I have a 2003 em2, and I have been researching handling upgrades. I believe it has been lowered by a previous owner, but I'm not sure how much. Anyway, my questions are

A: Will going with lower offset rims make handling on rough twisty roads worse than before even with wider rims?

B: If it will, what's the lowest offset that will have decent handling? And what is the widest rim/tire combo I can fit with said offset?

I would be willing to roll the fenders if it is required. I would only be willing to do negative camber if it will improve handling as well. I am not going for a specific stance or look here, just the best traction I can get.

P.S. Here is a pic of my car for reference.

 

What is the answer you want to hear? You could literally just fit good 200tw tires on your current rims and have better handling than you would with wider / lower offset rims with **** tires.

more info regarding objectives would be good.

 

On objectives, I drive somewhat rough curvy roads, and I'd like better grip. I've been thinking 16 inch rims, but I'm not sure on width, as there's not much clearance between rim and suspension currently. However, I am on stock 15s so 16s would give a bit more clearance. Can I go with a lower offset, or will my scrub radius get crazy? I'm much more concerned with performance than looks. I also do not want to stretch tires. If I go wider rims, I am going wider tires as well, because this is all about traction. Also, to clarify, did you mean 205 tires? It has 195s at the moment.

 

All you need then is a good set of 200tw 205/50/15s. That would improve handling and traction more than wider rims on all-season tires by a large margin.

 

So if I buy rims anyway, should I go up to 6.5 wide or stick with stock?

 

Depends if you plan to slam it. If you keep the ride height functional, you will be fine with a 15 or 16x7 with a +35 offset.