The sun's shining, blue skies overhead, it's a comfortable 70 degrees and all is perfect...

Alright, enough dreaming. It's January, and here in the Midwest, the winter just sucks. Slippery roads, hail, snow, terrifying conditions for the auto enthusiast.
Ideally, it's time to park your ride and bust out the winter beater. But for those of us who bravely drive our rides through thick and thin, there are some precautions one can take to protect their ride.
Probably one of the most basic winter preparations is to take off those rims and put your stockers on. Between the road salt, ice, and snow, the winter is the perfect time to ruin your rims. But before doing so, make sure to check your stock tires for cracks, balding, or any other defects. The last thing you need is to have your ride sliding all over the road.
Having an air suspension provides for a fun ride, but in the winter, proper maintenance is key. A good water trap is essential in preventing freezing valves during the cold. A good idea for those of us with trucks is to mount your valves either in the cab or near another source of heat, such as the motor or exhaust, which will keep any excess water from freezing. Although you should already have a leak free system, it's not a bad idea to re-tighten all of fittings in case of leakage.
Remember all of the time you spent doing nothing but sanding bondo and re-working sheetmetal to make your ride's body as smooth as possible. Well, leave it to winter to ruin it. Road salt is terrible for your paint, leading to rust and possible scratching. Washing your ride on a consistent basis is essential to keeping it pristine.
With a little bit of TLC and careful driving, you and your vehicle can make it through the winter successfully. And you thought maintaining your ride in the show season sucked!
Until next time, keep your heads high and ride low.

Gauge Columnist
Justin Wynn