Windshield wipers, that actually work beyond 80MPH...

[wsar10]

Yup, my advise , change your wipers every season or sooner if you live in extremely hot or cold area's . Keep all water deposit, dirt grime bug splatter, tree sap, bird sh*t etc. off your windshield. Use a good quality wiper fluid. High dollar wipers imo in most cases do not perform much better then the inexpensive wipers. Wipers with wind deflectors are not really designed in a wind tunnel and most do not do well in speeds in excess of 60 mph on a street manufacture vehicle

These are definitely all things that I'm doing and more. I have put a good bit of effort into it before coming here and posting, even adding an aftermarket spring to my wiper arms to create more downforce. Part of my commute parallels the Susquehanna river, so bugs are a BIG thing which means I'm using the best fluid I can find locally, and cleaning the windows every weekend. Using a decent fluid really helps, but I'm still using a razor blade and IPA at times on the weekends to clean the windshield. My average life span of wipers on this car (so far) is a month, until I'm trying something different. I have a stock pile of blades now... I have made my own washer fluid before, for my JEEP's that I wheel with, to deal with heavy mud. But I don't wanna go that route in my commuter car nor do I even remember what all I used to make it.

This past weekend I searched everywhere in my area for a ceramic based repellent, all I could find was an ArmorAll version. In my experience their products are low end consumer grade and do not work as I would like a product to work... But I digress, I bought the stuff and grabbed a pair of BOSCH ICON wipers. I have used these before but not on the MAZDA.

So far I am actually impressed! We will see how well the window treatment is holding a week from now, but the blades work well and they do have a spoiler with specific mentions of higher speed efficiency. I can really tell when I need to use the windshield washer in sweeping turns at higher speeds, this truly separates good and bad wipers for my application. The ICON's did not skip a beat during the before mentioned test, they truly did not miss one inch even at the very bottom or very top of the swipe path. I am going to try to find a good ceramic based windshield treatment online.

 

[NitroM3]

These are definitely all things that I'm doing and more. I have put a good bit of effort into it before coming here and posting, even adding an aftermarket spring to my wiper arms to create more downforce.

Because you posted that ^^^^^^ I can tell you all that I do.

Not only do I replace the wiper religiously every season but as soon as they start doing any characteristic of not swiping the "clean" windshield properly. I pay 5 bucks or less when Rock Auto has a close out sale on the wipers that fit my Dailey Driver Mazda. I also mix my own Commercial gallon size McGuire's Glass cleaner concentrate for any of our short trip we go on that there may be rain, snow ,dust etc. I also carry a small bottle of the mix and a couple dry rags for spot wiping when I get fuel.
IMHO there is no perfect solution but leaving wipers exposed to the eliminate mainly sun and heat will wear them even if not used. And then when you do use them you wonder why they are not working well. I can also suggest for higher speeds to try fitting a smaller length wiper then stock just enough to cover what you mostly need to drive. Obvious or logical the faster you drive even with full coverage wiper the less total wiped vs best vision will be reduced. So put a wiper that is shorter so it has less lift.
Now this next comment is going to flip a few members into a frenzy ...LOL during summer months I remove the complete wiper and arms from my Dailey driver unless weather dictates I reinstall them or we go on a trip as I mention earlier. To me the wiper on anything if they show look "*****". LOL

It takes 2 minutes to reinstall both OEM arms and wipers on my MAZDA.

 

[ryster]

Why are you driving over 80 mph in the rain? I don't know anywhere in PA where you can even do 80 in the dry, although I do admit to hitting 155 on RT 15 in my younger days.

There are several local highways here in PA where people manage to drive 80+ each and every day. The police love it. Despite the regular patrols and public notice of "aggressive speed enforcement", the drivers keep doing it.

 

[555]

Every vehicle has different aerodynamics.
If you want wipers to last longer you have to be willing to adjust the speed of wipers more often. When the rain subsides a little you have to turn the wiping speed and/or interval of wipes down, as in less speed, less wipes too.
Extra wipes when the windshield has less rain(less lubricant) on it, like when pulling up to a red light and waiting while your wipers are on a speed suitable for 40 mph, wears the blade out much faster.

 

[nthach]

I’d skip the parts store wipers. Find some Bosch AeroTwins(still made in China but with curvature to better fit European cars) or Valeo blades. The OEM BMW blades are either one of those.

IME, on lesser capability Japanese cars, I find the OEM/OES NWB(also sold under the Denso brand) or Mitsuba blades wipe better than aftermarket - part of it being they fit the windshield’s base curve better.

 

[Spyderman24_7]

Reading through quite a bit of fuss, lmao, clearly indicates we all do different things that work for us. For years I've been in the habit of keeping all vehicle glass quite clean and using something like Lucas Slick Mist at least monthly on the exterior glass and to really prolong wiper blade life/performance as well as keeping weather stripping in great shape, windows going up/down much smoother, etc. Not too long ago I started using the Griot's 3-1 spray for the painted surfaces and have started using it on the glass, wiper blades, etc. as well and it seems to work fantastic. Of course some might not go this route, but I never have visibility issues and get close to 3 yrs on average of great performance out of each set of wipers.

FWIW I NEVER bother using the washer fluid unless it's raining a hefty amount and I need a cleaner windshield due to storm debris, etc. I have never liked the thought of what's in most washer fluids might do to the rest of the car if it's dry and especially hot.

 

[OppositeLocK]

I dunno, I think one should adjust their driving to the conditions of the road. If you're driving so fast you're outpacing your wipers/headlights, that's a strong indication that you should probably slow down.

This is why the autobahn would never work in North America. "There's no speed limit here, so you can go to hell with telling me how to drive," as they drive 160mph through a whiteout blizzard.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Hey guys. The OP drives a Mazda 3 not a BMW M3 (Tip off was the signature and that he mentioned he rotates his tires. Can't rotate tires on a BMW M3 because it's a staggered setup).

OP, You're issue is probably caused by a pitted windshield.

 

[ARB1977]

Rain X and 80 mph speeds create a cool visual effect.

 

[UncleDave]

We can be unique or we can be more of the same.

You're unique, like everyone else.

 

[vavavroom]

It's kind of obvious but has yet to be mentioned that wipers need to work not only when it's raining but when you have to get crud of your windshield. Bird bombs and juicy insects splatter even more at higher speeds.