Gen 4 - Under body Protection

Guards have a place which is primarily directed by the local terrain. Up here it is very rocky and the opportunity to smack something delicate on something hard is quite high. In places with mud guards tend to be a liability for acting like ploughs and getting compacted with goo. At last year's meeting I was still pulling lumps of dried mud out a month later! As to the lack of clearance yes it does reduce it it has to but if it's well designed it should act as a skid and just glide over the obstructions, if it's badly designed it will act as a grappling hook and be hateful.

I have dragged all my guards over various parts of the country and I honestly believe I would have cracked my transfer case by now and that would be a lot more expensive than a guard and considerably more inconvenient than getting a bit stuck.

That said many people don't bother and never do any lasting damage.