Lowering or Not?

[chrisj]

I asked this type of question in another topic, but I wanted to ask a few questions a different way to get responses from those who know.

Right now I have stock suspension and 205/40/17 tires on.

1) If I put on lowering springs, what about speed bumps, frozen ice chunks on the road in winter, or anything else scraping with the tires I have on now?

2) If I buy 205/50/17 tires, can I achieve sort of the same look as lowering the car (filling up the wheel well space more) without actually lowering it?

3) If I do lower the car, will I have more problems down the road with the car?

4) If I get the MI lowering springs, what would be the highest profile tire I could go with without rubbing?

Thanks in advance. I love the lowered look, but basically am worried about being too low for the road in reality. It snows and we have ice a lot here in Kentucky, and I have to drive this car year-round.