I will be keeping my stock 18s. Will be using the 16s with more aggressive all terrain or mud terrain tires come spring and summer for camping and general use. So.. basically general use with some off-roading.

I want to keep outer diameter as close to stock 29.5" as possible. Had a Grand Cherokee with 31" tires in the past and that was too much of a reduction in gearing. Really made a huge impact. The Jeep was pretty good to drive in stock form. With the 31s it felt like a slug. I don't want to make the same mistake with the VX... plus unlike the Jeep, the VX has plenty of ground clearance as is. There isn't much need to gain extra height.

I want the wheels/tires to move out a little, flush with cladding. Mostly for looks. That's the only thing I wish was different on the stock VX. Looks odd with the wheels tucked in. Reminds me of the Mopars in the 70s... not as bad, but still awkward.

Since 16" is a stock size... and I am not going extreme on tire size... it shouldn't be a problem as long as I chose the right offset. But, your're saying I can't use greater than stock 5.5" offset? There is no give or take on that? Not even just a little?