hi,

am planning of replacing my wiper blades.. what do suggest to replace the stock ones.. because they are pretty bad .. and how do we install the new ones?

am planning of buying a radar detector... i dunno if Valentine One is the best one.. and from how far does the radar detector warn you? a mile? whats is the best for California?.. i dont have any experience in those stuff

 

get the escort passport 8500 its what i have and works great saved me a lot of times from getting a speeding ticket the valentine is cool because you know what direction the radar is comming from but is not as good for picking up pop radar the escort is the best all around

 

As far as wiper blades go, I have found the Bosch ones to be very good but they wear out quick. I've been told that Bosch uses a softer rubber which makes for a great wiper at the cost of them wearing out faster. I guess wiper blades are kind of like tires in that respect.

 

I've been using a Valentine 1 for over 3 years on my M3 & it has always warned me well in advance. It's in my JCW now. Hardwiring was easy.

 

V1 FTW.

A big deciding factor for what radar detector to buy should be where and how you drive... if it's all on urban streets and freeways, then the noise level will be very high (from automatic door openers, security systems, etc.) and you'll end up running the detector on a reduced sensitivity or reduced alerting mode... which may eventually get you caught...

If you're doing a lot of highway miles on the open road, the V1 really shines because in that environment, knowing where the radar source is - and how many there are - is a key to knowing whether you should slow down or speed up....

But remember... no radar detector will save you from VASCAR.... or if you have a very patient LEO in a trap with instant on and you're the car he wants.... and none are likely to save you from LIDAR, though sometimes you get lucky...

 

I used to have the V1 for about 6 years and just switched to the Passport 9500. The GPS brain is more useful to me than the arrows. Of course I miss the arrows sometimes, but the features gained with GPS make me glad I switched.

My actual answer to your question is to get both, try them out and keep the one you want. They both have a 30-day return policy.

 

The GPS features of the 9500 definitely are nice... I actually wish I had a 9500 to run around town, and a V1 for the open road...

 

For the wipers - SilBlades! It was the first thing I did for my MINI. I had them on my old car through the winter and they were as good as when I got them. Not too expensive, either. Cost me $35 but they have a 5 year warranty.

 

+1 on the Silblades. Have been running them for several years w/o a complaint.

 

I got the Escort 9500ix and I love it. I can operate on smart mode where it shows multiple radar sources and strengths, it reduces and increases sensitivity based on my speed, it learns false signals and locks them out (if the signal changes, it'll unlock and alert). Plus I have a handy dandy way of knowing my true speed at any time.

I'll echo the previous sentiments though. Radar detectors are great, but not 100% perfect. VASCAR, which is essentially a cop with a stopwatch and two painted lines on the road, cannot be detected. LIDAR (i.e. Laser) is a narrow beam and may not even set off your detector. You could always look for a laser jammer, but more states are banning them.

Whatever you decide to get, keep mindful of your speed and surroundings and hopefully you'll have a nice ticket-free existence with your MINI.

 

I just brought my '07 MCS in for its 1 year service which included free wiper blades.

 

I used the Valentine One and liked it. It can have a few false signals.

The original wipers do wear down quickly. Already on my second OEM pair only after 3 months. I am thinking about changing it to PIAA.

 

Wiper blade replacements depends on your dealer. Mine only replaces them once every two years and I can't stand the stock wiper blades anyway. I'm using the Rain X latitude blades for now and I really love them, but when they need to be replaced, I'm putting in an order for these:

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/valeo/ultimate.jsp

 

Those of you would bought new blades, did these include new arms? Did one of them include the little spoiler to keep the blade down at high speed? Because of this, I tried to buy refills. However, the only ones I could find from Anco were too wide to slide into the holders. I bent those out a bit but then found the blade too tall or perhaps too stiff and would make noise running across the window in one direction. I just had my first scheduled service and they put new OE refills in at no cost. From my invoice they cost $4.60 each at my dealer in Colorado.

 

No, my SilBlades didn't have arms, just the blades and adapter thingies. So no spoiler for me, but I haven't noticed any bad effects from it. It also hasn't rained a ton recently, though.

Honestly, I have no problem spending $35 on them even though the inserts are only $9 each because the SilBlades last a lot longer and do a much better job, IMHO.

 

There are no "refills" for the OEM wiper arms according to what I have been told. When this is replaced at the dealership (according to my MA at least) they replace the blade and the arm. This assembly is 80$ if not replaced under warranty. My dealership will only replace the wipers once every two years. I was told that this is all that BMW will pay for.

I believe that wiper blades should be replaced twice yearly, at minimum and I absolutely hated the OEM wiper blades. They streaked like mad and honestly made it harder to see in the rain than it would have been if I had just left them off. So I went with aftermarket blades and got some great advice here on the forums regarding them. In order to buy your own refills from some source that is not the dealership, you will have to go aftermarket. There are some that have the spoiler on them, but to be honest with you, I have not found the spoiler to have any advantage over standard wiper arms. The rain x latitudes that I am using do not flap in the breeze at highway speeds and do not have a spoiler on them and don't squeak or drag.

 

The spoiler on the drivers wiper blade is for holding the wiper on the windshield when driving in rain at over 100 mph. Most European cars seem to have these. Now how useful do you think this is in the US?

 

Also wanted to remind the OP to get some Rain-X for the windshield! I use my wipers maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the time I used to without it. I seriously only use them if something gets sprayed on it or if it's raining REALLY hard.

 

As far as radar detectors go, I'll second the Escort 9500ix. I've owned Escorts for years and after doing a bit of research I ordered the 9500ix to have it just before delivery of my Clubman. The 9500ix is really an amazing blend of technology (radar detector and GPS).

As mentioned, If you have the learning feature on, at the 3rd time you detect the same frequency at the same location, the unit will set it to be a silent detection from that point onward. The next time you detect it, the only thing you will see is the little 'GPS lock' icon on the unit will twirl, no sound at all. You can also immediately set a location to be a silent detection. It's able to do this because it stores the exact frequency and location of every signal it detects.

It also comes with a pre loaded database of their fixed location threats: red light cameras and fixed permanent speed cameras / traps. As you approach one of the fixed threats it warns you.

Also as mentioned it has a speed sensitive warning system. If it detects a radar signal and your stopped at a red light or travelling at slower speeds its warning level is automatically diminished. If your travelling at faster speeds, it not only gives you a full warning, but also displays your current speed right next to the signal strength meter.

After a few days of travelling to and from work, it had learned all of the false signals and set them to silent detection. I also pass through 2 red light cameras on the way to work and it warns me each time as I approach them.

 

What are the GPS features? Why does a radar detector need a GPS?

 

Read the post directly above yours... was probably being written when you posted... short version, it learns where non-LEO sources of radar are (which is the VAST majority of radar signals), and automatically mutes those in the future.

 

Looks like they're about $50-60 now. Did you get the colored ones? They look kinda cool. You get the the whole wiper arm/blade assembly it looks like to me.

 

Cost me about $35 total on Amazon for one 18" and one 19".

 

I checked the Valeo site and they don't indicate a fit for any MC beyond 2005. Is this right?

 

Hey guys,
Don't forget about PIAA wiper blades. We have them for only 24 bucks for the set. (set is specific to MINI Cooper) As for the radar detectors i have heard that the Valentine 1 is outstanding. Never owed it though.

John Herring
ALTA Performance