How many times have I been exploring around SE Utah or SW Colorado or NE AZ and gotten pretty deep into a trail only to find an element that is more difficult than what has been the norm up to that point. Sometimes I turn back and never learn where the trail goes, but I like to give it a try and maybe do something a little harder than I anticipated.

Having more than you need (within reason) is rarely a cause for regret. In the world of enhanced offroad capabilities, $1200 for something as critical as a locker is maybe not chump change, but there's hardly any other item you can buy for that price that will prove as useful as a locker when you need one.

Caveat: I've got a locker on my D110, had them and didn't have them on Wranglers previously. With the Wrangler, the difference is huge in locked vs. unlocked. But I've never driven a D110 without the locker, so it's possible the electronics of a Defender without one are good enough to render the locker less important than I am giving it credit for.

2nd Caveat: No set of electronics and/or mechanical locking diffs will help if you keep the stock "off-road" tires that come with the upgraded off-road package. They suck up mud and fill their tiny little tread canyons with it, refusing to clear the mud and creating a big greasy disk that just spins away on the mud surface. No computer can "send 100% of torque to the tire with the most traction" if there isn't any tire with any traction. Upgrade those tires as soon as you want to go offroad with any level of seriousness.

 

I would echo that if ordering it is worth seriously considering adding the locking rear diff due to the inability to add later.

That being said, if you are buying off the lot (as I did) and it is missing, you can still do quite a bit of off road work without. There are lots of videos on YouTube of models without the rear locker driving on trails. I've spent time on forest service roads and some moderate trails without and have done fine. The traction control on these is really really good. It won't get you everywhere the rear locker will, but it covers a lot of ground.

 

No matter what I do to my beloved '22 Defender, I can assure you that it won't be the worse abomination I'm responsible for. I've already been there! Muah ha ha...BTW - My wife will NEVER let me go that far again. We've been married too long for her to put up with too much.

Signed,
~ Unabashed Off-Road Hooligan

(I sold it off YEARS ago to a stripper and her rocker boy-friend. If we are ever together off-roading or over-landing around a campfire, I'll tell the full story. It might even resemble the true story.)

 

Amen, brother!!!

 

Thank you all!

So now that the e-diff has been covered, how do we feel about:

Headlights- do the Premium LED make a material difference in terms of performance and aesthetics? Considering the spirit of the build (base/functional), I don't want to be jaded by the mission and skip small selections that end up being missed.

Digital Gauges - do the digital gauges materially change the driving experience for the better? Maps, cameras, etc... are they substantially more digestible and useful in the gauge display than central screen?

Thanks,
Joe

 

I have standard lights and they seem plenty bright. Would like to see what you get with the upgraded lights. For offroad driving, brighter the better.

I've seen partial digital vs full digital dash. Mine has basic, but if I opted for my own build, I would go digital. Buddy has it and navigation screen can appear there and much more info. My is basically analog dials with middle digital but juts basics. Not sure what cost is, but I think it enhances the driving experience and would opt for it.

Glad u got the locking diff. Really, the most important option in my mind. Mine is a basic overlanding truck, p300, steel wheels, no sunroof, tow package, both offroad packs with ediff, heated seats and that's it. I love the spartan interior and easy to clean cloth seats. It's already seen half its miles on road trips and many on dirt.

Yeah, the OEM offroad tires are crap. I blew 2 in less than 2000 miles. Get some good ATs or MTs in a slightly larger size but not too large u rub.

 

Alright peeps, got the call and submitting the order next week. I am struggling with colors. I really do want to do the steelies, but am considering the 18" alternatives.

The big question is Santorini or Hakuba (or another wildcard)? I haven't seen a single 110 in Hukuba w/ steelies, curious how that would look with 30mm spacers.

 

Now you REALLY are asking for opinions. Everyone is going to throw their's out, so here's my thoughts.

The Pangea Green grows on me, but when I first saw it I wept. I am a traditionalist and could only see the corruption of British Racing Green. I also feared that it would look like a 1970's purple ceramic bathtub after a while. aka, it could get dated.
I went Hakuba because I thought it would have a longer run or better resale color. That was likely stupid. It turned out to be one of the more uncommon colors.
I thought long and hard about the white. The more I see them, the more that appeals to my usage/style. I want to heavily mod mine and I think white is best to work with.
Black is not for me because I abuse/get dirty my trucks too much. They are Bad-*** if you keep them well cleaned, cared for & garaged a lot. This probably is the coolest/luxurious-ist (is that a word??).
My all around favorite, though is the Blue with white steelies and a white top. If I went with a 90, that would DEFINITELY be the color for me. I think the white steelies, white top, blue body is the one that most aligns to the Defender legacy.

So those are just my wild-arsed thoughts. YMMV.

Oh, and if you go aftermarket wraps (not really for me, I fear the longevity but love the options): then I've seen a couple Sand colors that are FREAKIN' AWESOME and a metallic green from a Florida dealer that I would seriously think about if I ever had to repaint.

 

Post a pic of your Hakuba! I suspect I'll end up going that way...

Great perspective and thank you for the thoughts. Why on earth did LR not offer these things in BRG? Talk about a no-brainer.

 

This is pre-rear ladder from Lucky8 and it's in the initial throws of a winch & New Defender Mods roo-bar install so I'll post those in a "while". But this is when I first picked it up.