want a wider tire for my wheel, what will work?
don't get hung up on the tire width number. that number is derived from measuring from sidewall to sidewall. what you need to pay attention to is the tread width. tread width is what touches the ground. most go the route of getting wider section width tires ( 275 to 315 ) i'll show you how to get more on the ground without changing overall section width.
example all are 275/40-17 all specs taken off of tire rack website. these were measured on a 17 x 9.5" wide wheel.
dunlop sp sport 9000 TW = 9.9"
goodyear eagle f1 gs-d3 TW = 9.4"
yokohama avs sport TW = 10.1"
yokohama avs es100 TW = 10.7"
bridgestone potenza re950 TW = 9.5"
firestone firehawk wide oval TW = 9.5"
fusion zri TW = 9.5"
sumitomo htrz TW = 10.2"
sumitomo htrz II TW = 9.9"
as you can see, the yokohama avs es100 has the widest in terms of tread width at 10.7" and goodyear eagle f1 gs-d3 with the least at 9.4". tread width is what counts.