first look at wheels/tires

[theycallmebruce]

hey all,
new at this, so please correct me if i'm off.

been doing some looking at the whole rim/tire fitment stuff. here's the information i've gathered so far and i have a few questions i hope you can help me answer.

i have a 97 GST, stock suspension (for now).

the stock wheels are 16X6 with 205/55-16 tires with a 46mm offset (info from vfaq)

if i want to go 17", i "should" get 17X6.5 with 215/45-17 tires if i go according to the whole "plus-sizing" rules, right?
most wheels i've seen are 17X7 at minimum. i understand these will fit fine with a 215/45-17 with a 40mm offset according to the vfaq.
same tire width, different rim width. can someone explain this?

also, can you safely do 225/45-17 with a 17X7? what does the offset need to be?

i never plan on lowering my car at this point (daily driver, pothole-ridden streets of NYC). i'm scraping the crap out of my damn front bumper as is. to stiffen up the suspension, without lowering the ride height, what can i do?

thanks in advance

 

[Eagle 5]

try to find 17x7.5 wheel, then 225/45/17 would fit much better and nicer,. offset, get at least the stock offset +46mm or less, (+42,41,40mm etc)