i pulled the trigger on a Defender 110... seems like it might be a good platform for a expedition overlander in the long term. still working on the Land Cruiser... to use in the nasty stuff.
2021 Defender 110
- Thread starter The Roach ...
- Start date
Enthusiast I
Same here. Was yours delivered yet? I've heard there were factory delays due to COVID. Hoping to get mine by March.
mine is at the dealer getting 2in Rhino rods, good year duratracs (33 x 11.5) and fender-flares. hope to pick it up Tuesday. I ordered one and was watching mine come in on the ship then this one popped up exactly the same options, different colors. So I jumped on it. the ordered d110 has been sitting on the ship now for 8 days. it MIGHT get here in 2 weeks. by then I'll have my break in miles done... and first service underway.
Mine is silver exterior, taupe / tan interior. off road pack, locking rear, off-road system, meridian stereo, se -- with the 6 cylinder. I ordered Yulong while.. matte... so.. its close enough. I think I might miss the khaki interior... but then again.. i might not.
Enthusiast I
Interesting... my dealer didn't give me any way to track my order, which I thought was odd given that I was able to track my last vehicle order (10 years ago) on its journey across the Atlantic. I'll have to ask the dealer for some details.
I went with a V6 also, Fuji white, tan interior, 19-inch wheels with offroad tires, explorer pack, offroad pack, etc. I also went for a bullbar (ordered from Australia), rock sliders, and a winch. Funny – I already have all the aftermarket parts, just not the vehicle! For now I'm passing on the lift – we'll see if I need it for what I have in mind. I'm also adding a RTT from James Baroud.
I'm wondering – what are you doing to secure your vehicle? I'm a little worried about theft since it's an expensive rig. Considering LoJack and/or a hidden kill switch.
Congrats on your Defender!
After looking at the d110 stock.. i did the lift. I thought tires.. and stock.. would be fine and after in person drive over a few trails close by. I did the rods at delivery so its' covered by warranty at dealer. I'm looking at bull bars and sliders (if you look I am also rebuilding my 99 lc series 100 -- all diy kits) and truly the Land Rover tax on factory parts is NUTS. so any pointers.. I'd love to see what you found.
Enthusiast I
I got my sliders from Lucky8. The bull bar is a different story. I paid the full Land Rover tax and then some to get it from an exporter in Australia (@newdefendermods on Instagram) since the part isn't available in the US. In a couple of years perhaps ARB or other aftermarket manufacturers will make a bull bar for the new Defender – provided that it becomes somewhat popular – but I emailed them and for now they have no plans to make one. Also, because of the front camera and other gadgetry in the D110, and corresponding potential for onboard computer errors, I feel a lot more comfortable going with a factory part. The bull bar is also a surprisingly difficult install (some cutting required), but with factory instructions my local dealer says they are confident they can do it. I think all in, after parts and labor, the bull bar alone will cost me a little north of $5k. Crazy, right? Well, I figure I'm already spending a small fortune on the vehicle, so I'd rather have it just the way I want. Also, I spent almost nothing on travel or eating out for the entirety of 2020. So, I figure I earned it!
For the lift, I've heard good things about the Johnson Rods on the LR forums, which have a modest 1.5in lift. I went for the 19in wheels (the smallest available for the P400), which almost immediately seems like a mistake since there are very few tire options available. In any case, despite the capability of the vehicle, I doubt I'll do much rock crawling with it. More likely easier trails and forest roads, and occasional off-roading on BLM land.
What are you planning to do with your Defender?
I got my sliders from Lucky8. The bull bar is a different story. I paid the full Land Rover tax and then some to get it from an exporter in Australia (@newdefendermods on Instagram) since the part isn't available in the US. In a couple of years perhaps ARB or other aftermarket manufacturers will make a bull bar for the new Defender – provided that it becomes somewhat popular – but I emailed them and for now they have no plans to make one. Also, because of the front camera and other gadgetry in the D110, and corresponding potential for onboard computer errors, I feel a lot more comfortable going with a factory part. The bull bar is also a surprisingly difficult install (some cutting required), but with factory instructions my local dealer says they are confident they can do it. I think all in, after parts and labor, the bull bar alone will cost me a little north of $5k. Crazy, right? Well, I figure I'm already spending a small fortune on the vehicle, so I'd rather have it just the way I want. Also, I spent almost nothing on travel or eating out for the entirety of 2020. So, I figure I earned it!
For the lift, I've heard good things about the Johnson Rods on the LR forums, which have a modest 1.5in lift. I went for the 19in wheels (the smallest available for the P400), which almost immediately seems like a mistake since there are very few tire options available. In any case, despite the capability of the vehicle, I doubt I'll do much rock crawling with it. More likely easier trails and forest roads, and occasional off-roading on BLM land.
What are you planning to do with your Defender?
i put the 2" rhino rods on after buying both and looking at them. $5k for the bull bar? OUCH!!! well, hopefully after this year I'll be doing expedition runs as a semi-retirement thing pulling a exped trailer. thinking of Mission Overland's Summit. not really thinking about rock crawling but after taking my f250 up the continental divide trail .. i learned to be prepared for EVERYTHING! lol.
Likely the LC will do the really gnarly stuff pulling the trailer... and the Landy will be more go anywhere and look jobs. since the LC sees 12 mpg just rolling.. and MUCH less pulling a trailer... and the landy should get 18 pulling the trailer on flat land at highway speeds.
one thing on the d110 is looking to see how to tap into the battery system on the truck to run a 12v fridge.. or a system to put a second battery (12v) to run the fridge. Since the d110's electrical system is 48v.. and no one has a kit.. this might get interesting.
Enthusiast I
Yeah instead of a second internal battery for the LR I’m going for a beefy 1000W power station and 200W solar panels from Jackery. Apparently it’s suitable for running a fridge for a few days, if I decide to go that route. I’ll keep the starter battery reserved for starting or driving the vehicle. Also getting a NOCO jump starter as an insurance policy if the battery goes flat for some reason.I got my sliders from Lucky8. The bull bar is a different story. I paid the full Land Rover tax and then some to get it from an exporter in Australia (@newdefendermods on Instagram) since the part isn't available in the US. In a couple of years perhaps ARB or other aftermarket manufacturers will make a bull bar for the new Defender – provided that it becomes somewhat popular – but I emailed them and for now they have no plans to make one. Also, because of the front camera and other gadgetry in the D110, and corresponding potential for onboard computer errors, I feel a lot more comfortable going with a factory part. The bull bar is also a surprisingly difficult install (some cutting required), but with factory instructions my local dealer says they are confident they can do it. I think all in, after parts and labor, the bull bar alone will cost me a little north of $5k. Crazy, right? Well, I figure I'm already spending a small fortune on the vehicle, so I'd rather have it just the way I want. Also, I spent almost nothing on travel or eating out for the entirety of 2020. So, I figure I earned it!
For the lift, I've heard good things about the Johnson Rods on the LR forums, which have a modest 1.5in lift. I went for the 19in wheels (the smallest available for the P400), which almost immediately seems like a mistake since there are very few tire options available. In any case, despite the capability of the vehicle, I doubt I'll do much rock crawling with it. More likely easier trails and forest roads, and occasional off-roading on BLM land.
What are you planning to do with your Defender?
i put the 2" rhino rods on after buying both and looking at them. $5k for the bull bar? OUCH!!! well, hopefully after this year I'll be doing expedition runs as a semi-retirement thing pulling a exped trailer. thinking of Mission Overland's Summit. not really thinking about rock crawling but after taking my f250 up the continental divide trail .. i learned to be prepared for EVERYTHING! lol.
Likely the LC will do the really gnarly stuff pulling the trailer... and the Landy will be more go anywhere and look jobs. since the LC sees 12 mpg just rolling.. and MUCH less pulling a trailer... and the landy should get 18 pulling the trailer on flat land at highway speeds.
one thing on the d110 is looking to see how to tap into the battery system on the truck to run a 12v fridge.. or a system to put a second battery (12v) to run the fridge. Since the d110's electrical system is 48v.. and no one has a kit.. this might get interesting.
I built a battery out of 6 motorcycle lipo4 starting batteries. run a power line to it at 35 amps to charge, and it will run my large snomaster fridge 4 days. used it on my trip this year. unless you plan on sitting much longer... the 35 amp charges it from almost dead in 12 hours. so my daily runs and stops at night were basically using the top 15% of the battery. was cheap way to go... I'm thinking about importing custom batteries as part of a overlanding gear store my kids want to do as a business.
Well got it home last night.. lift, flares, and tires. much cooler to own than I expected.
Advocate I
Y'all seen the TFL videos on their Defender...adventures? Oof. Hope you all have better luck, they are pretty cool SUVs.
I spoke with TFL and land rover about the issues in the videos. first the first TFL truck is a four banger.. it had software issues that got fixed. but they got a six cylinder SE with the 20 inch wheels, no mods, and did not get the terrain response system. they bought a lot cruiser variant.. and then put it against a land cruiser with full kit, and an armada with full kit. not really a fair comparison. Roman even admitted that to me when we talked.
My Defender has the 19 inch wheels.. do I wish they were 18s? yes. but then I lifted it and put 33in duratracs on it. I could not justify the extra 27K for the 200 series land cruiser that was essentially 11 years old now. I talked to several guys in the UK who have had the gen2 Defender for a few years.. the glitches in the software have been ironed out.. and I already corrected the only other issues. TIRES. This truck is not a rock crawler.. i didnt want one. can it crawl over rock trails? yes.. we will all see which is better a 99LC that is built.. or a daily driver Defender with some up fit. time will tell. but thanks for the best wishes. My 2018 ford f250 had 20's with 35's on it. you can nit pick... which is what TFL did in the 110 vs 200lc video. btw. I am not a fan of the kid.....
Ran the new truck on a shake down run. mostly pavement but a few miles on dirt / gravel. the tire pressure factory on the duratrac's are too much in my opinion. 46.9 up front / 49 in the back. small bump compliance is horrible but the suspension is amazing. I'm going to pul out 5psi up front and rear to find a nice 'road' pressure. I'm sure offroad i'd run about 30 or so. anyone else got any thoughts?
Pathfinder III
Very nice rig! Out of curiosity, I though the defender was quite expensive as well, since the LC200 is about $85k... was this really $58-60k?
realistically. the 200 series LC is about 90K. I went out the door at 70K.
Pathfinder III
Advocate I
What's the PSI listed on the tire placard on the B-pillar? Sounds like the dealer didn't do a full PDI which includes adjusting the tires to the correct recommended street pressures. The factory inflates the tires high to/near sidewall pressure for shipping, the dealer is supposed to lower it to the tire placard pressures. I run the placard pressures in my vehicles and have no complaints about ride quality, even with my current tires. I'd be surprised in the placard listed anything above 35-38psi.
I'd start with the placard pressure(s) and go from there, not the dealer-messed-up pressures.
issue is 47 /49 is the factory settings. when you switch to a e rated tire... the pressures switch and I am not up on the math to figure out the adjustment. it seems 38/42 is where it would be on road. and a bit lower than than off .. the truck is filled with nitrogen so I think I'lll get a nitrogen bottle for the truck soon.
Advocate I
Holy smokes, that is crazy. Tire pressure shouldn't change much when going up in load range, take a look at the load and inflation charts from the tire manufacturer, pretty much every one I've looked at for a given load had the same pressure requirement whether it was LR C, D, or E. The higher load range tires add extra capacity with a higher max load rating but don't require different pressures for the same load as a lower-rated tire.
I'm still pretty shocked at those tire pressures. My truck has a similar curb weight as the 110 and came with 20" P-metric tires, my GVWR is 775LB less than yours so that will make a difference but my factory tire pressure is 35PSI front and rear. The Wildpeaks I went with are still P-metric XL with a load index of 117. FAWR is 3400LB and RAWR is 3500LB, so max would be roughly 1,750LB per tire and based on Falken's charts I could run at 26PSI and the tires would still have more capacity than my gross axle ratings allow. If I were to switch to an LRE tire that wouldn't change anything other than the maximum load and PSI needed for maximum load. Anyway, the punchline is you should be able to run WAY lower pressures without issue and with much better ride quality. I bet LR put such high pressures because they think owners are going to do spirited driving with it and want more high-speed stability or something.
Also, don't waste time or money on nitrogen. It's a gimmick. If the tires came with it, great, but don't go out of your way to only refill with nitrogen. "Air" is already 78% nitrogen and running a 100% nitrogen fill won't improve fuel economy, reduce pressure changes due to temperature changes, etc. Hauling a nitrogen tank around just takes up space and adds weight.
Good luck and enjoy!
I already have a nitrogen tank (large) and (small) from racing cars where nitrogen helps reduce heat and expansion which alters handling characteristics. in those environments however, you are literally cooking the tire, but I agree about street cars 95% of them never really push a tire to the point they can't dissipate heat, but then again.. most of that heat radiates out of the brake calipers on a road race car. anyone that says it doesn't effect a race car... needs to drive a high power / low weight car for a whole race on one set of tires. it does.. big time. if you are racing a series that does multiple tire changes .. its not an issue.. because MONEY. but low buck .. one set racing.. I've run tires in three seperate events on nitrogen.. when the same tire on atmosphere cooks in a race.
