The ever changing perception of what is stylish, what is acceptable and what is in vogue is too volatile a basis on which to individualize a car's outward appearance. The external modifications of this car are an attempt to forego passing fashions, and to adhere to what are personal interpretations of improvements on the design of the car. As the saying goes, "The devil is in the details".

badging

The North American market GTI VR6 originates from the factory with "GTI VR6" badged on its hatch. This car has since been rebadged with "Golf GTI", as the car is badged for the European market. The GTI badge is from the Lupo GTI and has the red I, which matches the shiftknob and custom door sills that were purchased for the car.

If you are planning to debadge some owners recommend heating the badge(s) with a hairdryer set on "low", so as not to damage the paint by pulling with brute strength. One way to remove the badge is to use a piece of nylon fishing line and slide it between the badge and the paint. Use a sawing motion to work the line through the adhesive. Remove any remaining adhesive with a finger nail, or with 3M's Tar, Grease and Bug Remover, available from most auto supply stores.

It is odd and against the perceived norm that VW chose not to put a VR6 badge in the front grill of the Mk. IV cars. To rectify the issue, one of the parts guys (Paul) at Cooley Mazda/VW in Rensselaer, NY was asked to order a Mk. III GTI VR6 badge as well as the most recent EuroVan VR6 badge for comparison.

The Mk. III GTI's badge is far too big for the curved front of the Mk. IVs and it costs $15, the part number for this badge is 1H6 853 679F Z10. The EuroVan's badge on the other hand is a fraction of the size and looks more discreet. The decision was made to use the Eurovan badge (part number is 7DO 853 679) as opposed to either the Mk. III "VR6" or "V6" badge that now comes on certain European-spec Mk. IVs, for three reasons:

• It is more discreet.
• The new "V6" badge (with the red "6") is the badge that comes on the cars with the 24 valve VR6, not the 12 valve VR6.
• The font of the EuroVan badge matches the font of the VR6 badge that has always come on the cars with the 12v VR6 since its introduction in the early 1990s.

The use of the Eurovan badge has increased in popularity since first being described on this site. Bragging? Hardly...

Following is a list of the part numbers for the corresponding badges:

• "VR6" grill badge: 7DO 853 679
• "VR6" hatch badge: 1J0 853 675C 739
• "Golf" hatch badge: 1J6 853 687 739
• Lupo "GTI" hatch badge: 6 N0 853 675 D

driver's side aspheric rearview mirror

This particular driver's side aspheric rearview mirror was sent from Holland. To give an idea of its cost, it was around 80 Dutch Guilders, which is approximately US$30. The part number is 1J1 857 521 C, which is the driver's side mirror for a left hand drive vehicle, with blue tinted glass. Although it may take some time to get accustomed to using this type of mirror, the safety benefits are well worth the patience.

The mirror is composed of a normal section, and to the outer edge a radically curved section. The reason this helps is that it eliminates the blind spot in the area behind the driver's left hand shoulder. In other words, the area that driver's education classes teach you glance at over your shoulder during lane changes (to make sure no one is hovering beside you). What you actually see when using this type of mirror is the tail of the car in the curved section of your mirror, until its nose reappears in your actual field of peripheral vision. What this means is that any car next to you is in continuous view for the duration of time it is passing beside you.

For a better idea of how the aspheric mirror works, take a look at the first photograph below. There is a faint line that deliniates the normal part of the mirror from the curved part, the reflection behind the camera in that photograph curves outwards. If you follow the curb that is being reflected, you will see that a normal, flat mirror would reflect the curb as a completely straight line, whereas with the aspheric mirror you can see more of the reflection that would be to your left if you were in the driver's seat.

Of note, there is also an aspheric mirror available for the passenger (left) side, unfortunately the part is not known.

Installation is simple enough as the mirror is held in place by a circular shaped clip on the inside of the mirror housing:

1. Tilt the stock mirror to the extreme right (reverse these directions if you plan to do the right side mirror) using the interior adjuster switch/knob.
2. Pull the mirror out of the housing by holding it and pulling outwards with enough force. Be careful because there are wires for the mirror heater which will break if pulled with too much force. There is also a plastic guide arm that goes in between a pair of metal clips inside the housing, this can also snap off if placed under too much stress.
3. Remove the wires for the mirror by wiggling them out of place. Be careful because the electrical connectors on the mirror can break off, and the wires can get torn out.
4. Attach the wires and reinstall the mirror by pushing it back into place.

european-spec front bumper (oem)

The front bumper is probably the single-most outstanding difference between the North American (NA) spec and European (Euro) spec Golfs. Although both are comprised of the same components (bumper, reinforcement bar (rebar), rubstrip and valence), they are distinctly different for several reasons.

The first difference is the length of the bumper, the NA-spec bumper is around 2 to 2.5 inches longer (car-length wise) than the Euro-spec one. This is because there is foam molding over the metal re(inforcement) bar underneath the front bumper. This foam molding is what makes it impact resistant up to 5 mph, the Euro-spec one is reforming in impacts up to 3 mph. The rebar beneath the foam molding is also different, not only in length, but in the way it is mounted. The central brace uses a single screw rather than two to hold the center of the rebar in place. However, the 4 bolts and 4 accompanying screws on the outer sections of the rebar are more than sufficient for holding it in place. The Euro-spec rebar also has the mounting points for the high pressure headlight washer jets.

The second difference is the rubstrip used. The Euro-spec rubstrip is shorter to fit on the bumper, and has a cutout for a a European sized license plate. It also lacks the side marker lights/reflectors found on the NA-spec rubstrip. Of note, the Japanese-spec Golfs have a smaller cutout for the license plate that fits on the Euro-spec bumper, but is closer in size to North American license plates.

Last of all is the valence which, like the rubstrip, must be shorter for it to fit on the bumper. There are basically 3 factory options to pick from:

1. The stock lower valence with the single, center duct
2. The lower valence with 3 ducts from the Golf V6 4Motion model
3. The lower valence from Votex, which is basically the one found on the 132kw/25th Year Anniversary/337 Golf GTI

The main reason for purchasing the Euro-spec front bumper was to install the retractable high pressure headlight washers. These come standard on some models in the European market, but are unavailable in the North American market. The washers will not fit the NA-spec bumper because the rebar is larger, has the foam molding around it and there are no mounting points.

Of note, there is a static high pressure headlight washer kit made by Hella that is similar in function to the washer nozzles found on the BMW 5-Series. Golf and Jetta owners opting for this kit apparently do not have to buy the Euro-spec bumper parts, please check with your Hella retailer for details.

freedom design (upper hatch) wing

This is another example where it is odd and against the perceived norm that VW chose not include a factory installed wing on the Mk. IVs. A wing seems to give the car a finished look to the hatch area (a physical extension to the roof line), which otherwise looks incomplete. The wing attaches to the car at the left and right ends as there is gap in the middle. It serves absolutely no aerodynamic purpose, and quite possibly increases the drag quotient of the car.

This wing was purchased directly from Freedom Design, the price listed on their site at the time of purchase was $150. The box that the wing comes in contains the wing (primered), a tube of Betalink adhesive and some instructions. Since the primer was porous, the wing had to be sanded down and reprimered before being painted.

It is impossible to attach this wing to the hatch using screws because there is not enough material on the wing in which to properly insert screws. It was attached to the hatch using windshield adhesive (rather than the Betalink), which is supposed to be the strongest type of automotive adhesive available. Curing time for this adhesive is approximately 24 hours, with masking tape holding the wing in the correct position. It is not advisable to drive the car or expose it to high temperature (direct sunlight) during the time it takes the adhesive to cure.

honda s2000 antennae (oem)

The change to this antennae was necessitated by the addition of the Freedom Design wing. The stock FUBA was beginning to wear down the clearcoat on the wing because it is made of rather stiff material. The S2000 antennae on the other hand is softer and flexes more readily when it comes to contact with the wing.

The part is available from Honda parts counters for about $20.00, the part number is 39151-S2H-E01. It is a "plug and play" part that screws into the stock base without any modification, although it is a little larger in diameter than the stock base. Radio reception seems to be comparable to the stock FUBA, although this has not been proven with instrumentation.