How much should a 2015 Land Mark Defender cost?
Discussion
Andy_mr2sc said:
They are not a big enough jump in diameter to appeal to the bling brigade. I don't think they look much different. I'm more interested in the steering response given they will be slightly lower profile and potentially slightly wider.
We aren't talking 20/21/22" rims!
Wider tyres might offer more finite road grip, but steering will probably be worse tbh. But then there is a difference between grip and handling. Not sure what size tyres you are planning on. 265/75R16 was fitted to some factory models. But they generally rub the radius arms unless you restrict the steering stops, which then gives you a turning circle the size of a battleship. You also have to be careful with wide tyres sticking out of the wheel arches, which would be illegal in the UK. Also stock suspension and wide tyres can rub the wheel spats under flex.We aren't talking 20/21/22" rims!
Wider offset rims and/or wheel spacers will induce more bump steer too.If you want the best steering then a 7.50 x 16 would probably be the best bet or maybe even a 205 x 16, although the latter look a bit small.
A 31.10.50R15 is actually a very nice size on a stock 90 a bit shorter than standard, but again used in the USA on some Series models.
18's can work, but even on a Discovery 2 the 16 wheels ride a lot better than the 18" factory options. And as a rule a Defender will not ride as well as a Disco2.
All very fair comments. Mine came with (quite silly looking) 235/75/R16 wheels. I would bet off-road they are very effective. But just did not look right to me. I have also changed the steering wheel from the giant Land Rover one to a Momo Prototipo Heritage. This has made the steering feel heavier too but not unreasonable. I can’t feel any real difference between the 16” and 18” wheels while driving, but I would not be surprised if there will be some long term wear on the bearings, steering rack etc?
I know, the purists are going to hate these changes, but let’s be honest. A landmark edition was never going to be a purists car was it? Especially in bright white…
I know, the purists are going to hate these changes, but let’s be honest. A landmark edition was never going to be a purists car was it? Especially in bright white…
Edited by findtomdotcom on Friday 26th August 10:34
300bhp/ton said:
Wider tyres might offer more finite road grip...
How?300bhp/ton said:
265/75R16 was fitted to some factory models.
Citation required pls.300bhp/ton said:
Also stock suspension and wide tyres can rub the wheel spats under flex.
Which is fine if you're not 'flexing'.300bhp/ton said:
18's can work, but even on a Discovery 2 the 16 wheels ride a lot better than the 18" factory options.
Obviously in your most humble of opinions... 
M
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Swapped the speakers for Focals and matched them to the Alpine sub for now. I will add some Mids in the rear and better amp/sub after I have done the engine and suspension upgrades.
You are not wrong, buying the car is only the start. It is a really cool/fun truck and I am quite enjoying the process of picking the best parts to enhance it. The trick is not to go too mad? Er, right??
findtomdotcom said:
Thanks BSE, yes I have added most of your suggestions. Optimil stuff is really nice and does a good job. |’ve added a couple of trackers and multiple immobilisers too. (Plus two mechanical locks like you mention).
Swapped the speakers for Focals and matched them to the Alpine sub for now. I will add some Mids in the rear and better amp/sub after I have done the engine and suspension upgrades.
You are not wrong, buying the car is only the start. It is a really cool/fun truck and I am quite enjoying the process of picking the best parts to enhance it. The trick is not to go too mad? Er, right??
Interesting to see you've got cruise control on yours too.Swapped the speakers for Focals and matched them to the Alpine sub for now. I will add some Mids in the rear and better amp/sub after I have done the engine and suspension upgrades.
You are not wrong, buying the car is only the start. It is a really cool/fun truck and I am quite enjoying the process of picking the best parts to enhance it. The trick is not to go too mad? Er, right??
M
BSE, you are not wrong mate.
Camel, yes I added cruise control because I will drive about 1800 miles to Greece. A large part of that will be motorways, so adding cruise seemed like a good idea. It works really, (surprisingly) well.
Honestly, it’s a game changer for long distance driving in a Defender.
Camel, yes I added cruise control because I will drive about 1800 miles to Greece. A large part of that will be motorways, so adding cruise seemed like a good idea. It works really, (surprisingly) well.
Honestly, it’s a game changer for long distance driving in a Defender.
Edited by findtomdotcom on Friday 26th August 14:03
Stunning Landy Tom.
300hp I've made one or two mods to my defender so I'm hoping the ride will be ok. I don't intend going too wide on the tyres, or the offset, so I don't get the usual snatching or tramlining. I'm thinking more about the lower sidewalls giving improved feel, turn in etc. And yes, yes I know it's not a sports car....
300hp I've made one or two mods to my defender so I'm hoping the ride will be ok. I don't intend going too wide on the tyres, or the offset, so I don't get the usual snatching or tramlining. I'm thinking more about the lower sidewalls giving improved feel, turn in etc. And yes, yes I know it's not a sports car....
Andy_mr2sc said:
300hp I've made one or two mods to my defender so I'm hoping the ride will be ok. I don't intend going too wide on the tyres, or the offset, so I don't get the usual snatching or tramlining. I'm thinking more about the lower sidewalls giving improved feel, turn in etc. And yes, yes I know it's not a sports car....
I see where you are coming from. But remember the tyre sidewall is really the first part of the suspension. The resistance in turning the steering wheel will come from the tyre weight, tyre width and suspension geometry.You also need to remember the axle is attached to the vehicle by 4 rubber bushed to the radius arms and another pair of rubber bushes from the arms to the chassis. Which means the axle can move about quite a lot when turning. Any improved feel from a lower profile tyre is likely to be lost in translation. Also remember you have a steering box not a regular rack & pinion and a high number of turns lock to lock. Personally I've never had an issue with the steering feel on a Defender. The entire chassis communicates quite well, they tend to push to understeer, but you can invoke more oversteer bias if you want by messing about with the tyre pressure front to rear. If you are running MT's or even AT's you probably won't generate that much lateral grip that tyre rolling is really an issue anyway. And MT's or aggressive AT's you can feel the vehicle moving about on the lugs under hard cornering. Lower profile tyres won't really change this.
I'm not saying don't do. And looks are of course subjective.
On my 90 I'm running 255/70R16 AT the moment. And on my other Land Rover it has a set of 33.10.50R15 General Grabber X3 mud terrains on wide offset rims and spacers at the front.
300bhp/ton said:
I see where you are coming from. But remember the tyre sidewall is really the first part of the suspension. The resistance in turning the steering wheel will come from the tyre weight, tyre width and suspension geometry.
You also need to remember the axle is attached to the vehicle by 4 rubber bushed to the radius arms and another pair of rubber bushes from the arms to the chassis. Which means the axle can move about quite a lot when turning. Any improved feel from a lower profile tyre is likely to be lost in translation. Also remember you have a steering box not a regular rack & pinion and a high number of turns lock to lock. Personally I've never had an issue with the steering feel on a Defender. The entire chassis communicates quite well, they tend to push to understeer, but you can invoke more oversteer bias if you want by messing about with the tyre pressure front to rear. If you are running MT's or even AT's you probably won't generate that much lateral grip that tyre rolling is really an issue anyway. And MT's or aggressive AT's you can feel the vehicle moving about on the lugs under hard cornering. Lower profile tyres won't really change this.
I'm not saying don't do. And looks are of course subjective.
On my 90 I'm running 255/70R16 AT the moment. And on my other Land Rover it has a set of 33.10.50R15 General Grabber X3 mud terrains on wide offset rims and spacers at the front.
I'm going to be using a more road biased tyre as there is no way I am putting this near a field. It is going to need all the help it can get putting the power down, even with its ATBs. Something more like that used on a navara/hilux/ranger. I also have a smaller momo wheel, similar to Tom's which I found a great help improving hand movement : steering ratio. Poly bushes have helped a lot as wellYou also need to remember the axle is attached to the vehicle by 4 rubber bushed to the radius arms and another pair of rubber bushes from the arms to the chassis. Which means the axle can move about quite a lot when turning. Any improved feel from a lower profile tyre is likely to be lost in translation. Also remember you have a steering box not a regular rack & pinion and a high number of turns lock to lock. Personally I've never had an issue with the steering feel on a Defender. The entire chassis communicates quite well, they tend to push to understeer, but you can invoke more oversteer bias if you want by messing about with the tyre pressure front to rear. If you are running MT's or even AT's you probably won't generate that much lateral grip that tyre rolling is really an issue anyway. And MT's or aggressive AT's you can feel the vehicle moving about on the lugs under hard cornering. Lower profile tyres won't really change this.
I'm not saying don't do. And looks are of course subjective.
On my 90 I'm running 255/70R16 AT the moment. And on my other Land Rover it has a set of 33.10.50R15 General Grabber X3 mud terrains on wide offset rims and spacers at the front.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Crikey, at least you got it sorted.anonymous said:
[redacted]
You need to lift off the throttle pedal all the way on gearchanges. It almost feels a little un-natural, as most people will still have some pressure on the throttle pedal when shifting. But if you lift your foot completely off it shouldn't hold the revs the same and should help improve the shift quality. Although 1st to 2nd is IMO almost impossible to make smooth and 10x worse if you are in a hurry and have floored it.If yours is a keeper, I'd highly recommend the bigger IC and appropriate tuning.
This is a 65 pate (Feb 2016) hard top. Here it has 255/85R16 BFG MT KM3's on. But they do rub the arches. They also slightly blunt the performance.
It has a bigger IC and remap. Think it was Alive tuning and it makes 192bhp on the dyno. It goes very well. Camel_Landy on here says the 2.2 is gutless. I'd beg to differ. In 5th gear at 2000rpm this thing will completely plant you in your seat. It is very addictive. It even feels peppy by moderately sporty car/warm hatch standards.
This one is a 12 plate. 100% stock in terms of tuning, although it is running a bigger IC. Not as punchy as the 65 plate. But it actually goes very well. The bigger IC made the engine feel a lot more freer and it revs better now.
But both are horribly jerky (no matter who is driving) when you compare them to older Defenders. It's not the gear shifter per say, just the entire gearchange setup.
Good afternoon all. So I hadn’t updated this in a while…. I thought I would provide an update as a kind of plug to selling it and maybe just close the loop too.
Firstly, all the mods worked. The cruise control, the larger wheels and especially the Apple Car Play. Living in Greece has been very interesting and I added 13k nearly trouble free miles to the 90. The drive down to Greece was fantastic, (towing a small trailer). And daily life has been a breeze because the roads in Greece are quite broken (some normal roads are a bit “off’ road), and the extra hight meant I could see over the traffic in the city. The older 90 is a lot smaller than my new 110 and is perfect for the smaller city roads.
The only issue I had was a few months ago when it went into Land Rover for a full service, they found a rattle in the engine. It ended up being the injectors. Apparently it’s quite common for them to fail? I had all 4 cleaned and replaced 2 of them. I think to be fair, for a 9 year old Defender rattling around Greece that’s pretty good easy ownership in 18 months.
I have really enjoyed and loved owning it, but as my time in Greece nears an end I will look to bring it back to the UK and sell it.
If anyone is looking for a great spec nearly new looking 90 Landmark, (20k miles), please let me know!
Firstly, all the mods worked. The cruise control, the larger wheels and especially the Apple Car Play. Living in Greece has been very interesting and I added 13k nearly trouble free miles to the 90. The drive down to Greece was fantastic, (towing a small trailer). And daily life has been a breeze because the roads in Greece are quite broken (some normal roads are a bit “off’ road), and the extra hight meant I could see over the traffic in the city. The older 90 is a lot smaller than my new 110 and is perfect for the smaller city roads.
The only issue I had was a few months ago when it went into Land Rover for a full service, they found a rattle in the engine. It ended up being the injectors. Apparently it’s quite common for them to fail? I had all 4 cleaned and replaced 2 of them. I think to be fair, for a 9 year old Defender rattling around Greece that’s pretty good easy ownership in 18 months.
I have really enjoyed and loved owning it, but as my time in Greece nears an end I will look to bring it back to the UK and sell it.
If anyone is looking for a great spec nearly new looking 90 Landmark, (20k miles), please let me know!
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