Recommended aftermarket wiper blades?

The original Bosch blades that come on the X3 are great. The cut to fit inserts at the dealer are not very good. They become noisy and streak early. What's a good replacement for the front?

I could do it by trial and error but others' experiences will help. I've tried the Michelin RainForce, Michelin High Performance (looks the same as the RainForce but sold at Walmart), Bosch Excel +, Anco, Valeo Ultimates, etc. I have not tried Rain X or Bosch Icons or Trico.

They all are good for at least 4-6 months. None of them last longer than 1 year unless you can tolerate noise and somewhat degraded wiping. Some seem to remain quieter slightly longer. As far as price and performance, the Michelins seem like the best combination. The Valeos are more than twice the price but don't last twice as long.

PIAA super sports

Originally Posted by rdorman

PIAA super sports

Totally agree. Pricey but work well. Kept stock on rear window.

Bought at Bavarian Autosport.

After you run them on a clean, dry windshield for 5 minutes or so per the instructions, they never chatter/squeek.

Originally Posted by BMW220i

The cut to fit inserts at the dealer are not very good. They become noisy and streak early.

There are other better options for inserts/refills.

The ones the dealer has may be supplied by Trico -if so, no point in trying their break to fit ones from an auto parts store.

PIAA has inserts/refills in specific sizes - not this break to fit nonsense.
Some people don't like the fact they are silicone, but if you are open to that:

http://www.amazon.com/94055-Silicone.../dp/B0002Z9R5M

(20" size also available of course.)

Worth the extra cost IMO, but not easy to find a place that carries them other than online.

Better than wasting money on a never-ending search for the ultimate whole blade and wiper assembly.
A universal blade is unlikely to conform to the X3's windshield as well as the O.E. Bosch.

I've had Bosch Icons on the front for 2 years and 3 months (26,000 miles) and I'm just getting ready to replace them.

I have a few streaks and I think it is due to nicking them with an ice scraper. Otherwise, it looks like there would be at least 3 more months of use on them.

After I had the same problem with the dealer provided "free" blades, my shop replaced the entire wiper assembly (including blades). Replacement was Bosch twin spoiler 551S. Made in Belgium. I've had them for 2 years now, with no streaking and no sounds.

I think the dealer replacement blades were made in Mexico. I bought some replacement blades that were made in Belgium, just like the entire blade assembly. But I haven't yet used the replacements, since the blades that came with the assembly have held up so well. The part # is 61613424489, but I don't know whether that part # guarantees you get the Belgium sourced blades.

I like the originals (Valeo SWF) the best:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o03_s01_i00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o03_s00_i00

The driver's side is made in Germany, the passenger is made in Mexico. My last set lasted 18+ months, longer than the Bosch Icons I tried prior (which weren't amazing IMO).

I thought the originals were Bosch but the link to the Valeos shows a wiper that looks like the original.

Ive only tried Bosch, maybe I'll try those PIAA super sports

Originally Posted by rdorman

PIAA super sports

PIAA Super Sport. Bought mine on www.tirerack.com, both front and back.

I have tried all of the above mentioned in this thread(maybe 1 or 2 exeptions), all of them will chather. The best ones I bought and never bought anything else after that was RainX Latitude, graphite coated. Never chater, ever. Even on dry windshield. And no strikes. I have 4 vehicles now, all of them have RainX Latitude. Price is about $16 at walmart, closest store to me that has them.

The Valeo Ultimates go on sale for $10 now and then on amazon. For $10, def worth it. If wipers dont go on sale, I deal with the BMW rubber blades I have ready to go on at anytime =).

Basic wiper blade they sell in Costco for about 7.99, it works great on all my cars. I just got the new dealer inserts under the CPO and they chattered right off the bat. The airfoil that's on the drivers side is pretty heavy and I'm guessing that might have something to do with it. I bought the Goodyear Assurance from my local Costco.

I would recommend before putting any new wipers on to thoroughly clean the windshield with windex and newspaper to get off all residual contaminants.

Then put the wipers on with the blades in the up position and before starting the car to return them to home position wet the windshield with water. Cycling any standard wiper across a dry windshield tears up the fine rubber edge and puts small abrasions on it then you need to just get new wiper blades, ask my wife her wipers generally only last 3 months.

I've just used these through the local Chicago floods and on the expressway at 75mph and they work fine. For only 7.99 the best deal out there.

The dealer refills are garbage; they lasted barely 2 months, and left the tiniest streak that of course fell directly across the rain sensor for the wipers, rendering rain-sensing mode useless (the were on constantly). I replaced them with the beam-style blades that NAPA, whatever that is. They stick to the windshield so well that I discovered that the nut that holds the driver's side wiper arm onto its shaft was loose and caused the entire arm to come off proper index. Re-indexed, re-torqued, no issues. The beam blades have been on several months, including a recent trip to FL that took me through a few hundred miles of rain so thick that visibility was cut down to almost nothing.

Valvoline Aquablades are $9.49 from Sears now: http://slickdeals.net/f/5990644-Valv...-Store-Pickup?

Here is the rear replacement- http://www.amazon.com/Trico-14-D-Exa...I1NVPCHWBDY590