With winter coming soon to an end and NJ roads becoming even shittier than usual with the potholes I'm wondering about how to protect my rims from bending. Specifically I'd like to see some input about tire wall strength and the likelihood of bending a rim .

Lets say tire X has walls that are known to be rather soft for a 35 height tire and tire Y has much stiffer sidewalls of the same 35 height. Question is does the tire with the stiffer sidewall provide better protection or the softer one which might absorb more of the impact vs the stiffer one which will transfer it directly to the rim.

This comes from some experience that my brother had with his audi and some 235/35/19 Falken tires (i dont recall the model). Not too long after getting the tires almost all his rims had bends and I know the kid is way more careful than I am about potholes.

 

I have read soft and stiff side wall comments here, and think it is a bunch of shiit. If you look at tire handling and comfort, these qualities are much more complicated than side wall. Beside want to turn a soft side wall into a stiff side wall? Add 5 PSI.