Perhaps I’ll sound a tad blunt when I say that, to date, there is not a solution to the aforementioned problems. Even the most rudimentary solution to a this need -which coincidentally happens to be the most fitting- still doesn’t feel right without a little bit of modification. And amongst the several different options available for this particular generation, only one appealed to me and had the potential to meet these goals.

Traditionally, turbo gauges are mounted either on the center stack (radio area), on the A pillar or on the steering column. The MkV generation design has some fundamental constrictions when it comes to two of these options; the center stack is basically completely taken over by climate controls, heated seat controls, a double din radio space and vents while the A pillars are essentially airbag covers and mounting anything on them is nothing short of a terrible idea. Hence the only option available for this is the steering column – I won’t even go into the driver’s side A/C vent replacement as this was not even considered at any point as it looks terrible, not to mention involves removing the vent and airflow controls for it. Similarly, the pods mounted at top of the dashboard replacing the vent diffuser are incredibly ugly.

Northamerican Motorsports delivered the gauge kit in about two business days. The package included a NewSouth indigo “boost” gauge which matches the Volkswagen blue instrument panel almost perfectly (more on this later), the steering wheel column pod and all fittings, lines and ties necessary to complete the installation. Unfortunately, upon opening the package I noticed a funny detail: The gauge pod felt a tad light compared to the rest of the dashboard’s “soft-touch” plastics. It’s made of thinner, harder plastic and while the color itself is a good match, the finish is a tad glossy and begging to be beefed up somehow. And how else is one supposed to “beef up” plastic? By dipping it in more plastic, of course. Dipped Plastic. Plasti-dip!

After test-fitting the pod at top of the steering wheel, I gave it a vigorous sanding on the outside, which not only served to eliminate the gloss the plastic had but also ensured the back of the steering wheel did not rub against it. Then I sprayed it generously multiple times with Plasti-Dip allowing about 15 minutes between coats. After about 6 or 7 coats, I gave it another inspection. The pod felt much better. It was rubbery -like the rest of the dashboard panels- and heavier, albeit just slightly. It just felt closer to OEM.

Removing the engine cover, installing the included replacement hose and ties, running the vacuum line through the firewall and tapping the necessary power and dimmer wires was a rather straight forward process. Everything was up and running in about 45 minutes. Upon turning the ignition on, I verified that the indigo blue gauge is indeed a perfect match to the OEM blue gauge colors. However, I did notice that it’s ever-so-slightly brighter than the rest of the instrumentation. It operates perfectly and it dims in accordance with the rest of the dashboard when necessary; however, the difference in brightness is always noticeable, perhaps moreso if the dimmer is not turned to the brightest setting. Not a huge deal but I would have liked it to match to the “T”.

Speaking of which, if there is one thing I honestly don’t care too much about the gauge is the word “BOOST” smacked right above the needle. I think it’s redundant and should be removed. We all know what the gauge measures, and if you don’t, you likely won’t be paying attention to it anyway. A more adequate word would be “TURBO”. All told however, the gauge works as intended. It allows me to constantly keep an eye on the turbo’s pressure level while remaining a decent fit inside the cabin although not before some additional modification.

Overall, I do recommend this kit. It’s simply the best the market can offer at this time. As long as you take the time to fit the pod to your liking and give it a little bit of attention, it will fit and match correctly, and look good as well. The location is also prime. The gauge is within perfect view of the driver at all times while only blocking the upper 6.5K RPM range -redline- which you’re not likely to remain in without paying close attention to the road (unless you have a death wish).

The idea ran its natural course in pretty much the same way most things do; by attempting to do it myself first. However interesting this process was going to prove, It wasn’t without frustrating moments. It’s sometimes a little unnerving to gamble with $300+ auto parts particularly when there is no experience with the task that one is about to undertake.

The first step in this process was the application of smoked translucent vinyl which provided pretty bad results. The product and concept itself is not bad, unfortunately I was not apt to do this successfully. The amount of creases and bubbles that I ended up with made the results basically unacceptable. In addition, the film covers the housing in its entirety which is not something I wanted to do. The clear lenses on the outer taillight housings are the ones powered by LED and applying vinyl would tarnish to some extent the crisp light output LEDs provide. This was not a trade off I was willing to go with.

The next step in the process was the application of spray-on tint. This specific type of spray is designed specifically for polycarbonate lenses and is pretty difficult to find. The only source for this material so far has been eBay as it is a Japanese import. Sacrilege aside, the final product was something I could live with. I masked each housing and lens with painter’s tape in order to spray only the areas that needed to be tinted. I was able to apply it uniformly enough to get good coverage and even application. Unfortunately the cans are too small (about 2oz per can) and one was simply not enough to get the job done. In addition, the last few seconds worth of spray basically spit the tint onto the lens essentially ruining the job. I had to remove the tint completely with non-acetone nail polish remover. Unfortunately this caused the polycarbonate lens to fog and show very thin stress cracks in the clear areas; Not a good thing at all. I was able to polish off the lenses to an acceptable condition but now I had one side tinted and one not. I then ordered more spray, redid the process and decided to move on calling it a job well done. The slight haziness that the spray left was able to somewhat be curtailed by intensive machine polishing, although they never truly reached the gloss found in the rest of the car.

Then one night I was backing up a friend’s long, curved, pitch black driveway and stupidly backed into his car. My friend was in the car with me at the time so I assume he thought I knew his car was there. More importantly, I think he thought I could see it, with my cat-like night vision and all. In any case, as soon as I heard the crack I slammed on the brakes but it was too late: My driver’s side outer housing was destroyed. After I got over the anger I caused myself and budgeted for a new set of these (they are not cheap by any means) I figured this had given me the perfect excuse to have another go at this project, something I was not exactly thrilled with. As you can tell by reading this, while the job itself is rather easy and produced good results, it was the trial and error that led to the final result what I dreaded. And while I am aware that lessons learned are not soon forgotten, I really just wanted to have them done the right way this time around.

Enter Shifty’s Spraywerkz in Oklahoma City. Ran by Robert Lackey aka Shifty, this paint shop specializes in custom paint work for European cars. A Volkswagen enthusiast himself, Robert has been tinting lenses for years, endeavor which has become so successful that he even offers an exchange program based on a core/refundable fee system. And the results really show why Shifty’s Spraywerkz is has been in business for this long. Some minor over spray on the back of the housings aside, you would be hard pressed to detect that these are even tinted at all and didn’t come this way from factory. It is also my understanding that Shifty uses only automotive Dupont paint products which produce fantastic results. The end result is a glossy, evenly covered housing with no bleeding or haze to be found anywhere at all. The clear lens areas were masked perfectly then coated with clear coat with the rest of the pre-tinted housing so that there is no line to be felt or seen between the tinted and non tinted surface areas. The process itself is something only Robert knows for sure but I understand the prep process involves sanding the lenses, which improve greatly the adhesion the paint has with the polycarbonate. I would never be brave enough to do without the experience he has acquired through the years. However I am sure without this step, such excellent results could not have been achieved. Overall, I am extremely pleased with how the project turned out:

While I will always consider the first set I did myself a good learning experience, it was through its destruction that I ended up with a set far superior than anything I could have possibly done with a spray can.

As stated by Wikipedia:

“In North America, amber front and red rear side marker lamps and rear reflectors are required. The law initially required lights or rear reflectors on vehicles made after 1 January 1968. This was amended to require lights and rear reflectors on vehicles made after 1 January 1970. These side-facing devices make the vehicle’s presence, position and direction of travel clearly visible from oblique angles. The lights are wired so as to illuminate whenever the vehicles’ parking and tail lamps are on, including when the headlamps are being used. Front amber side markers in North America may or may not be wired so as to flash with the turn signals. Side markers are permitted outside North America, but not required. If installed, they are required to be brighter and visible through a larger horizontal angle than US sidemarkers, they may not flash, and they must be amber at the front and rear unless the rear sidemarker is incorporated into the main rear lamp cluster, in which case it may be red or amber. Some Japanese, European, British and US-brand vehicles have side markers in Europe and other countries where they are not required.”

Installation of the LED tail lights does away with the rear reflectors and markers, and today, I did away with the front ones as well when I swapped them out for color-matched counterparts. Compromising safety in the name of better looks is nothing new in the VW world. However, it all has to come down to common sense. How much safety are we sacrificing really in terms of removing the side markers? That’s debatable. To many, myself included, the improved look of the car is a price worth paying. Besides, in terms of law enforcement, no one but an ultra-anal retentive police officer with deep knowledge of automotive lighting requirements and a hard-on for Volkswagens would enforce this law- or one can only hope. In any case, I kept the stock amber markers just in case. These color-matched ones are so thickly painted that they don’t allow any light to pass through them and I did not disable or disconnect the bulbs at all, so they are still working behind them. I still have the option of smoking the stock ones to let light pass through them and be more compliant but in reality it’s not a huge concern at this point. They do clean up the front end a lot. It looks less “busy”. If I had my option I would have molded them into the bumper but that’s a lot of body shop work involved and this works well for now.

Enter the European-spec Jetta and its beautifully constructed tail lights. Not only are they more appealing to the eye compared to its North American counterpart, but they also trade incandescent bulbs (except the reverse and the rear fog light) for LEDs. What this means in terms of safety is an improved light-up response compared to traditional bulbs, but also the ability to display the coveted amber turn signals thanks to LEDs being able to display two colors (yellow and red).

LEDs are the last generation [in lighting] and being used with increasing frequency in automotive signalling lamps. They operate with much lower power consumption, have longer service lives, are nearly impervious to vibration damage, and permit considerably shallower packaging compared to most bulb-type assemblies. LEDs also offer a significant safety performance benefit when employed in brake lights, for when power is applied they rise to full intensity approximately 200 milliseconds faster than incandescent bulbs. This fast rise time not only improves the attentional conspicuity of the brake lamp, but also provides following drivers with increased time in which to react to the appearance of the brake lamps.

An additional feature of these tail lights is the existance of a rear fog light, which is a feature lergely unknown and unused in the American market. Have you ever followed someone whose driver side tail light seemd brighter than the others? Well, that’s likely because that car’s rear fog light is on. Most people have absolutely no idea when/how to utilize a rear fog light (or the front ones for that matter). Installation was very simple, thanks again to Brian for walking me through the process. I was able to do this in the rain (granted, I was under a carport), in 30 degree weather with one hand on the computer and the other on the wires. After all was said and done, I ended up with what you see on the left. Click the image for a larger view of the amber in all its glory. Coupled with the European-spec light switch, I will be able to use the rear fog light (which has to be wired separately into the appropriate controller). For now I am running both, reverse and rear fog light as backup lights. Thanks in advance to the VWVortex coding wizards (Tim Birney and thread) for being the main players into getting this whole thing figured out; it was quite an endeavor.

Update (01/31/2006): Got the trigger wire to connect the rear fog position on the light switch to the controller. I wish I was a midget so I could work more comfortably in the footwell of my car…