Why you should buy a Freelander or 90 for off road these days.

Sidewalls do not stand a chance.

What were you going to do with the piece of wood in you photo ? build a bridge!

Used to save the tyre wall and force the car away from the rock face.

Nick 2019 D5 HSE Lux SDV6 Indus
55 D3 SE
98 MX5 1.8 RS
gone 17 older variants of FFRR

Was that on 20"s?

Yes, 20's. The 22's would not last an hour on the flinty rocky Welsh lanes. Apart from the sidewall vulnerability the alloys would be wrecked too. The 20's were a brand new take off set before this trip but now have light scratches on all of them plus a couple of deeper marks on the front wheels.

I was hoping to fit tougher all terrain tyres when they become available but the abuse they get on the wider L405 versus the cost it might be better to find Chinese cheap tyres for these off road trips and be prepared for the costs.

My D3 (GG ATs) was on this trip too and there is not a mark on the sidewalls. Just shows the difference in track of the two cars.

It won't stop me taking the L405 though. 2019 D5 HSE Lux SDV6 Indus
55 D3 SE
98 MX5 1.8 RS
gone 17 older variants of FFRR

Great to see a L405 that is used as intended!

Would make me wince a little me finks sir

Best done with eyes firmly closed.

Nick 2019 D5 HSE Lux SDV6 Indus
55 D3 SE
98 MX5 1.8 RS
gone 17 older variants of FFRR

Wheel width vs tyre width makes a big difference to how safe your wheels are.

Very true. The L405 has very few alternative tyre options. A set of 19" wheels with nice tall sidewalls would be best. But the vehicle track is very wide regardless of tyre size. To protect wheels (of a legal offset) by using wider tyres will put more contact and pressure onto the sidewall..

80mm wider than a D4
204mm wider than a Defender

most of the vehicular rights of way have had 40+ years of wear from a Series, Defender, D1,2 and Classic Range Rover plus the horse and cart before that. My lone off roading L405 will take a while to wear a wider groove in our world using only the sidewalls and the scavenging effect of expensive alloys!

Nick 2019 D5 HSE Lux SDV6 Indus
55 D3 SE
98 MX5 1.8 RS
gone 17 older variants of FFRR

Track width is a good point given that they're pretty much exactly the same overall width (mirrors-out) as a Discovery 4.

Brave man taking a L405 off road  2014 SDV8 Autobiography

Gone: 2012 RRS SDV6 HSE, 2007 RRS TDV6 HSE