Winter & Snow Tires
Fogg’s Automotive Fleet & Service Center in Scotia, NY, minutes from Schenectady, sells and installs winter tires from Bridgestone, Nokian, Michelin, General, Continental and Hankook. A dedicated winter tire stops and turns markedly better below 45°F than any all-season. Seasonal changeovers on your own wheels are priced like a rotation; studded tires are legal in New York from October 16 through April 30.
- Quoted by size at three tiers
- Mounted and balanced in about an hour
- Free rotations for the life of the tires
Capital Region price range
USD$25–$40
per tire, mount & balance
Winter tires are quoted by size — studless premium, studless value, and studdable tiers. Mounting and balancing $25–$40 per tire on new wheels; a seasonal changeover of a set already on its own wheels is priced like a rotation, $25. Stud installation on studdable tires is quoted per tire.
New winter set about an hour; a changeover on your own wheels under an hour, while you wait. Book early — November fills fast.
Who this is for
The drivers and vehicles that need this tire.
- Hill climbers — Glenridge Road, the Rotterdam side of Route 7, the Northway grades to Saratoga
- Early commuters who leave before the plows and the salt
- Rural drivers in Saratoga, Schoharie and Montgomery counties on unplowed secondary roads
- Rear-wheel-drive vehicles and pickups that run light in the back
- Fleet vans and route vehicles that cannot take a snow day
- Anyone who has slid through a stop sign once and would rather not again
Sizes we see most
- 225/65R17 and 235/65R17RAV4, CR-V, Forester, Outback
- 215/55R17 and 215/60R16Camry, Accord, Civic, Corolla
- 235/60R18 and 245/60R18Highlander, Pilot, Explorer, Grand Cherokee
- 265/70R17 and 275/65R18F-150, Silverado, Sierra, Ram 1500
- LT245/75R16 and LT245/75R17Super Duty, Transit, HD pickups
- 195/65R15 and 205/55R16Corolla, Civic, Golf, Jetta
Your size is on the tire sidewall or the driver’s door-jamb sticker. Any size can be quoted; these are the ones on the rack.
On the rack
Brands and lines we install in winter tires.
Each brand has its own page with the lines, the warranty and the honest fit for Capital Region driving.
| Brand | Line | Fits | Where it earns its keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgestone | Blizzak WS90 | Sedans, crossovers, minivans | The winter tire we recommend most — studless, legal year-round, remarkable on ice. |
| Bridgestone | Blizzak DM-V2 | SUVs, crossovers, light trucks | The Blizzak for Highlanders, 4Runners and half-ton pickups. |
| Nokian Tyres | Hakkapeliitta R5 / R5 SUV | Cars, crossovers, SUVs | Studless winter tire that edges the field on glare ice and deep snow. |
| Nokian Tyres | Hakkapeliitta 10 / 10 SUV | Rural and hill drivers | Studded winter tire with the best stud technology in the business. |
| Nokian Tyres | Hakkapeliitta LT3 | Pickups, light trucks | The winter tire for trucks that plow and run early. |
| Michelin | X-Ice Snow | Cars, crossovers, SUVs | Studless winter tire with outstanding ice grip and long wear for the category. |
| General Tire | AltiMAX Arctic 12 | Cars, crossovers, SUVs | Studdable winter tire — a rural-road favorite inside New York’s stud window. |
| Continental | VikingContact 7 | Cars, crossovers, SUVs | Premium studless winter tire built for freeze-thaw ice and slush. |
| Hankook | Winter i*cept iZ2 / evo3 | Cars, crossovers, SUVs | Studless winter tires at a mid-tier price. |
| Hankook | Winter i*pike RS2 | Cars, crossovers | Studdable winter tire — one of the more affordable ways to stud a car. |
| Firestone | Winterforce 2 / 2 UV | Cars, SUVs, light trucks | Studdable, inexpensive and effective — a rural-road winter mainstay. |
| Cooper | Evolution Winter | Cars, crossovers, SUVs | Studdable winter tire — effective and inexpensive on rural glare ice. |
| Goodyear | WinterCommand / Ultra | Cars, SUVs, light trucks | Dedicated winter tires, including studdable versions for rural roads. |
Blizzak WS90
Sedans, crossovers, minivans
The winter tire we recommend most — studless, legal year-round, remarkable on ice.
Blizzak DM-V2
SUVs, crossovers, light trucks
The Blizzak for Highlanders, 4Runners and half-ton pickups.
Hakkapeliitta R5 / R5 SUV
Cars, crossovers, SUVs
Studless winter tire that edges the field on glare ice and deep snow.
Hakkapeliitta 10 / 10 SUV
Rural and hill drivers
Studded winter tire with the best stud technology in the business.
Hakkapeliitta LT3
Pickups, light trucks
The winter tire for trucks that plow and run early.
X-Ice Snow
Cars, crossovers, SUVs
Studless winter tire with outstanding ice grip and long wear for the category.
AltiMAX Arctic 12
Cars, crossovers, SUVs
Studdable winter tire — a rural-road favorite inside New York’s stud window.
VikingContact 7
Cars, crossovers, SUVs
Premium studless winter tire built for freeze-thaw ice and slush.
Winter i*cept iZ2 / evo3
Cars, crossovers, SUVs
Studless winter tires at a mid-tier price.
Winter i*pike RS2
Cars, crossovers
Studdable winter tire — one of the more affordable ways to stud a car.
Winterforce 2 / 2 UV
Cars, SUVs, light trucks
Studdable, inexpensive and effective — a rural-road winter mainstay.
Evolution Winter
Cars, crossovers, SUVs
Studdable winter tire — effective and inexpensive on rural glare ice.
WinterCommand / Ultra
Cars, SUVs, light trucks
Dedicated winter tires, including studdable versions for rural roads.
Lines listed are the ones we quote most in this type; other lines in each brand are available by order. Treadwear warranties are brand-published and confirmed on the quote.
In plain English
The straight story
Winter tires are not about deep snow. They are about temperature.
Below about 45°F the rubber in an all-season tire stiffens and loses grip on cold pavement, packed snow and the black ice that forms on the Western Gateway Bridge before the road salt catches up.
A winter tire uses a softer compound and thousands of small sipes that stay flexible and bite in the cold, which is why the stopping-distance difference on a glazed hill is measured in car lengths, not feet.
For a driver who climbs Glenridge Road every morning or commutes the Northway before the plows are out, a winter set is the best safety purchase available at any price.
There are two kinds. Studless winter tires — Bridgestone Blizzak, Michelin X-Ice, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R, Continental VikingContact — rely on compound and tread design and are the right choice for most Capital Region drivers: quiet, legal year-round, and excellent on ice.
Studdable tires take metal studs for drivers on rural, unplowed or steep roads in Saratoga and Montgomery counties; New York permits studs from October 16 through April 30 only, and they are louder and harder on dry pavement.
Either way, winter tires belong on all four corners. Two winter tires on the drive axle and two all-seasons on the other end makes a vehicle unpredictable in a skid.
The practical setup is a second set on its own steel or alloy wheels. The spring and fall changeover then costs about what a rotation does, takes under an hour, and spares your summer wheels from the salt.
Winter tires come off when daytime temperatures hold above 45°F — usually mid-April here — because the soft compound wears fast in warm weather.
We note the tread depth of both sets at every changeover so you know how many winters are left in them, and we will tell you honestly when a set has aged out even if the tread looks fine; a winter compound hardens after about six seasons regardless of mileage.
Other tire types
Tire services
Good to know
Common questions about winter tires
Does New York require winter tires?
No — New York has no winter-tire mandate, and all-season tires are legal year-round. Studded tires are permitted only from October 16 through April 30.
The case for winter tires here is physics, not law: below 45°F a dedicated winter tire stops and turns far better than any all-season, and the Capital Region spends four to five months below that line.
Studded or studless — which is better for Schenectady County?
Studless for most drivers. Modern studless tires — Blizzak WS90, X-Ice Snow, Hakkapeliitta R5 — grip ice nearly as well as studs, run quiet, and do not chew up dry pavement.
Studs make sense on steep, unplowed rural roads or for a driver who sees glare ice every morning. Studs are legal in New York only from October 16 to April 30.
Should I buy a second set of wheels for my winter tires?
Yes, if you plan to keep the vehicle more than two winters.
A set of steel wheels pays for itself in about three changeovers — each swap becomes a rotation-priced job instead of mounting and balancing eight tires a year — and your alloy wheels sit out the salt season.
We quote wheel packages with TPMS sensors so the dash light works with both sets.
Can I put winter tires on just the front of my front-wheel-drive car?
Please don’t. Two winter tires on one axle and all-seasons on the other makes the vehicle grip unevenly in a skid — the back end comes around on a front-wheel-drive car. Winter tires go on all four corners.
If budget is the issue, a quality all-weather tire on all four is a better compromise than a split set.
When should winter tires go on and come off?
On when daytime highs stay below about 45°F — typically the first or second week of November here — and off when they hold above it, usually mid-April. Run them too long into spring and the soft compound wears quickly on warm pavement.
Book the changeover a week ahead; the first snow forecast books every bay in the Capital Region.
Still have questions?
Talk to someone who mounts tires all day — no phone tree, no pressure. We will tell you straight which tier your driving needs.
Get a quote
Three winter tires options, installed price.
Send the size and how you drive. Good, better and best with the warranty on each, usually back within the hour during business hours.
- Installed price includes mounting, balancing, valve stems or TPMS kits, and disposal
- Free rotations for the life of the tires
- Alignment on the Hunter rack quoted and recommended with every new set
Request a Winter tires quote
We respond within the hour during business hours — usually faster.
Need winter tires this week?
Request a quote online or call — most sizes are on the rack or here next morning.