Thanks shipo. I know the 225/50 R17 tires will fit the 17x7's without a problem. I just really wanted to know if this combination will fit in the fenders without rubbing or hitting suspension parts. Right now I can get a finger between the tire and strut brace/bracket or whatever that part is. I'm not very knowledgable with cars and I'm not really sure what the part is called. I just know it's a suspension component. I don't really know if the tire moves closer to this part as the suspension is compressed, so this is where my only concern is. It appears that it would clear everywhere else without issue. I just don't want to trash new tires. WTF were the designers thinking putting all this stuff so close? The guy at Tire Rack says it looks like it should work but no guarantess. I was just hoping someone has tried a similar combination and could provide some feedback... positive or negative. Who would have thought it could be so difficult to install a tire that is only .4" taller and .3" wider overall?
So many variables....

 

Thanks CKeffer. Do you think width will be an issue? A size chart said the section width on 225/45 R18 is 8.9" and 225/50 R17 is 9.2" Obviously this is split evenly on both sides. However, you said your offset is 48mm and mine is 52mm. Doing some math it looks like your wheels come in 142mm in/ 48mm out from mounting surface while mine are 126mm in/ 52mm out. So many variables. Rim width in mm - offset in mm tells how far wheel comes in?

 

offset tells you how far the mounting point is from the center line of the wheel. 0 offset = mounting point is dead center of the wheel + offsets are further towards the outside, - offsets are further towards the inside. And yes, I'd agree that it gets confusing real fast, especially since I'm a visual kind of guy rather than a numbers guy.