[bottle]

Looks good , is the glass tinted ?

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by bottle

Looks good , is the glass tinted ?

No bottle, no tints on the windshield or on any of the windows for that matter. Cops are a bit strict here on this scene.

[bottle]

No, I think newer polos including mine have tinted glass from factory, not sun film

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by bottle

No, I think newer polos including mine have tinted glass from factory, not sun film

bottle, I think you may be right. I did notice a very light brown tint on the front windshield. Observed the sunlight through the side windows and the front windshield and there was an apparent difference, albeit very less. To an untrained eye, it may appear normal.

The amber shade of the stock indicator bulbs in the headlights was being reflected all around, so did some jugaad on them last weekend.



Had a spare pair of bulbs lying around so decided to give it a light coat of matte silver using a spray paint can:





The results were better than I had thought:







The reduction in the intensity as a result of the coat is very less, much less than I had assumed. Will upload a couple of videos later.

Costed Rs. 390 for a can of spray paint. The more expensive option (Rs. 1000 or so) is to get a pair of Philips Silver Vision PY21 bulbs:



Or the Osram Diadems:



Image source: Internet

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

The amber shade of the stock indicator bulbs in the headlights was being reflected all around, so did some jugaad on them last weekend.

Gannu your threads will soon be featured under a totally new topic by modes like the existing D.I.Y thread. Something like:

G.D.I - Gannu Does It !!

Subtle and Sweet man.

I have been contemplating of changing the bulbs on my GT, but now you have given me ideas.

Can you please try to click some snaps of the indicators in motion and post them, Just to get an idea of the intensity post this coating.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

bottle, I think you may be right. I did notice a very light brown tint on the front windshield. Observed the sunlight through the side windows and the front windshield and there was an apparent difference, albeit very less. To an untrained eye, it may appear normal.

Twenty-plus years ago, I called out glass-repair guys to replace a smashed Golf driver's-door window. "Clear or tinted?" they asked. I replied that it was clear.

When they arrived, the guy picked up a fragment and said, "tinted. But don't worry, we always bring out one of each."

I'd driven the car for several months. I never realised that the glass had a slight green tint, but when you see the tinted/untinted side by side, the difference is very obvious.

try looking at a sheet of white paper through the glass.

[Gannu_1]

Got the wheel balancing done. And clocked 30k:



The first 10k took approx. 7 months, the next 10k took 5 months (thanks to the Kerala trip) and the last 10k took a little less than 7 months. The monthly running will increase now that one of our carpool partners have quit; he is done with his internship so 2 cars in the pool and 1400 km a month per car just for the office commutes. We have a long trip planned during Aug-end/Sept-start. Hopefully everything will go as planned!

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Can you please try to click some snaps of the indicators in motion and post them, Just to get an idea of the intensity post this coating.

Here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTFqEERDzR4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSc7cQOKwyo

Sorry for the blurry video above! Like I said, the reduction in the intensity is very very less since it is a light coat over the bulb. I wanted to get the Philips Silver Vision bulbs from Powerbulbs UK but 1k+ for a pair for the least used bulbs in the car didn't make much sense so did this instead.

[Gannu_1]

Update:

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Damn these VW buggers! They have cut costs on every other component.

See how the roof grab handles of the Polo retract:

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=PbLekgjXMuY

Friend was holding onto this and he was leaving them frequently. For a moment, I was wondering where the *thud thud* noise was coming from!

Reason? They lack these tiny dampers which slows down the sprung back movement:

Attachment 1259236

Turns out, this Made for India! The European ones have them apparently.

Removed one of the grab handles, got rid of the plastic pieces on the cavity, installed the damper, replaced it back and it worked beautifully:

http://youtu.be/4_Du9hompnw

No more of that irritating noise! The little things that make the difference. Shame on VW India for cutting costs on a lot of things! The Swift, Ertiga etc. have them. And these dampers cost virtually nothing for these manufacturers. I believe the premium cars - Jetta and the rest have these dampers on the handles. Will install them on the remaining 2 handles. Shall post a thread for these later on - makes a lot of difference IMO.

[Gannu_1]

Because the windshield was replaced, the ticket holder stuck near the driver-side A-pillar was removed. This time, I decided to get an OEM replacement part used in the Octavia and Fabia.

Placed an order with www.skodaparts.com (a UK based website) on April 26th, received it today:





Part number: 1Z0 867 159 A
Price: 1 GBP per unit (so placed an order for 3! )
Shipping charges: 5 GBP (this was lucrative!)

Will install it later. A trip to Lonavala tomorrow came up out of nowhere! Also placed an order for a pair of rear head-rests installed in the facelifted Polo.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Also placed an order for a pair of rear head-rests installed in the facelifted Polo.

Woah Gannu I am sure a D.I.Y is coming up soon but can you please give some heads up on the following bro:

- Where and how did you place an order for the Head rests ?

- How much was the cost ?

- Have you checked if they fit onto our GT's ?

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Woah Gannu I am sure a D.I.Y is coming up soon but can you please give some heads up on the following bro:

- Where and how did you place an order for the Head rests ?

- How much was the cost ?

- Have you checked if they fit onto our GT's ?

Looks like you missed the update I had posted on this thread Vikram. Have a look.

[shibujp]

Congrats on the 30k milestone.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Bilstein dampers - no experience in person but from what I've heard, the B6 + stock springs helps improve the overall handling. Costs close to 65-70k for a set of B6s. It doesn't lower the stance of the car however - you'll have to swap the springs for that.

I took a look at the Bilstien B4 which look much more affordable. However not sure on how much of an incremental performance they would provide over the OE shocks.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

First things first. The second service cost me Rs. 8760. Here's the invoice:

The remaining oil from the 1L bottle was given back:

I noticed that brake cleaning was not included in the invoice? Is it included as part of the service?

There seems to be no mention of standards on the bottle. Curious to know whether it meets the VW 505 01 standards that the manual suggests. The regular Magnatec you get off the shelf does not.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Congrats on the 30k milestone.

Thanks. Going slow and steady.

Originally Posted by shibujp

I took a look at the Bilstien B4 which look much more affordable. However not sure on how much of an incremental performance they would provide over the OE shocks.

The Bilstein shocks make the ride a lot more stiff as if the car is running on rails! Comfort takes a hit I am told. I will give it a thought before taking the plunge.

Originally Posted by shibujp

I noticed that brake cleaning was not included in the invoice? Is it included as part of the service?

Nope. I requested them not to do the brake cleaning or inspect them. It was unwarranted as I had already done the brakes inspection myself sometime back. Besides, I wasn't experiencing in reduction in braking performance. The service advisor was cool with that.

Originally Posted by shibujp

There seems to be no mention of standards on the bottle. Curious to know whether it meets the VW 505 01 standards that the manual suggests. The regular Magnatec you get off the shelf does not.

This is the same oil used by VW and Skoda for their cars in India across all the outlets. Some receive it in barrels, and some in 4L and 1L cans. I did use the Magnatec for topping up the oil between 7.5k to 30k. No issues there either.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

The Bilstein shocks make the ride a lot more stiff as if the car is running on rails! Comfort takes a hit I am told. I will give it a thought before taking the plunge.

B6s definitely. But B4s are pushed as an OE replacement by Bilstien. Whether they make sense depends on whether they offer a decent increment over the OE shocks that we get here. Got no clue about this myself. Need to hunt around for some info.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Nope. I requested them not to do the brake cleaning or inspect them. It was unwarranted as I had already done the brakes inspection myself sometime back. Besides, I wasn't experiencing in reduction in braking performance. The service advisor was cool with that.

Do you check the rear drums as well? I don't need them to check/clean my front discs either as I do that myself. However I am a bit apprehensive about telling them to do only rear brake cleaning after an experience with my Swift. I once told the service centre to clean only the rear brakes add when I got the car back the braking performance seemed to have reduced kind of like when they have not bled the brakes properly and had to go back for that.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

This is the same oil used by VW and Skoda for their cars in India across all the outlets. Some receive it in barrels, and some in 4L and 1L cans. I did use the Magnatec for topping up the oil between 7.5k to 30k. No issues there either.

Yup not alluding at any problem using that. More of a rant this. This is what the dealer used during my last service as well. The only problem I have with that is the dealers behaving as though this is some manna from heaven refuse to let you supply the oil as if no other synthetic oil off the shelf is good enuf.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Gannu_1]

Fixed the OEM ticket holder:







As simple as remove A-pillar, stick the ticket holder using double sided tape, replace the A-pillar.