He's in Italy. Some countries are very strict with tire and wheel sizes.

I saw that he's from Italy. Hence asking if something got lost in translation. My Italian is far worse than his English. But those particular restrictions seem to fail the logic test.

225/45's are okay on the car

8" wheels are okay on the car

Why would only the pinched/stretched extremes be acceptable? The only thing I can sort of think is if the combo puts the rubber outside the fender. But you'd have that problem with anything on the same 8" wheel. What local law/regulation does the 8"/225 setup actually violate?

But to answer the real question. It's an HPDE. The question getting asked means it's not likely to matter significantly. Bolt on whatever and go have fun.

I would choose 215/45 on 17X8.

:D

Thank you everybody for answering my question...especially TrqlessWonder cause i was waiting for someone to point out the crazyness in my request and his post made me laugh a lot :D

Sorry if this is OT but i think you deserve an explanation (and a good laugh about italian rules :D )

In Italy we must stick to stock tire size, but we can change wheels dimensions as long as they fit under the fender and tire is not stretched (this explain the 1st option, my free choice :) )
IF we want to use a larger tire we need to choose a tire-wheel combination certified by the wheel manufacturer hence the 2nd, quite illogical, option...courtesy of OZ :)

Back in topic, given your information i think i'd stick with the first option.

Correct me if i'm wrong but to me a floaty sensation means that a taller sidewall and a smaller wheel allow more slip angle if driven correctly (and i like that in 2nd or fast 3rd gear turn), but when i'm going fast (4th-5th gear) i believe what i want is the best feeling possible and i believe this is achieved only with the first opion, am i right?

Fuji Speedway
 

The fastest setup at Fuji Speedway is 265/35r18, on 9.5J rims, with 5.1 final-ratio and close-ratio 6th. We use Kumho V70a K61 compounds, and have low-drag GT-wings (e.g. pro-composite). We have no PWR... just headers and intakes.

I run 245/40r17 on 9J rims, with 4.8 final-ratio and stock 6th, to manage costs... for now. It is about 0.5sec to 1.0sec slower compared to the fastest setup.

Once you start to really push, 265/35r18 is the fastest setup even on a high-speed track like Fuji Speedway.