As of right now, I'm a fan of the beam type blades. My Civic has chattered with three sets of blades (OEM, Bosch Microedge Excel, Anco) and now I have Trico Innovisions. I finally got to use them this weekend, and they are quiet and wipe cleanly. My sister was surprised that they were noiseless. They are a deal after rebate.
Wiper Blades
- Thread starter rangerfan24
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Originally Posted By: JHZR2
blade assembly replacement is poor economy...
However having the best squeege possible is smart for safety.
Id get PIAA silicone squeeges, and be done with it. PIAA sells a good blade assembly too, if you're inclined to go that route. It is an "old fashioned" part, not these Bosch icon type all one piece frameless blades, but that also means they're replaceable
I agree on getting the PIAA silicone blades. They are a little more expensive than regular rubber blades but they will last a very long time. They are also silent during operation and they leave a thin film coating that acts like rain-x which improves the wipers effectiveness. You may have to purchase the whole blade assembly as the blades themselves are grooved? a bit different than most. (I had to buy the two assemblies for L & R)They metal assemblies where made better than my OEM ones so that was fine with me. I have had mine on my Mazda3 for almost 2 years now and they still look and work like they were brand new.
These have proved to be excellent wipers during Florida's afternoon showers, especially when at highway speeds. I would say get these now and not have to worry about replacing them for a long time. I am curious to see how long mine last. At this rate they could last at least another 2.5 or more years?
blade assembly replacement is poor economy...
However having the best squeege possible is smart for safety.
Id get PIAA silicone squeeges, and be done with it. PIAA sells a good blade assembly too, if you're inclined to go that route. It is an "old fashioned" part, not these Bosch icon type all one piece frameless blades, but that also means they're replaceable
I agree on getting the PIAA silicone blades. They are a little more expensive than regular rubber blades but they will last a very long time. They are also silent during operation and they leave a thin film coating that acts like rain-x which improves the wipers effectiveness. You may have to purchase the whole blade assembly as the blades themselves are grooved? a bit different than most. (I had to buy the two assemblies for L & R)They metal assemblies where made better than my OEM ones so that was fine with me. I have had mine on my Mazda3 for almost 2 years now and they still look and work like they were brand new.
These have proved to be excellent wipers during Florida's afternoon showers, especially when at highway speeds. I would say get these now and not have to worry about replacing them for a long time. I am curious to see how long mine last. At this rate they could last at least another 2.5 or more years?
Originally Posted By: CharlieJ
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
blade assembly replacement is poor economy...
However having the best squeege possible is smart for safety.
Id get PIAA silicone squeeges, and be done with it. PIAA sells a good blade assembly too, if you're inclined to go that route. It is an "old fashioned" part, not these Bosch icon type all one piece frameless blades, but that also means they're replaceable
I agree on getting the PIAA silicone blades. They are a little more expensive than regular rubber blades but they will last a very long time. They are also silent during operation and they leave a thin film coating that acts like rain-x which improves the wipers effectiveness. You may have to purchase the whole blade assembly as the blades themselves are grooved? a bit different than most. (I had to buy the two assemblies for L & R)They metal assemblies where made better than my OEM ones so that was fine with me. I have had mine on my Mazda3 for almost 2 years now and they still look and work like they were brand new.
These have proved to be excellent wipers during Florida's afternoon showers, especially when at highway speeds. I would say get these now and not have to worry about replacing them for a long time. I am curious to see how long mine last. At this rate they could last at least another 2.5 or more years?
PIAA wiper blades are great, totally agree!
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
blade assembly replacement is poor economy...
However having the best squeege possible is smart for safety.
Id get PIAA silicone squeeges, and be done with it. PIAA sells a good blade assembly too, if you're inclined to go that route. It is an "old fashioned" part, not these Bosch icon type all one piece frameless blades, but that also means they're replaceable
I agree on getting the PIAA silicone blades. They are a little more expensive than regular rubber blades but they will last a very long time. They are also silent during operation and they leave a thin film coating that acts like rain-x which improves the wipers effectiveness. You may have to purchase the whole blade assembly as the blades themselves are grooved? a bit different than most. (I had to buy the two assemblies for L & R)They metal assemblies where made better than my OEM ones so that was fine with me. I have had mine on my Mazda3 for almost 2 years now and they still look and work like they were brand new.
These have proved to be excellent wipers during Florida's afternoon showers, especially when at highway speeds. I would say get these now and not have to worry about replacing them for a long time. I am curious to see how long mine last. At this rate they could last at least another 2.5 or more years?
PIAA wiper blades are great, totally agree!
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why it's so hard to find refills? I went to 4 stores and they either didn't sell them at all, or they only had a couple of items in stock. It seems stores now only sell the complete wiper blade.
I ended up having to go to the dealer.
I ended up having to go to the dealer.
Originally Posted By: tonycarguy
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why it's so hard to find refills? I went to 4 stores and they either didn't sell them at all, or they only had a couple of items in stock. It seems stores now only sell the complete wiper blade.
I ended up having to go to the dealer.
It is probably because so few people know how to replace that part of the wiper.
It also doesn't help that wiper manufacturers have multiple shapes of wiper inserts so that getting the right one gets more complex.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why it's so hard to find refills? I went to 4 stores and they either didn't sell them at all, or they only had a couple of items in stock. It seems stores now only sell the complete wiper blade.
I ended up having to go to the dealer.
It is probably because so few people know how to replace that part of the wiper.
It also doesn't help that wiper manufacturers have multiple shapes of wiper inserts so that getting the right one gets more complex.
Kestas
Staff member
Recalling from memory, weren't wiper blade inserts a few decades ago more simple and somewhat standardized? Now they seem to have all different kinds of designs.
Just put on a set of these...Expensive, but if they last the 5 years like they say, will come out cheaper than anything else.
http://www.silblade.com/
http://www.silblade.com/
I've got silblades on both of my cars. after 1 year they still work like new. with regular blades, even premium, I'd get about 6 months, and yes I do use the wiper blades year round.
they are expensive at $25 per blade but at 1 year I am even when a regular blade costs $12-15 every 6 months.
They have excellent customer service and I have no doubt they'd honor the warranty.
the only down side is their flexblades don't conform to windshields that have much curve but it hasn't been much of an issue.
they are expensive at $25 per blade but at 1 year I am even when a regular blade costs $12-15 every 6 months.
They have excellent customer service and I have no doubt they'd honor the warranty.
the only down side is their flexblades don't conform to windshields that have much curve but it hasn't been much of an issue.
Wal-mart has silicone wipers called Tripledge.... cost is about 7 bucks a piece in the store. They want about 12 a peice online for them. There seem good, I've got a pair on my truck right now...see how long they last.
Suppose to last life of the car...they have a lifetime warranty but if you buy them be sure and "register" them withen 30 days. Costs 5 bucks to get new ones under warranty so is not really the best deal. But cheaper than buying new ones I guess.
Suppose to last life of the car...they have a lifetime warranty but if you buy them be sure and "register" them withen 30 days. Costs 5 bucks to get new ones under warranty so is not really the best deal. But cheaper than buying new ones I guess.
FWIW, Consumer Reports addressed wiper blades in the November issue.
The Valeo 600 series got the top rating, followed by the Rain-X Latitude beam blades, followed by the Anco 31 series.
Categorized by type, the top three of each would be:
conventional
1) Valeo 600
2) Anco 31
3) Michelin Rain Force
beam
1) Rain-X Latitude
2) Valeo 900
3) Bosch Icon
In terms of durability, the only blades that deviated from the norm were the Rain-X (better) and Anco Aerovantage and Trico Teflon (worse).
Silblades weren't tested, but the PIAA Silicones were, slotting in just above the Bosch Icon in the middle of the pack.
The Valeo 600 series got the top rating, followed by the Rain-X Latitude beam blades, followed by the Anco 31 series.
Categorized by type, the top three of each would be:
conventional
1) Valeo 600
2) Anco 31
3) Michelin Rain Force
beam
1) Rain-X Latitude
2) Valeo 900
3) Bosch Icon
In terms of durability, the only blades that deviated from the norm were the Rain-X (better) and Anco Aerovantage and Trico Teflon (worse).
Silblades weren't tested, but the PIAA Silicones were, slotting in just above the Bosch Icon in the middle of the pack.
I've been using the Valeo Ultimate wiper and Bosch Icons for a few years now and find the Valeo to be the better wiper.
http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/brands/valeo.jsp
If the link above doesn't show, Tirerack has them with a buy one get one deal.
I've used my driver's side Valeo for 2 1/2 years now (the passenger side made it to a year and a half till a 5-foot long tree branch mangled it along with the hood, fender and windshield).
They wipe clean and streak-free, but then again, I also use Rain-X windshield washer fluid year round. Every time you use the Rain-X windshield washer fluid, it puts a light coat of Rain-X on and I can see the water bead up and roll off. Snow doesn't stick as easily either.
The Valeo's wipe streak-free and they excel at staying on the windshield at high speed. I was driving on a long distance trip with 5 other people (my 3000GT and another vehicle) and it started to snow lightly. I had no problems keeping my windshield clear at the speed limit but the other vehicle radioed to ask me to slow down, because his wipers were chattering on the windshield and he was having trouble seeing through the mess it left behind. Before trying the Valeo's years ago, I had used normal wipers (Anco) and they would chatter at highway speeds.
BTW, to ensure that your wipers provide you with a nice long service life, a couple of things that help:
- Don't be lazy and try to use the wipers to sweep off ice on the windshield. It'll make the rubber edge ragged which exacerbates streaking issues. Just get out with the ice scraper and scrape the stuff off before driving off.
- Don't use those automated car washes (even worse if you select the 'wax/polish' option). Especially the touchless car washes. They use some very string chemicals in the solution that deteriorate rubber very quickly and a 'wax' option coats both the windshield and wiper which causes a buildup that can effectively ruin the streak-free properties of a new wiper within a few washes (or even a single wash). If you don't have the time or space (apartment dwellers) to hand wash your vehicle, one of those coin operated washers where you get out and wash the car yourself is better than the touchless automated deals.
Max
http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/brands/valeo.jsp
If the link above doesn't show, Tirerack has them with a buy one get one deal.
I've used my driver's side Valeo for 2 1/2 years now (the passenger side made it to a year and a half till a 5-foot long tree branch mangled it along with the hood, fender and windshield).
They wipe clean and streak-free, but then again, I also use Rain-X windshield washer fluid year round. Every time you use the Rain-X windshield washer fluid, it puts a light coat of Rain-X on and I can see the water bead up and roll off. Snow doesn't stick as easily either.
The Valeo's wipe streak-free and they excel at staying on the windshield at high speed. I was driving on a long distance trip with 5 other people (my 3000GT and another vehicle) and it started to snow lightly. I had no problems keeping my windshield clear at the speed limit but the other vehicle radioed to ask me to slow down, because his wipers were chattering on the windshield and he was having trouble seeing through the mess it left behind. Before trying the Valeo's years ago, I had used normal wipers (Anco) and they would chatter at highway speeds.
BTW, to ensure that your wipers provide you with a nice long service life, a couple of things that help:
- Don't be lazy and try to use the wipers to sweep off ice on the windshield. It'll make the rubber edge ragged which exacerbates streaking issues. Just get out with the ice scraper and scrape the stuff off before driving off.
- Don't use those automated car washes (even worse if you select the 'wax/polish' option). Especially the touchless car washes. They use some very string chemicals in the solution that deteriorate rubber very quickly and a 'wax' option coats both the windshield and wiper which causes a buildup that can effectively ruin the streak-free properties of a new wiper within a few washes (or even a single wash). If you don't have the time or space (apartment dwellers) to hand wash your vehicle, one of those coin operated washers where you get out and wash the car yourself is better than the touchless automated deals.
Max
Big PIAA fan here.
My GF's Mariner IMO has never had a good set of blades tll now. Got some base Rain-X blades at AAP during their bogo. They work very well. No blades last more than a year in this area. Too Cold and too HOT. We tried the Bosch expensive things(ICONS?), biggest POS ever. Exchanged twice and still no satisfaction. Must be the shape of the windshield vs. blade shape.
Anco Aero wear out quick for me, although they look nice.
Went with NAPA house brand on a promo on four different cars and all the ops are pleased. Should have stocked up at the price, but now I know.
Went with NAPA house brand on a promo on four different cars and all the ops are pleased. Should have stocked up at the price, but now I know.
Originally Posted By: dkryan
Alcohol won't break down the rubber?
I would think that it would depend on the rubber and the condition of its coating.
I like to wipe them down with 303 aerospace protectant.
Alcohol won't break down the rubber?
I would think that it would depend on the rubber and the condition of its coating.
I like to wipe them down with 303 aerospace protectant.
Kestas
Staff member
Originally Posted By: dkryan
Alcohol won't break down the rubber?
I should hope not... washer fluid contains alcohol. Plus, I use alcohol and ultrasonics to clean elastomers for microscopic examination with no ill effects.
Alcohol won't break down the rubber?
I should hope not... washer fluid contains alcohol. Plus, I use alcohol and ultrasonics to clean elastomers for microscopic examination with no ill effects.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: tonycarguy
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why it's so hard to find refills? I went to 4 stores and they either didn't sell them at all, or they only had a couple of items in stock. It seems stores now only sell the complete wiper blade.
I ended up having to go to the dealer.
Because it is poor economy. The stores do better selling a .50 squeegee and $1 for $8 than selling two $.50 squeegees for $3.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why it's so hard to find refills? I went to 4 stores and they either didn't sell them at all, or they only had a couple of items in stock. It seems stores now only sell the complete wiper blade.
I ended up having to go to the dealer.
Because it is poor economy. The stores do better selling a .50 squeegee and $1 for $8 than selling two $.50 squeegees for $3.
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