I'm a firm believer in deciding what width tire you want to run and getting the maximum/proper width rim to accommodate it. There is a point of diminishing returns as you maintain a set rim width but increase the tire width, and at some point the tire mushrooms out to the point of providing no additional tire surface on the ground, with the addition of negative handling consequences.

 

I was looking at the 9" for a couple of reasons. For starters, the AME TM-02 has the same problem as the RPF1. The 8" wheels don't look as good as the 9" wheels as they have convex faces. The 8" wheels also come with a +45 offset whereas the 9" wheels come with a +63 which would allow me to pull the center line of the tire in further to get it away from the fender and allow me to put a bigger tire on there without damaging an unmodified fender. Lastly, as s2000Junky pointed out, the stretch of the 235 on a 9" wheel is beneficial as it stiffens up the sidewalls giving you a more tactile, better steering feel. I'd sacrifice the added grip of a bigger tire like a 255, but I would maintain the stagger and potentially avoid any fender rubbing, inside or outside.

I've only had the car a couple of months, wanted one for years, and I'm trying to plan out my modifications. It's a 2004 SSM with OEM hardtop and I'm only the second owner, the car is cherry aside from a few paint blemishes. It was never modified and was the woman's alternate vehicle that she sometimes drove to work so I'm trying to avoid any invasive modifications for now.