Wiper Blades

brettS4

brettS4

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I figure this might be the only place to ask about wiper blades without getting a 'deer in the headlights' look. Most people don't think about wiper blades at all. Hell, some people don't use them at all, and peek through months of grime. But I'm fanatical about having a clean windshield, and I suspect most people here are, too.

Can anyone recommend a particular brand of wiper blade that works really well and has some durability? I have yet to find one that doesn't leave streaks across my windshield after a month.
 
I'm partial to PIAA Super Silicone Wiper blades:

PIAA | Wiper Blades

The layer of silicone they put down with every stroke works great and makes seeing while driving in rain that much easier.

Pricey to buy new, but blade refills are on par with typical prices.
 
Valeo wiper blades are good also. I got mine off of Amazon.
 
I've been using the rain x line of blades lately and have had good luck with them.
 
I tried doing research on wiper blades just last month because both of our cars needed them but there's so many with all of them having mixed reviews. I'm not the type to drop 50 bucks on a set but don't want the cheapest out there. I ended up with some Bosch Excel's (about $14/ea) and they seem to clear the water from the windshield sprayers while being quiet. We have some snow forecasted for Sunday/Monday so we'll see how they handle that.
 
Hey Brett. I recently put Rain X Latitiude's on both the Subie and the tundra. Has only been a few months, but so far I like them. I used to run Bosch, but one day walking through target I saw they were in sale and decided to give them a shot. So far so good.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I have Valeo on the car now and they're ok. They were on the car when I bought it so I don't know how old they are, but they're starting to streak.

I'll check out everything that has been mentioned. But so far the PIAA Super Silicone look pretty good. Not outrageously expensive, 1 year warranty, good reviews. Reports of people getting years of use without issues. I'm usually lucky to go 4 months before I'm ready to switch.

Has anybody used these and not liked them?
 
I've gotten a few years out of my Bosch Icons. Not so lucky with the Rain-x lattitudes or middle of the road Trico's. I also let my window coating do most of my "rain removal" and just really use them for cleaning the windscreen.

Wipers are another, "you get what you pay for" IME.

Keeping them clean, having a coating on the glass and not letting water freeze on them as much as you can helps. If your vehicle is stuck out side and you know water has a chance to freeze on them, try leaving them propped up.
 
I've actually had really good luck with the Michelin blades you can get at WalMart.

I noticed that streaking many times came from other stuff on the glass more than the blades themselves when the blades were in good condition. At one time I used the Rain-X all season pink fluid and noticed in misty/spray conditions it made the wipers smear really bad. At night it made driving pretty hazardous.

My OEM VW blades are the only ones I've had reall issues with. The slim blade design simply doesn't have enough force against the glass and the passenger side smears/streaks like crazy.
 
Here's an interesting article that discusses many of the blades mentioned here:

The Best Windshield Wipers for Your Car | The Sweethome

One thing I got out of it is that I should buy beam style blades since I deal with snow for months at a time. The PIAA Super Silicons aren't beam style. But their Si-Tech blades are. And the Subaru ralleye team loves PIAA blades. That is a pretty good endorsement. The drawback is that the Si-Techs are a bit expensive. But I agree that you generally get what you pay for.

I'm still in research mode, tho.
 
brettS4 said:
Here's an interesting article that discusses many of the blades mentioned here:

The Best Windshield Wipers for Your Car | The Sweethome

One thing I got out of it is that I should buy beam style blades since I deal with snow for months at a time. The PIAA Super Silicons aren't beam style. But their Si-Tech blades are. And the Subaru ralleye team loves PIAA blades. That is a pretty good endorsement. The drawback is that the Si-Techs are a bit expensive. But I agree that you generally get what you pay for.

I'm still in research mode, tho.
Click to expand...

I've purchased the Si-Tech blades for both my father and FIL as gifts, they love them, and twill only use Si-Tech blades from now on. Si-Tech's are pricier then Super Silicons but as you pointed out Si-Techs are the beam style that don't freeze in winter weather like the metal arms do.

Speaking of Subaru's, my wife immediately noticed the difference between the OEM blades on her Impreza and the PIAA ones I put her previous car - so much so that she couldn't wait for them to wear out so I could replace them with PIAA ones!

I've been using Super Silcone blades on my DD for at least 10 years, it sits outside 24/7, and I routenly get a year or more out of the Super Silicone blades. :dblthumb2:
 
Michelin Stealth ....so far so good. A lot better than the Icons and the Silblades that I ran in past. I believe the fixed arm versus the flex arms are the main difference and alleviate all streaking and chatter.
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
Michelin Stealth ....so far so good. A lot better than the Icons and the Silblades that I ran in past. I believe the fixed arm versus the flex arms are the main difference and alleviate all streaking and chatter.
Click to expand...


I've been wanting to try the Michelin's.


IG: @azurebluemach
 
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