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Wheel/tire to strut tube clearance is not affected by changes in camber. The entire suspension is tilting in. On E36 and E46 models where the suspension is bolted to the hub and not clamped in, it's possible to shim the lower mounting point to add camber. When you do that to those cars you lose clearance between the strut and the tire.
Because the hub mounting point is not parallel to the strut, the larger diameter wheel you install (assuming width and offset remain constant), the more strut tube clearance you will have.
This means a 17x8.5" ET40 has less strut tube clearance than an 18x8.5" ET40 wheel. The difference will only be a few millimeters, but it's noticeable, and has to be accounted for.
There is also a clearance difference between running a 255/35/18 and a 255/40/17. There is an overall tire diameter difference, but more importantly there is a physically difference in shape of the sidewall. The corner of the 17's is more rounded, and that allows for more fender clearance as the suspension articulates. I can't verify if this is true 100% of the time, but it has been with what we've had experience with.
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