New tyres, fresh brakes, and a condenser that was long overdue

The 110 has had a good week. Nothing that needed a recovery truck or a panicked call to a mate — just a handful of jobs that had been sitting on the list for too long, finally ticked off. It feels sorted again, which is a good feeling.

New tyres — and saying goodbye to the Grabbers

The big one was a full set of new tyres. The old ones were General Grabber AT2s, which if you know Defenders you'll probably recognise — they were a bit of a community favourite and for good reason. Great on the road, capable off it, and they did the job well. The problem is you can't buy them any more. General discontinued them, which meant when the time came to replace them I had to go looking for something else.

I ended up going with Falken Wildpeak A/T AT3WAs in 235/85R16. They came up time and again when I was researching AT2 replacements — the ratings are comparable, in some areas better, and the feedback from people running them on Defenders was consistently good. Felt like a safe bet.

I had them fitted at a garage rather than tackling it myself. Tyres are one of those things where you really need the right kit, and I'd rather spend a bit of money having it done properly than faff about without the right tools. Got the spare done at the same time so it's a full set of five, all matching. Small thing but it bothers me when the spare's a different tyre.

Early impressions are good. They're quieter than I expected for an all-terrain and feel solid on the road. The real test will be when I get them on some proper tracks — I'll report back when that happens.

Brake pads — LOF Clutches POWERspec

With the tyres done it made sense to sort the brakes at the same time. They weren't critical but they weren't far off, and if you're already thinking about stopping distances it seems daft to leave worn pads on. I went with POWERspec pads from LOF Clutches (@lof_clutches) — they're well regarded in the Land Rover world and good for a mix of road and the occasional off-road use, which is exactly what the 110 does.

Straightforward job. If you've done pads before on anything you'll be fine on a Defender — nothing unusual about it. Bed them in gently for the first few miles and you're away.

Condenser, a full clean-up, and some Lanoguard

I'll be honest, the condenser should have been done a while ago. The air con has been working but only just — not cold enough, takes ages to get going, generally a bit pathetic. The condenser on the TDCi was old and tired and I kept putting it off because it still technically functioned. Classic mistake.

I picked up the replacement from SP Panels (@sp4x4panels) — solid source for Land Rover parts, well priced, and arrived quickly. Fitted it and the difference was immediate. Properly cold air, quickly. Should have done it sooner.

While I was at it I gave the whole underside and all those hard-to-reach areas a proper clean-up and treated everything with Lanoguard (@lanoguard). If you own a Defender and you're not using Lanoguard you're missing a trick — it's the best thing going for keeping corrosion at bay in all the places you can't easily see. Messy job, satisfying result.

Where it's at now

Fresh rubber, fresh brakes, working air con, and a freshly treated underside. The timing couldn't be better — we're heading to Cornwall in a few days. First proper run out with the new tyres. Can't wait.