Re: I finally bought my GLX!

[cyng <cyng@lamere.net>]

>I've been reading the list all summer, waiting for the day I had the $$ to 
>buy
>my own jetta glx, and today I got it!  I bought a '97 GLX, 15,000 miles, 
>green
>with beige leather interior, cold weather package fo $17,500.  I think I 
>got a
>pretty good deal.  Now I can't wait to make some mods, and the first thing I
>want to do is get a chip, after reading the recent discussion, the Garrett
>chip sounds good so I'm gonna' order one.  Any other "must-do" mods that 
>won't
>cost much? Any advice would be appreciated.

WELCOME! And, yeah, here's a small list of relatively inexpensive mods (I
will define "relatively inexpensive" as meaning at or below the cost of
the G-chip) that I would recommend:
-K+N OEM replacement air filter. This is simply a high-flow, 
non-disposable,
 long-lasting air filter which replaces the stock one. Don't wait until 
the
 stock one needs replacement - do it now! Price: ~$45, from Autotech, ND,
 K+N, and many other sources. I recommend ND.
-smoked side-marker lights. This is a pair of reflectors which will 
replace
 the amber-coloured ones on either side of your front bumper. They are a
 perfect match for your GLX's smoked taillights, and look great. Don't
 forget to put the bulbs in! While you're at it, order amber-coloured 
bulbs
 so that the side-marker lights still glow amber. Price: ~$30, from ND.
-smoked front blinker reflectors. Same deal, but for the blinkers/parking
 lights on the front of your bumper. No need to buy an amber bulb, as the
 stock bulb is amber already. Price: ~$30, from ND.
-smoked front dummy reflectors. Same deal as above, except that these 
replace
 the dummy, unused reflectors just inside of the blinkers. Price: ~$25, 
from
 ND. BTW - I recommend buying these factory-smoked items rather than 
painting
 your reflectors yourself using a spray-on product such as Nightshades. 
With
 Nightshades, they'll still be amber in the sunlight, plus you may get 
drip
 marks or uneven coatings, no matter how careful you are.
-air box mod. Remove your entire air box (in halves - unclip and remove 
the
 top half and then the bottom), being careful to detach any hoses and 
wires
 which are clipped to it. In the top half of the air box is a cone. Push 
this
 out (maybe with your foot - it's in there firmly, but is not screwed in
 place or anything). On the bottom half, there is a snow screen, which is 
a
 very fine wire mesh. You can remove this as well. Depending upon how your
 year's aurbox was created, you may have to cut the mesh itself out of its
 bracket, or you may be able to find two screws, one on either side of the
 mesh's bracket, and remove them and the bracket. Doing both of these 
things
 will improve airflow by giving it a more open and direct passageway. 
Price:
 free.
-rear fog lights. You can wire your car to have the rear fogs which came
 standard in European Ventos (Vento is the European name for Jetta). You 
will
 need to drill a hole, run a wire or two, and play with some wiring, but 
it's
 a cool mod. A few people on this list have given clear, detailed 
directions
 on how to do this, so I won't repeat them here. Ask Kevin Ng
 (kevin.ng@nationscredit.com), Robert Malinka (rmalinka@spec.net), or Eric
 Posuane (leah@erinet.com) for good instructions. You will need to buy the
 Euro-spec headlight switch. Price: ~$70, from Timmons or ND.
-Passat cup holder. This is the cup holder which came in some years of the
 Passat. You can buy it and put it in your Jetta. It should go down on the
 passenger's side of the centre console, clipped up from the bottom edge 
of
 the thin plastic siding of same. Buy two short screws for this job. It 
will
 only open when the passenger's seat is about two-thirds of the way back,
 but it will hold two cups in a similar fashion that the single one on the
 back of the emergency-brake's console does. Price: ~$30, from your VW
 dealership.
-euro-spec side blinkers. These go basically right in front of and a 
little
 bit lower than your side mirrors, on the front fenders. They are blinkers
 on the sides. I've always found it idiotic that the side-marker lights on
 our cars weren't also blinkers, and I've always liked those which all
 Saabs seem to have, and these ones look great. Get smoked ones to match
 your taillights and any other smoked-out reflectors that you may buy.
 Price: ~$35, from ND.
-Corrado-spec catalytic converter. This will give your exhaust a better
 flow, as this cat is larger than the one on your GLX. It's a little 
beyond
 the "relatively inexpensive" range, though, at about $250, from Autotech,
 Velocity, and others. I won't mention other, more expensive mods (16" 
rims,
 suspension, cams, and so forth), since you didn't ask for 'em.
That's about all I can think of, off the top of my head, but it ought to
give you somewhere to begin. Rule of thumb for me (I can't speak for any
other list-lurkers, of course): ask ND first. The folks at New Dimensions
have a perfect track record for customer service, tech advice, 
friendliness,
and so forth and so on. They're my first choice (and let's not start a
thread about who likes which sporttuning/parts source best and why).
   Speaking of whom, here's an idea for you guys at ND: How about a kit
which transforms the always-on side-marker lights into blinkers as well?
The kit would obviously include a pair of double-filament bulbs, as well 
as
the proper wiring and instructions and whatnot. I'd buy it, even if I
already had euro-spec side blinkers. Price this kit a notch lower than the
euro-spec side blinkers, since you're not buying the reflectors like you
have to with the euro-specs. Just a thought.
   Anyhow, I hope that this has been a help! :)
-Tom
'95 GLX, black on black <leather>
some styling mods ...
some performance mods ...

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