New toys

[cyng <cyng@lamere.net>]

Hey, folks,
   Just got some new toys in the mail from Autotech and ND.
Autotech sent me some Mintex Silverline brake pads for my front
and rear ('95 JettaGLX). Gonna have the discs machined and the
fluid flushed and the pads put on in about a week. Can't afford
to have the discs slotted at this juncture (bleh). Maybe next
time. Still, the squeal will be gone, and hopefully my BBS rims
will stay clean longer! Those two things alone are almost worth
paying $110 for!
   The super-cool guys from ND (Val and Keith, in particular)
sent with all due haste a K+N OEM-airbox drop-in filter, smoked
side-marker lights, and a rear trunk lid badge. I've had the
GLX for about 3 months, and FINALLY was able to get the damned
K+N (I've been busy, and funds have been tight), so that feels
good to have in there. I noticed the same difference after
putting it in that I noticed when putting one into my '84 (A1)
JettaGLi last fall: increased willingness to rev. This is, I'm
sure, nothing more than a seat-of-the-pants observation, but I
swear the car gives better throttle response, the exact same
feel I got with the '84 GLi. Even if this is all in my head,
still, I'll never have to buy another air filter for the life
of either of these cars. I mean, heck, the '84 GLi has 190k
miles on it, the GLX has 53k miles, and I doubt that either
will exceed the 1-million-mile warranty that K+N places on their
air filters!
   The side-marker lights aren't in, yet, as it's been raining
and is now night. Hopefully I'll be able to put 'em in tomorrow.
Many thanks to MAOberer@aol.com for asking and to
Adalis@worldnet.att.net for answering on that particular install.
I didn't ask how to put 'em in, but MAOberer did fortuitously
ask soon before I ordered my set, and Adalis did answer. So
thanks to them for inadvertantly helping me put 'em in. I looked
and couldn't figure out how on my own in the light I had, so I'll
use Adalis' instructions tomorrow during the day. If you're
considering getting smoked side-marker lights, folks, get them.
I got the Hella ones from ND, and I'm glad. They're about $30
USD for the pair, and include bulbs and all. They look sweet, a
perfect match for the GLX's smoked taillights. No offense to
those of you who swear by Nightshades or other brands of spray-
on tinting, and no offense to my brother, who used it on his
'92 SLC's side-marker lights and taillights, but that stuff
simply doesn't compare. Even if you manage to get it on without
there being visible "brush" marks and drip marks, you can still
see the orange that the reflector once was when viewed in sun-
light. The $30 is worth the professional job Hella has done!!!
   And now we come to the final toy, and perhaps the best-looking
of the lot. It's also the simplest. It is the black VW badge which
fits on the trunk lid of a Jetta. Simple, right? Subtle. It is a
glossy black mounted on a disc of rubber, much like the stock
badge. But, unlike the stock badge, it's solid, moulded black
plastic. You see, when I bought my GLX, the stock badge, which I
presume was originally chromed plastic, had seen better days. The
plastic under the rather weak chroming job is a dull, worn-looking
grey. Bleh. This looked especially awful so close to the shiny
"JettaIII," "GLX," and "VR6" badges also on the trunk lid. This
black badge from New Dimensions is solid black, so it will always
be black. Remember, though, that my GLX is black, so I'm not sure
how this badge would look on a car of a different colour, or even
whether it would fit on another model in the same place. I took a
pair of pliers and simply pulled off the old badge, then stuck
the new one in its place, and it looks sweet. Black badge, black
car, both nice and shiny. It's beautiful, and well worth the $15
or so it cost (yeah, I know that that's nuts for a piece of
plastic, but, damn it looks so sweet!). I highly recommend it for
when you're bored but can't quite afford some cams.
   Anyhow, definitely check some of these products out.
   And thanks to Autotech for the very quick delivery (UPS), and
to ND for the same (FedEx). By the way, I ordered the brakes from
Autotech on Thursday and got the pads the following Monday (UPS).
I ordered the other toys from ND on Friday and got the parts the
following Tuesday (FedEx). Their delivery times were identical,
no mix-ups, smooth sailing.
   Thanks again also to you two who asked and answered about the
smoked side-marker lights!
   -T


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         /|     -=Thomas J. Boyer<cyng@lamere.net>=-     |\
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