A tire having improved protection against obstacles damaging the sidewall; the tire having an equator; the tire having tread blocks and tread grooves positioned along a shoulder of the tire; the tire having a radial position, LPN, at which an obstacle would first contact the sidewall of the tire if the obstacle slopped off an edge of a tread block as the tire rotates along a path after making contact with the obstacle; the tire also having a radial position, LPG, at which an obstacle would first make contact with the sidewall of the tire if the obstacle slipped off an edge of a tread groove as the tire rotates along a path after making contact with the obstacle; the tire comprising: a plurality of block-based tread features; and a plurality of groove-based tread features; characterized in that the plurality of block-based tread features is located along and projecting from the sidewall of the tire, each said block-based tread features positioned along the sidewall of the tire at a location that is radially-outward of the equator, radially below the LPN, and within a first area in which an obstacle would move along the sidewall of the tire if the obstacle slipped off a tread block as the tire moved past the obstacle, wherein the position of said block-based tread feature along the sidewall of the tire is coextensive with a block-based contact region defined by the equator, LPN, and the first area; and the plurality of groove-based tread features is located along and projecting from the sidewall of the tire, each said groove-based tread features positioned along the sidewall of the tire at a location that is radially above the LPN, radially below the LPG, and within a second area in which an obstacle would move along the sidewall of the tire if the obstacle slipped off a tread groove as the tire moved past the obstacle, wherein the position of said groove-based tread feature along the sidewall of the tire is coextensive with a groove-based contact region defined by the LPN, LPG, and the second area. a plurality of block-based tread features; and a plurality of groove-based tread features; characterized in that the plurality of block-based tread features is located along and projecting from the sidewall of the tire, each said block-based tread features positioned along the sidewall of the tire at a location that is radially-outward of the equator, radially below the LPN, and within a first area in which an obstacle would move along the sidewall of the tire if the obstacle slipped off a tread block as the tire moved past the obstacle, wherein the position of said block-based tread feature along the sidewall of the tire is coextensive with a block-based contact region defined by the equator, LPN, and the first area; and the plurality of groove-based tread features is located along and projecting from the sidewall of the tire, each said groove-based tread features positioned along the sidewall of the tire at a location that is radially above the LPN, radially below the LPG, and within a second area in which an obstacle would move along the sidewall of the tire if the obstacle slipped off a tread groove as the tire moved past the obstacle, wherein the position of said groove-based tread feature along the sidewall of the tire is coextensive with a groove-based contact region defined by the LPN, LPG, and the second area.