Defender

rzrgade

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rzrgade

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The crawler ...
The defender and the X3 use the same transaxle ... nice to see something overbuilt rather than under built for a change.
If the rear end can handle this power & tires ... the defender should last for ever !
 
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deaner

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What is the usual protocol for front and rear tire width? I wouldnt mind putting bigger tires on our defender at some point, just for looks. In the tires that I want though, all you can get is one width. So either a 30x10-14, or a 32x10-14. So all of the tires would be 10" wide, where usually the rears are wider than the fronts.
 

rzrgade

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30 x 10 are pretty standard now. The days of narrower tires on the front are fading away on utvs for sure ....
32 is a big tire , and the line between 32 and 30 is where clearance / fitment/ axles / clutching need to be assessed in more detail.
You may need forward a arms for the defender ( not sure ) for 30s ..
But a 30 is a nice size tire with enough traction / capacity/ ground clearance for most of the bigger sxs's.
And they fit on stock rims ....( most often 14")
 

arff

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My Maverick came with 30x9x14 all around
 

neilsleder

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30 x 10 are pretty standard now. The days of narrower tires on the front are fading away on utvs for sure ....
32 is a big tire , and the line between 32 and 30 is where clearance / fitment/ axles / clutching need to be assessed in more detail.
You may need forward a arms for the defender ( not sure ) for 30s ..
But a 30 is a nice size tire with enough traction / capacity/ ground clearance for most of the bigger sxs's.
And they fit on stock rims ....( most often 14")

I was at Gibons Motorsports on Friday and they had a defender in there with a 2" lift and 30" out backs and they fit.
 

rzrgade

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That's good to know ... I had heard you need forward a arms , but that might be just heresay ....
Be a beast with them on ...
 

neilsleder

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That's good to know ... I had heard you need forward a arms , but that might be just heresay ....
Be a beast with them on ...

I guess it would depend on rim offset also.
The biggest thing I don't like about them is the clearance is bad! They had a stock on sitting on the show room floor and it was only 8" at most, that was the out side plastic where you get in and out of the machine. It would be hung up easy
 

pfi572

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^^^^^^
Then add the extra weight of passengers,cargo and mud trapped in machine.
They are all under sprung IMO .
 

rzrgade

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Yes need at least 30's and a 2 inch lift to go anywhere ...
I have never looked one over closely to be honest . I was surprised at how much they share from the x3 though...

Waiting for a canam X3 general type machine ...
The new commander 2:0
 

LennyR

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Yes need at least 30's and a 2 inch lift to go anywhere ...
I have never looked one over closely to be honest . I was surprised at how much they share from the x3 though...

Waiting for a canam X3 general type machine ...
The new commander 2:0

You sure talk like you know what they're all about , considering , as you say , you haven't looked closely at them. Talk first , learn second ???? Seems backwards .
 

rzrgade

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It's a canam vtwin, visco lok.X3 transaxle ...
nothing new or groundbreaking , there are thousands of machines out with a combination of these components ..
Mavs
Commanders
& now defenders ...

Not hard to figure out ..
For most of us ...
That is .
But then if it was any one but me .. you would not of made such a simple comment ..obviously.

Btw it's my day off , scoot over and badger Maxwell for a while .. he is on shift today ...
 
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beerwolf

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I have 29x9x14's on mine. I should have gone 10's all around but oh well.
I think it depends on what tire you run on these things but 30's is as big as you can go and you may need to heat the well a bit on the drivers side to avoid full turn rub.
The 29's I have measure 27
 

rzrgade

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Talking to local dealer ,a lot of oilfield guys switching from ranger to defender.
Company's very concerned over liabilities with all the recalls ....
He says sales are way better than he would of ever thought ...!
 

deaner

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We have been extremely happy with our defender so far. Seems to be opening up now that we are getting a few miles on it. Its unreal how much better the fit and finish is over our ranger. And so bloody smooth
 

snopro

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Having a hard time keeping them in stock. We are sold into our June deliveries already and not any dealers that will transfer them out. They are the real deal.
 
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