a lot of new cars are coming with "aero wipers". new VWs and Audis for sure. I know bosch makes the Icon wiper which is the same thing. Do they have a fittment for the MINI?

 

Can you explain what the "Aero wiper" is?

 

I just picked up a pair today.

I think only Autozone carries them. The book doesn't list the MINI but they do fit. 19" on the passenger side and 18" on the driver's side. The part number is: driver 418A and passenger 419B. The last half inch or so on the passenger side doesn't touch the glass. But it's barely noticeable. You have to look up close to notice it.

You can even send in for a free $15 Autozone Gift card when you purchase two.

Oh yeah, don't bother looking for them on the shelves. Ask the counter person.

 

The new flat-wiper technology of the aero wiper on the Audi A8 produces less noise and yet still has a more pleasant frequency characteristic than conventional wipers. This wiper technology benefits above all from the ingenious guiding of the air around the perforated wiper arm and the wiper blade with integral spoiler. The wiper arm is noted for its particularly high rigidity and produces additional downforce on the wiper blade without the aid of any further add-on parts. Its basic form is designed so that all mechanical and aerodynamic requirements concerning wiping behaviour are satisfied even at high speeds - after all, wiper functions are of importance even in dry weather, for cleaning the windscreen for example.

Above from the Audi website. Haven't heard anything for the MINI yet.

 

Oh yeah. I'm planning to swap back to the stock ones when I take it in for maintanence. Who knows, the dealer may give me new wiper blades.

 

I believe the OEM Audi/VW blades are Valeo's. Here is a link to TireRack, who list the Valeo 18" and 19" combo as proper fitment for the MINI.

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

Though I am very tempted to install these when my blades need replacing, at about $60.00 a set , I'm not sure I am willing to 'invest' in these things until more NAM'ers get some long-term experience with them and report that they love them.
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My wifes Audi has the Valeos factory fitted.
Irrespective of claims about "no clog" and the rest, we did have to pull over more than once in last winters storms to clear the wipers so that they would fully touch the glass over their whole length

I bought some of the "cheaper but similar" Trico Innovision ones from AutoZone but I reverted back to stock (see my weblog write-up) - the blades did not maintain contact with the MINIs glass at highway speeds

 

I tried out a set of these tonight, but I got the "Bosch Icon" ones intead of the others ones. They appear to made exactly the same way. Unfortunately they have a couple issues:

1. Passenger side misses about 1" wide section at the bottom. I could live with this if there were no other issues.
2. Despite them being 18 & 19 inch wipers, they still cover about 1/2" less of the windshield than the factory wipers on my 2006. Again, I could probably live with this but...
3. The drive side aerodynamics are all wrong - the wiper "pulls in" a vortex that spreads water back across the driver side a good 3-4" in heavy rain at higher speeds, making them less effective and blocking out some visibility.

So #3 was the breaker. They annoyed me enough that I could only last about 10 miles before I put the stock wiper assemblies back on. I guess that funky wind fin on the OEM wiper has a purpose after all. Those Mini engineers know what they are doing after all.

 

Hoopi and Ian -

Thanks for the heads up. With a whopping 2 for 2 negative reviews, I'm out...

I guess the consolation prize that we should all remember is that wiper blades are covered under the 3/36 Free Maintenance. I'll just keep getting the OEM parts for free whenever needed.
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If it wasn't for the strange water sucking vortex, I would have kept them. They were really quiet and smooth. Hopefully Bosch comes out with something better down the road.

 

Actually, wiper blades are NOT officially covered under the 3/36 but only if they fail in the first 5K miles. Unofficially, some dealerships are more flexible than others

 

Due to the problem Ian referenced, which I experienced firsthand last year, this year I've left the stock wipers on until snow and then swapped out for winter blades.

Fortunately, the clip on/clip off is an easy proposition. Not like a few years back when there wasn't a standard "interface". That way in good weather my blade's not flopping in the breeze and in inclement weather, like heavy snow, I'm not traveling that fast anyway.

 

I am running PIAA blades on my MINI. They are available in the correct sizes and come with an aero foil to keep them on the glass at high speeds. Refills are also available. One source is autobarn.com. Have not been able to find a local retailer.

 

Has anyone else tried out some Aero Blades? what about the Valeo Ultimate that the tire rack sells?

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

 

Those are the same as the Bosch (Valeo, etc.) they are all designed the same. See my pos above - the don't work as well in my opinion, as they pulled water back across the windsheidl.

 

I'm interested in finding some wiper blades that work a little better in snow, as I sometimes get ice build-up on the stock blades...

I went and looked for the PIAA wipers you mentioned on autobarn.com but found only Bosch blades. Did you get them elsewhere or are they the same thing?

 

I've seen those Valeo's at Walmart for around $16 each. Almost bought them but decided to replace just the rubber blades themselves because I like the OEM frames.

 

No, autobarn has PIAA...my question is if PIAA works well, is it the regular or curved option that autobarn lists?

 

I believe Bosch have those wipers also.. and they are called ICON.
I've seen those cheap Valeo sell in Walmart.. but they were gone a month later..

 

I have replaced the blades in my stockers with Bosch (if I recall correctly)

The stock pass wiper doesn't always touch all of the windshield any way, but the drivers seems good to me ... what about putting a drivers assembly (wing and 1 inch shorter) on the pass side?

 

yeh, this is why i just get the OE ones.

 

Do they add any HP?

 

the same here

 

Do you guys have the same problem that I do -- -namely that the driver side blade lifts off the windscreen just enough to get the blade chattering at any speed over 75 or so?

It drives me crazy!! I'm not so impressed with the OEMs.

 

why in the world would you be going over 75mph on chicago roads?

in before the lock.