Why Compomotives?
- Thread starter bdd123
- Start date
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MellonRover
Full Access Member
History...as I recall....
In the beginning there were two choices in direct fit alloys made for d3/d4's. Compomotive and mud tech. Mud tech folded, leaving compos, along with terra firma steelies as options. Tuffant came out with steelies, then later the alloys. With evo course dakkars coming later.
So compos were essentially the only direct bolt on option when most of the lr4's were relatively new. Now that is not the case.
I personally prefer tuffant Kimberly's, and run mud tech.
No need to pigeon hole yourself with compos. The agent for tuffant USA is a great guy I've talked to. He knows and loves the d3&4 platform and will " talk shop" for hours if you want. If you have questions reach out to him.
In the beginning there were two choices in direct fit alloys made for d3/d4's. Compomotive and mud tech. Mud tech folded, leaving compos, along with terra firma steelies as options. Tuffant came out with steelies, then later the alloys. With evo course dakkars coming later.
So compos were essentially the only direct bolt on option when most of the lr4's were relatively new. Now that is not the case.
I personally prefer tuffant Kimberly's, and run mud tech.
No need to pigeon hole yourself with compos. The agent for tuffant USA is a great guy I've talked to. He knows and loves the d3&4 platform and will " talk shop" for hours if you want. If you have questions reach out to him.
powershift
Full Access Member
What lead you to conclude they are the goto brand?
Compomotive seems like the most common wheel for people running LR4 18" wheels. Pretty simple question.
I did specifically ask about weight and backspacing,. I will call vendors for their opinion but thought the community would ve best.
You could lend some advice if you have some.
MellonRover
Full Access Member
Compos were the first alloy ( mud tech too I guess) to be at least 1550kg wheels, 18" AND clear the 5.0 lr4 front brakes. Brake clearance was the biggest factor for its popularity.
scapistron
Full Access Member
18" defender steelies bolt straight on too right? They're just pricey.
Deals can be found. I just picked up a 5 clean 18" Defender steelies in black including tires, caps and lugs for 650 from FB marketplace. Some people price them high because "Defender!" Reality is market is limited as to who is buying these rims so put an offer out there, especially if they have been posted awhile and they confirm they still have them.
Land Rover Joe
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Bottom Line - as the tribe has mentioned already: the Compomotives were simply the first manufacturer to offer 18" wheels for the LR/DISCO 4.
When my LR4 rolled off the assembly line in early 2010, there were no 18" wheels available (yet). In fact, the conventional wisdom in those days was to just use 20" wheels (since the rubber available for 19" is generally pretty terrible by comparison). I had foolishly (in retrospect--oh, the things I now know) purchased the truck with the 19" factory rims thinking smaller was better.
It actually took Compomotive a year, maybe two, to finally build a design which would fit into the wheel and around the calipers of the LR/DISCO 4. I think some of us, certainly me, initially felt that there would never, ever, be 18" wheels available because of the calipers and tricky wheel surround (Hub) design.
Thus, when Compomotive came out with their 18" wheels...it was revolutionary and everyone had to have them (including me!) I bought mine direct from the factory (if I recall correctly) back in 2014 (when I think Compomotive was still the only supplier of 18" wheels). If you would go back in the forum to those days, you will see everyone (including me) talking about wheel and tire options; it was a little bit out-of-control and I think we were a overly obsessed with the topic of tires. Most of those gents are no longer on the forum, unfortunately.
In summary, Compomotive was simply the first to build these wheels and give us LR4 folks (in those early days) the option for 18" tires, which enormously increased our options for wheel wrapping (to much celebration).
So not necessarily better or the best...just the first (so why would I now buy another 18" tire after I already spent all this money on the Compomotives?!?)
I think this is why you get the impression that Compo's are the "go to" wheel. Again, as the tribe has commented: there are now plenty of options in 2025 and you should weigh them equally when comparing.
