You should see my recent posts on the Wheels and Tires forum.
I have had 225/50R16 tires on my 98 SVT E0 for about 65,000 miles. There is absolutely no fitment problems. It is close, but still adequate. The original tires were replaced at 40,000 miles with Continental 4000H 225/50R16 with the hope of getting some better tire life out of them. I did. The choices were better when I wore those out at 100,000 miles (60,000 miles on those tires). This time I replace them with BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDWS (not KDW). The KDWS is slightly wider than the Continentals were so the fit is a little tighter but still no trouble. I have had the KDWS on for about 5,000 miles, long enough for their first tire rotation. I am extremely pleased with them.
There was an issue of rubbing with stock size tires on some 98 SVT E1 and 99 SVT, which may have been from a quality control problem on the rear wheel liners. The factory published a TSB for wheel liners that provided more clearance. I have not needed to install the revised wheel liners.
When I ordered the tires from Tire Rack, Luke called to confirm the order and confirmed that I truly wanted 225's. He was being very cautious (as he should be). He also noted on the invoice that fitment was my responsibility. The only way to know for certain is to try it, but there are many of us who are running the 225's.
