just the width or height to make it more suitable for my site design.
and not through the google inteface but directly on the code.
do you think Google has a problem with that?
Other than what Google allows you to change through the AdSense interface it's against the terms of service to change anything. I've seen some sites do some creative things with the way they display the ads on their site, but making any changes is a risk.
You can always email the AdSense team and ask them if what you want to do is ok. They're pretty good about getting back to you even if their answer isn't the one you want to hear.
The official policy though is that you can't make the changes you want.