what are some problems caused by running non-staggered wheels, say 17x7's all around with staggered tires on them. i.e 215/45/17 and 255/40/17.

just need some education as to what purpose the staggered wheel setup does, as oppose to just staggered tyres. i am making sense?

 

This has been my experience with 16" X 7" non staggered rims with staggered tires and I can extrapolate to your situation.

The following is assuming that your rims' offset is within reason and your car is not lowered too much.

A 215 tire will fit fine on a 7" rim (front). However, a 255 will be a bit extreme for the same rim. You really shouldn't put more than about a 225 or 235 tire on such a rim. Let's say you do put a 255 tire on a 7" rim. It can be done but the bead will be pulled in quite dramatically and may not apply the proper even pressure on the rim. Then there's the issue with planting the tire contact patch evenly on the ground. With the bead pulled in like that, you tend to get tread center bulge. This means you'll need to run much lower air pressure to compensate. What this does is to make for a very soft, weak sidewall. The back end of your car, in high speed curves, will wallow like a hippo in mud.

If you must use these rims, you are better to hover around a 205 or 215 front and a 225 or 235 rear. You really should get a 9" rear rim if you want to run 255s.

 

THANKS. I'LL STICK TO THOES TYRE SIZES

 

With a 17X7 wheel you could not go any wider than 205/50R17 front and 225/45R17 rear. While it will work on the car it wouls not be optimal. The wider rear wheel will alow more of a stagger and make the car handle more the way Honde designed it to. The lower stagger will make the car over steer more which is not a good idea.
If I can help let me know.