The doors on the new MkV design appear quite slab-sided. The window lines are high and the doors are tall which provides for outstanding side-impact ratings but give the doors a very elongated shape. The Golf and GTI come with door rub strips which help visually even out the door lenght and break it down so it looks more proportionate in the vehicle. Unfortunately, the Jetta and GLI lack these trim pieces. Some like it better without them; I personally wish they were on the car. The solution to this is to add the Golf/GTI rub strips to the Jetta/GLI doors. Since the doors are the exact same dimension (as most every other part between these two vehicles) the installation was as simple as to attach them to the doors with double-sided automotive 3M adhesive tape (already on the pieces) without any fabrication or modification necessary. Easy as pie. Well, in theory, yes. Problem is, the 4 door GTI and Golf have yet to be released in the United States which makes it hard to obtain the approprite measurements correctly. This is where once again the VWVortex community has come through for us. David, a fellow member located in Australia used his 4 door GTI and obtained measurements for us so we could accurately position these on the doors down to the very mm.
- Furthest front edge is 23cms from door edge
- Both strips match between doors at 25 cms from door edge
- Before the rear strip curves up, it’s at 26 cms from door edge
The result is a more balanced looking door. I have the advantage to owning a black car which makes the change very subtle, yet noticeable. The pieces also match the texturized plastic of other body kit pieces such as the side strips and rear and front valences so they look like they’ve been on the vehicle since it rolled off the assembly line. Mission accomplished. Thanks to Rich at OEMPL.US for the awesome deal on these imported pieces.
Published under: Exterior
