Wheel/Tire size help!!!
 

Okay so i love how the car handles stock, hugs like crazy and im sure you guys just know what im talking about. Here is my problem just tried going with 17x8 niche targa m130 (love the wheels okay) and i tried running the 245/40R17 continental extreme contact dw but the car was completely different when it came to handling! It was not nearly as tight around the corners and so i couldnt push it as hard. So do i just need maybe a staggered setup? Like go 225/45R17 in the front (personally i think the rears are fine performance wise for grip and aesthetically) to help with the handling or would some suspension upgrades do the trick? Open to any suggestions, oh and by the way if there is an awesome 18" setup anyone has had great success with im up for that because we have to send the wheels back anyway because they are defected! So please any and all suggestions welcome!

You put too much tire on, which will make the car feel slow.

Too grippy & wide tires for stock power level and staggered tire setup both are wrong if you want to keep character and balance stock had. Best (and also cheapest) bet would be keep using stock sized tires. Tinkering with suspension changes/upgrades .. why fix thing you made worse trying other ways/upgrades instead of reverting that mistake in first place? Imho this thread is worth reading.
I wouldn't also think that upsizing wheels is right if you care more about handling then looks. Stiffer sidewall tires at right pressure will help more sharper turn ins then one inch bigger wheels. Unless you must have (doubtful for daily driving) big brake kit (many of which fit fine in 17") that is not cleared by 17", there is no reason except looks to change rims to bigger ones, that will be heavier, slightly robbing acceleration, adding weight (i know that there are few lighter 18" then stock. But 17" of same type will be even lighter anyway), making suspension work harder. Pay to make worse thing you care for?

heavy wheels...

try some rpf1's and BFG rivals... transformation.

I went through a set of Extreme Contacts in a 235/45/17 size (well not a "set". I still have them on the front). I hated them. They had the softest sidewall I have ever seen and the rears were bald in less than 5K miles. I switched to Champiro UHP's on the rear. I getting ready to get rid of the Conti's and replace them with the Champiro's all round. They handle much better and are quite a bit cheaper.

If you want to bump up the precision and agility from stock, upgrade to 205/45-17 Max performance tires all around on 17x7.5 wheels... tread width of the 205/45-17 Kumho Ecsta Sport LE set I just wore down to slicks is wider than the stock 215/45-17 tires by .2" and they are much more planted at high speed, not to mention WAY better in the wet (the stock tires are not very good in wet performance) all the way down to the wear bars! I'm back on the original stock tires now (to save some money) and while they are nice in the dry, I'm missing the Sport LE's already, even if though they only lasted ~10k miles until being completely worn down to slicks (they were less than $300 for the set!)