Jaguar Land Rover Limited

James Pinkerton

Jason Walters

Edd Hugo

Julian Buckingham

A structural componentis provided for a vehicle designed for driving off-road on rough terrain. The component, such as the lower control arm of a suspension system, is formed from aluminum, aluminum-alloy or other light-weight material and provided on its underside with a parallel arrangement of chamfered ribswhich extend in the direction of travel of the vehicle. The spacing between adjacent ribsis less than or equal to 10 mm so as to prevent underlying rocks and stonesfrom impacting, and thereby abrading the inner surfaceof the component. The ribsare provided as sacrificial elements and will become eroded in use until they no longer provide the desired protection of the inner surface. The extent of abrasion of the ribscan be ascertained by a visual inspection of the underlying surface of the vehicle, and, if necessary, the componentcan be replaced.

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Warwick, United Kingdom

James Pinkerton