Bobby, guess we are going to have to agree to disagree here.

OK I do agree that a Wrestler shouldn't wear fancy, delicate shoes in the ring. So obviously he puts on the appropriate footwear. At his sister's wedding, he will wear something quite different. He cannot change his body or soul, but he can change his shoes - and so he should.

IMHO the same goes for buying a RRS with a single purpose wheel and tyre combo like a 20". You get the all rounder body & soul, but the single purpose shoes. If you wanted an allrounder I bet Landrover would have been happy to offer as a no cost option an 18" set up on any RRS you wished. Funnily enough LR dont offer a 20" option on their Defender though - wonder why ?

Landrover have been forced to respond to the market appetite for supplying fashionable vehicles and offer a specification in the line up that looks good to certain tastes. I believe that 20" wheels and tyres have no place off tarmac (just like stilletos) and frankly that should be obvious to a blind man on a galloping horse. OK, I can agree that in this day and age perhaps LR should put stickers on all 20" wheels and Tyres in the showroom saying "This wheel and tyre is not designed for off tarmac use. Users should therefore be cautious / accept the risk of cosmetic damage if they stray off tarmac."

Many (possibly most) buyers wont give a monkeys about that though, as they want a car that looks and feels good on tarmac without any intention of going off tarmac.

I know I don't sound sympathetic, but I do relate to your desire to have your cake and eat it, and your expectation that LR should deliver at that level. I think LR have delivered a truly outstanding car whose body and soul works extremely well in far more environments than any other car currently available. But to manage that with 20" wheels and tyres - sorry I simply don't require LR to do that.  RRS TDv8 HSE Rimini
Disco 4 TDv6 HSE Ipanema
Defender 90, 200tdi CSW

Yes Smarticus. To each his own.

By the way, the problem here are the alloy wheels. Do you think they get scruffed because the're 20"? Why? This same alloy wheel, if they are in 18" will not scruff? What difference is an inch height on grass or farm tracks?

From what I know (not much by the way!), its low profile tyres that will not withstand rough off-roading. Not the wheels. The wheels get damaged AFTER the tyres. I don't think RRUK has complained of the tyres - just the wheels. Wonder why?

What the complaint is about is that the 20" alloy wheels supplied by LR might not be strong/robust. I would believe that if the same manufacturer uses the same alloy to manufacture 18" wheels - they'll be no good either. Won't work on the Defender too!

Bottom line - could it be possible that the supplier of the 20" wheels short-changed LR? Just an outside chance? Defect in the alloy composition or manufacturing process?

Agreed, like umbertob says, things could have been "a little carried away" but what the heck! Lets at least support the guy anyway - we need people like him to rattle LR once in a while!!  Malaysia Boleh!
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Bobby wrote:

What difference is an inch

Just consulted the wife on this matter, and she says (with a rather odd twinkle in her eye) that an extra inch can make all the difference.

Didn't realise she knew so much about wheels and tyres - but she is always right.  RRS TDv8 HSE Rimini
Disco 4 TDv6 HSE Ipanema
Defender 90, 200tdi CSW

Smarticus wrote:

Bobby wrote:

What difference is an inch

Just consulted the wife on this matter, and she says (with a rather odd twinkle in her eye) that an extra inch can make all the difference.

Didn't realise she knew so much about wheels and tyres - but she is always right.

 Malaysia Boleh!
4.2SC Chawton White, Stormers
Tasmod's Sills, Wind Deflectors, LR Sills
Clear Side Repeaters, Towbar
Larini Sports Exhaust, K&N Air Filter
______________________________
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I could'nt give a monkey's about going off road - I hav'nt and never will with my own Supercharged - it has only been driven on the Queens Highway - yet has still managed to aquire more scuffs on its rims than all my previous cars put together!

Ps. you would'nt be able to fit an 18" wheel to a Supercharged because of the Brembo Brakes.

This thread/topic is not about offroading and the optimum wheel/tyre choice ...........

What it is trying to highlight - is the weaknesses of the supplied 20" alloy wheel / tyre combination as standard on the Flagship RRS !

As Adam quite clearly points out - Why is it that on the same trip , covering the same ground/route that a New Range Rover Vogue Supercharged fitted with 20" alloys of a different design on a slightly bigger profile tyre - came away completely unscathed - yet the RRS S/C of RRUK's did not ?

I sympathise with him as I share the same dissapointment over the "robustness" of the alloy fitted.

Don't get me wrong - I am fuly aware of the limitations of riding a 20" alloy and the down sides when it comes to venturing off road.

What I suspect is the underlying problem/issue here is that the RRS S/C has a much lower profile tyre [ 40 ratio ] and is probably not giving the alloy much or any protection at all. 
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Martin, I think part of the problem may be that the RRS wheels could be from a different supplier to the FFRR wheels, and so the painting process might be different between the two, perhaps leading to a 'soft' surface on the RRS wheels.

I've always thought that the finish on the D3/RRS alloys looked a little bit cheap compared to other manufacturers  Like this site? Buy some RRSPORT goodies to show your support!

FYI, the manufacturer of both my 19" OEM and 18" LR3 10-spoke rims (which I purchased recently off eBay to put on my Sport when going offroad) is Cromodora SPA, an Italian company specializing in OEM wheels - they make stock rims for Fiat and Ferrari, among others. Don't know if Cromodora also manufactures the 20" for the Supercharged, though. I found the MFG name stamped inside the rim (where the tyre normally goes): http://www.cromodorawheels.it/cromodora.html 

Just for the heck of it, I decided to shoot an e-mail over to the QC guy at Cromodora (since he is a fellow Italian and we can probably understand each other better), asking him to confirm whether his company supplies rims to Land Rover for both 19" and 20"-equipped Sports and, if so, whether he cares to comment on the quality of the alloys: do they use different quality materials for these versus other Land Rover products, what does he think about the reported ease of scuffing and scratching under normal driving conditions, recommendations, etc. If he does reply, I'll translate and report here. 

I'm curious to see that reply...if you get one. My OEM Stormers - after 500km of my wife driving around a car she describes as "very big" are still unscathed but the OEM 19" wheels I bought on eBay suffered significantly in transit despite a good packing effort by the seller. 2006 Range Rover Sport TDV6 HSE, Java/Ebony/Cherry, Privacy, Sunroof, PTI, Premium Sound, SatNav, Cold Climate, Tow kit, CarStyle coded grill and vents, Tasmods, Stormers, JE Exhaust, Autobiography badge

Interesting. It's the same with mine (19s)... I think someone said it was even possible to scratch them with your fingernail. Either it's a poor finishing process or the alloy itself is of substandard quality. 

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Reply received today from Cromodora:

Quote:

Dear Mr. Bonfante:

I can confirm that Cromodora Wheels is one of Land Rover's main suppliers of alloy wheels.

I wish to point out the following:

- The type of alloy used on Land Rover wheels is identical for all suppliers (AlSi7) according to specific standards issued by Land Rover;

- The fact that 20" rims may appear "softer" and "more subject to scratches and nicks" is not due to the type of alloy used, but solely by an improper use of the rim.

Sincerely,

S. Guerra

 

umbertob wrote:

Reply received today from Cromodora:

Quote:

Dear Mr. Bonfante:

I can confirm that Cromodora Wheels is one of Land Rover's main suppliers of alloy wheels.

I wish to point out the following:

- The type of alloy used on Land Rover wheels is identical for all suppliers (AlSi7) according to specific standards issued by Land Rover;

- The fact that 20" rims may appear "softer" and "more subject to scratches and nicks" is not due to the type of alloy used, but solely by an improper use of the rim.

Sincerely,

S. Guerra

Does he realise what he is saying?

All wheels use the same alloy - although spec maybe identical, in reality suppliers will source different grades. I dont believe that for a second

Then of course theres the 'improper use' comment

Pardon me..............................

Of course the finish varies a lot.
My 18" wheels have just been replaced due to the 'silver' finish being very patchy
The new ones are pretty good, but still not as good as the finish on my 17" base spec LR wheels that I use for offroad

My 14 year old 3 series BMW still has immaculate wheels, the finish is still perfect.

I'm still waiting for a reply from Landrover at this point in time, the letter only went off 12 days or so ago though.

When I feel the time is right I may start some proactive contacting.

LRO Magazine this month and last are running a feature on a RRS TDV6 with Dynamic pack (on the std 20" alloys) on the Hannibal Trail. So far there has been no mention of damage to the wheels, but the articles do not really talk much about the car and how it performed. It seems to be focussed on the history of the trail, Hannibal and what they saw along the way. I may get in touch with the writer to see if he noticed any damage to their wheels or not. L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB