I run 225/40 in the front and 245/35 in the rear Bridestone S-O3's
Lowered about 2.5 inches on H&R coil-overs, drives great
Slight rub in the rear with 4 peeps before mod
I'm not pushing staggered sizes but the factory used them on the later M's and they seem to handle pretty good
e36 cars have understeer with or without stagger unless you tune it out with suspension mods
If you have the correct offset wheels you should be able to lower your ride up to 1.5 inches with 225's with no rub
and just for the record balance, a smaller sidewall does not make the tire wider
Big swaybars are cool