legacycentral bbs

I tried a search but cant come up with an actual thread regarding this....

What are the best wiper blades to use... My windshield is really pitted so they wear out quickly. I have been using bosch ones and they work really good for a month or two then they crap out and streak and all that stuff...

So what works for you?

I was thinking about the bosch Icons

buy them cheap, and replace them every 2 years. none last much longer anyway, so don't get spendy on this item. my 2 cents

Yeah but I live in Washington AKA the wettest circle of HELL!!!!

And I have to buy them way more than every to years... When it rains it is hella hard to see.

Get the cheap ones. I tried the expensive silicone type or whatever, they don't last any longer before starting to streak. I replace them annually.

Mine barely last a year no matter the kind. Using Rain-X extends their effective life a little, but UV kills them even if wear doesn't. As far as Rain-X goes - the windshield stuff works well, but I don't know about their blades. They seem expensive to me since, as I said, UV kills the rubber anyway. I've settled on the cheap refills.

I find that if you use car wax on the windshield, you'll find that you don't have to use your wipers very often either. Also, it causes less wear on the wipers.

I'd just use cheap ones though. There's no difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones.

get eh rain-x washer fluid and replace the blades in the spring and the fall with cheap ones from wal-mart.

if you really wanted to get crazy i suggest a new windshield. you would be amazed at the difference and what you have become used to with the old one.

That is a negative on the rainx there is no way I am putting that crap on my windsheild again.

I guess I will jsut keep replacing 'em


Has anybody tried more expensive ones like the bosch icons

smh0101 wrote:Yeah but I live in Washington AKA the wettest circle of HELL!!!!

And I have to buy them way more than every to years... When it rains it is hella hard to see.

u think rain is bad, try -40 with frozen snow on the windshield

Sounds better than 9 months of grey and drizzle!!!!

I hate the grey and drizzle. It doenst even really rain here it just mists for 9 horrid months.

I am a very extremy person. Give me 120* or -60* I dont care just gimme an extreme!

smh0101 wrote:That is a negative on the rainx there is no way I am putting that crap on my windsheild again.

whats a negative? i think its great, i put it on about once a month, i hardly ever use my wipers unless its a downpour or if im driving to slow for the water to quickly run off

never get just the rubber blade refill though, the biggest cause of streaks is uneven preasure on the blades, so getting new blades will do nothing unless they were in bad shape
plus the blade refills are way to overly complicated to put in, the last time i tried to put them in i got pissed off and broke it in half after beating it over a lawnmower

Rain-x is like crack....once you put it on your windshield, you have to keep putting it on, or the water just smears & sticks to the windshield

If you don't use your wipers it's alright, but if you use your wipers for any period of time....one trip....the rain-x comes off, and leaves streaks on the window. My mom would use my car when I was younger, and use the wipers....all the rain-x would be gone.

There's only one product I found that successfully removed rain-x. I think I still have some left.....but I'm not sure if it's still good.

Legacy777 wrote:Rain-x is like crack....once you put it on your windshield, you have to keep putting it on, or the water just smears & sticks to the windshield

If you don't use your wipers it's alright, but if you use your wipers for any period of time....one trip....the rain-x comes off, and leaves streaks on the window...

+1 I've had that exact same experience with Rain-X, better with the wipers off, worse when you really need to use them.

And yep, buy cheap ones twice a year or whenever they stop working well. I bought the covered "Winter" style last year, they are pretty good at not icing up if you squirt some washer fluid (de-ice winter type) in the boots from time to time... or at least they are on my Suburban. On the Legacy they wanted to lift off the windshield at any speed above 55mph, maybe the springs in my wiper arms are just getting weak, but I switch back to the normal open type for now.

Gary

Never had that problem with Rain-X and it lasts several months. Windshields only last a few years anyway due to all the sandblasting. My Mazda's a late '06 and could really use one already. Never had a problem with blade refills either. There's usually a clip. You press it. You pull out the old blade and slide the new one in.

I'd like to try to build a compressed air system to replace shitty old-tech, unaerodynamic wipers on the car I'm building, but the friggin' DMV requires them. And a DOT approved glass windshield even though acrylic is tougher, lighter, cheaper, easily formed, and small scratches and pits can be polished out.

What do you mean, Steve? Like, nozzles on the top and bottom of the windshield that spray compressed air to whisk the water away?

Explain, I'm curious. . .

PIAA wiper blades rock. Worth the extra expense - yes, need to be replaced yearly - Tip: when you wash the car, wipe the blades down top to bottom.

Cheers and enjoy the rain! I'm right there with you!

AW

Nozzles in the front to blast away the water with compressed air at speeds too low for the air to do it. It's been done on show cars and I want it for the aero benefit, cleaner lines, and the fact that I'd need it for an acrylic windshield since wipers would scratch the hell out of it. This windshield would have been the front section of a tear drop canopy, so the extreme curvature would make removing the water easy. But the DMV doesn't agree so I'm chopping up a Wrangler windshield (if I can't fins small DOT-approved glass panes otherwise) with a sandblaster to make 3 windshield pieces so that the canopy will look like a Focke Wulf 190.

I use the Bosch Icons with Rain X De-Icer wiper fluid and the combo got my up to whister and back in the rain at night. Car and every window was muddy except windshield. I think the extra money spent on wipers makes a difference.

I am currently using rain-X latitude blades.

They work pretty well, and seem to have gotten better after a bit of use (they used to chatter a bit at first, then stopped it after about a month). I wouldn't pay retail for them, but I could get them for cheap through my shop.

my .02:
I'm running a type of blade called a "beam" blade, personally I liken them to a monoleaf spring, there is no supporting frame on them and when they come out of the package they are curved like this ( they work great. Ice cannot build up in them because there is no place to do so. They are made by Trico under the innovision name, but also sold by delco and motorcraft. I can get virtually any brand of blade I want in any style, but I think these are the best.

Bringing an old thread back to life to add some new information.

For wear, groves, pits, etc on the windshield I have good luck using a plastic polish compound. I do it by hand but it makes a difference on removing stubborn marks. It's only going to work on superficial markings though. Basically, reduces friction allowing water to sheet off easier, similarly to RainX. I have good luck with liquid RainX, and that was in Atlanta, which rains a damn lot harder than in the PNW. I grew up in Bothell... Don't give me the rain story. We started that to keep out the Californians in the 80's.

I have good luck with the Walmart Pylon wipers. They run $3.47. Replace them yearly and wipe the rubber down regularly. You can revive old rubber with a stiff bristle brush, warm water and detergent. As other people have said, streaking can be caused just as much by unequal wiper arm tension.

I'm doing a little experiment on wiper blade sizing. I've looked at the different catalogs that recommend a 20" driver and 18" passenger length. Some even say 19"/17". I just installed a 22" driver and 19" passenger and it clears rain higher on the windshield, which helps for taller drivers who don't slam their seatbacks down. I'll install 24"/20" blades next replacement because there seems to be sufficient room. I don't think the increased length will strain the arms, the pivoting mechanism or the wiper motor. That's the only potential risk I see. The gap distance between the two arms is plenty sufficient to drain water. Coupled with the aftermarket wide spray nozzles I installed, it works well. Safety mods are always easier to justify. That is in my household.

Just because it looks like there's room doesn't mean they will do anything. You have to take into account the curvature of the glass, it may work though, it varies by car.

I like PIAA wipers myself, unfortunately GI Joes was the only place in Washington that carried them, and they're out of business. I've been running Bosch for the last year and a half, they're not too bad, but started to streak early, they're still plenty usable, but far from new wiper quality, probably will replace them soon.

Apex3 wrote:Just because it looks like there's room doesn't mean they will do anything. You have to take into account the curvature of the glass, it may work though, it varies by car.

Just drove down from Maryland to Atlanta and the longer arms cleared a greater area on the windshield. Completely worth it IMHO given that pricing isn't dependent on length. I'll post when i change again and go to another longer length. Good point about the curvature of the glass. This won't work for all windshields but the BC windshield is a good candidate. It's interesting to note that SOA did the same thing on later generations of cars. The current Legacys spec a 24"/20" wiper combo...

Auqapel trumps Rain-X any day.
Cheap Anco blades after every winter.

Don't ever buy Rain-X blades. They're complete garbage. I bought them for my metro and within a month they were squeaking and starting to work like shit. Now I can't even stand to use them. Buy Bosch icon blades or Valeo. Avoid the michilen, valuecraft, rain-x crap.

I accidently bought the same rain-x blades for the subaru too...FML.