 

You welcome, for the 18 inch wheels I went with 285/60/18, with ‘60’ the tire wasn’t rubbing when I lowered the defender suspension, but when I had the Coopers on the 18 they were 275/65/18, whenever I lower the defender I kept hearing a screeching noise, its was the front tires rubbing, but in normal height it was fine.

 

Very interesting! I ran the stats on the various wheels and it was counter to what I had thought. I made the little matrix below using OEM tires as comparison points. I had always thought that when getting different tire specs that the width got you into more trouble than the diameter. But your results were that the width was fine, but diameter is when the rub started (in Access mode). I believe you and will go by that intel. As most folks know these are "rough" estimates because each manufacturer sizes slight differently.

 

No rub at normal height and 1.5" rods with 275/70-18 on OEM steelies. But I'm going to pull them and replace with stock 255s, only in Ridge Grapplers. I don't like the truck's on-road handling with the rods, and I have to drive a long *** way on-road to get out west for fun in the mountains and canyons (from Atlanta.) So I want to be able to drive without rods, install them when I want to lift the body as far as possible for offroad, then remove them for the road again. Not an option with the 33s.

Anybody wants a good deal on 5 275/70s (Kenda Klever RT601) with less than 3 miles on 4 of them and zero on the 5th, let me know.

 

285/60/18 vs 275/65/18

Its mind boggling, they look the same size, but only the coopers rub a bit infront when lowered

 

Appreciate if you could elaborate more on the on-road handling and dynamics with the rods

 

The setup was put to test last weekend, High speed baja driving (no big jumps) and sand/slight rock driving and night driving with the lazer lamps.

the defender preformed really well, suspension was soaking everything and compliant with the terrain, no rubbing no issues, my only gripe is that I couldn’t disable traction in normal mode. when turning, it was cutting the power unless I choose one of the modes (sand mode) which I didn't want to as I didn't need the low gear and the high suspension.

other than that, I disabled the “hold brakes” feature and went for it.

 

That last shot says it all! Chilling with the hommies after having fun!

@aao4473 - In the two pics of your wheels, the left one appears to be the "after" and you've removed the "advertising". Looks better! Did you use a heat gun, solvent or cash to get rid of them?