i know im getting new rims soon and i was thinking 17s and then im going to lower the car about an inch or so. i have heard some people say to not get anything bigger than 16s so the car will ride a lot better, is there a big difference? if one at all?

I've never had 16's on my civic, so I really can't say for sure, but I doubt one inch is going to make that much of a difference. Yes, 16's will ride a little better than 17's, and yes, 17's ride pretty rough. Personally, I feel my 17's are liveable, and I'm dropped way more than an inch.

reaper, will my rims tuck in like your, what is the offset of your rims if you know? the ones i want have a 42 offset and are 23.5 overall diameter. you dont have problems with rubbing?

205/40-17 tires and wheels with a +42mm offset are pretty much perfect for lowering. If you're just lowering an inch or so, you won't tuck like my tires are (in my avi, my car was lowered around 3.5" all around... I have it lowered around 2.5" in front and 3.5" in back so I can drive it lol... I'm still tucking half the rear tire and the treads of the front tire). Anyway, I don't any real rubbing issues; my front tires rub the fenders if I hit a bump at low speeds or if I try to make too tight of a turn at low speeds (by low speeds, I mean 15mph or under).

(Oh, and my wheels have a +45mm offset)

ok cool thanks

I have 17's with 205/40-17 tires, and dropped 1.6" in the front, 1.8" in the rear, and I only rarely have rubbing issues. These only occur under the same conditions as reaper mentioned. You should be fine. I had to roll my fenders a little bit, but I was able to bend them with my hand by carefully pulling on it - that's how little they needed it.

My 94 coupe was done with Kosei 6 spoke. 17x7 +48 offset. tucked and slammed.
Thats the last time I'll lower a car that far!!!

just a quick note, rim size doesn't entirely determine the ride quality of a car. the suspension and mainly the tire ratio determines the ride. so as long as you don't have rubber bands for tires, it will be tolerable. 205/40/r17's would be the max to go on a lowered 6th gen civic.