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Ok, it seems that most tires can fit on a range of rim sizes. For example tire A in 225/50/15 can be mounted on rims having width 6"-8"
My question is, if you took two identical cars with the same tires, but one having the 6" rims and one having the 8" rims, how would the handling characteristics compare?
Assuming that a 7" rim is ideal and the baseline, how does streatching or squishing the tire on to wider and narrower rims affect handling characteristics and driveing feel?

thanks.

 
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shoe horn a wider tire on a skinny rim = flub, wobbly feel
Stretching is dangerous, you can end up either on the rim lip which has no traction, or you can pull the bead off.
The widest rim you can put a tire on and still safely do it is the wisest option, almost always.

Tires have recommended fits for a damn good reason.

 
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so in the case of "tire A", fitting it on an 8" rim (within the manufacturer recommended range) will give the sharpest/quickest steering responce.

How is tire wear affected? will the tire on the narrow rim round its profile and wear the center tread more? while on the wide rim the profile would extend wearing the edge of the tread more?

 
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its minimal and normally corrected out with tire pressure.
You can run less with a wider wheel because the tire sidewall is upright and you don't need to hold it up with air pressure.