Windshield Wiper Blades

7234 Views 8 Replies 9 Participants Last post by DAC17, Jun 26, 2010

WyomingSteel

Discussion Starter · Dec 27, 2009

Just put a new pair of NAPA/Trico old fashioned winter blades on the Forester, the ones with the rubber boot over the assembly. Thank God they still make these. I live in Wyoming so winter blades are real handy.

Previously had put those new Rain X Latitude 'pillar' style on and they are total pieces of junk. :evilatyou: One month old and they were streaking like crazy in the middle! Streaked on the corners when brand new. Avoid these expensive, lousy Rain X blades and just go to NAPA.

PS; I also bought the NAPA blades one inch shorter than factory sizes. Makes a cleaner wipe and perhaps less stress on the wiper motors.

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normangeo

· #2 · Dec 27, 2009

Wet weather turned icy last night when I turned on the blades.
They "popped" out of the ice on the window but the passenger side blade
left a six inch unwiped streak of ice. I think that small chunks of ice get between
the thin metal, to which the rubber is attached, and the black metal housing
that holds the blade. When that happens, the black metal blade holder doesn't
flex properly to conform to the windshield shape. Anyone else notice this?
thanks (my first post)

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Hot09XT

· #3 · Dec 27, 2009

normangeo said:
Wet weather turned icy last night when I turned on the blades.
They "popped" out of the ice on the window but the passenger side blade
left a six inch unwiped streak of ice. I think that small chunks of ice get between
the thin metal, to which the rubber is attached, and the black metal housing
that holds the blade. When that happens, the black metal blade holder doesn't
flex properly to conform to the windshield shape. Anyone else notice this?
thanks (my first post)

Be very careful when doing this. It is always recommended to clean the winshield first, manually by hand, then you can use the wipers. Some here have done this and stripped the blade arm resulting in a purchase of a new arm. The arm splines have proven not to be that durable.

On another note.........Welcome to the forum, lots of really good people and info here. You may want to edit your signature, under the UserCP tab, this way when you post a question members can see what vehicle you have and you will not have to type it with every question/statement about your ride.
See mine below VVV.

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cutter44

· #4 · Jan 5, 2010

WyomingSteel said:
[snip]PS; I also bought the NAPA blades one inch shorter than factory sizes. Makes a cleaner wipe and perhaps less stress on the wiper motors.

Just wanted to see if anyone else had any comment on this. I am tempted to try it only because it seems that the end of the stock blade is very close to the edge of the windshield in the down position and I think if it were an inch shorter, it might make better contact through the entire path of the swipe, especially during these cold winter months. Any thoughts? Also, any favorite, reasonably priced brands to look for? Any to avoid? Thanks.

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MudRunner

· #5 · Jan 5, 2010

cutter44 said:
Just wanted to see if anyone else had any comment on this. I am tempted to try it only because it seems that the end of the stock blade is very close to the edge of the windshield in the down position and I think if it were an inch shorter, it might make better contact through the entire path of the swipe, especially during these cold winter months. Any thoughts? Also, any favorite, reasonably priced brands to look for? Any to avoid? Thanks.

If you have a Costco card, they sell some Goodyear wipers that are the new frameless style. I've had a set on my Outback for a about year, through cold winters, ice, and snow, and they've been great for about $10 each.

Avoid the rainX Latitude wipers. They just don't work well for $20 each. lol

Bosch Icons are nice, bough a set for the Fozzy today, and my dad has used him for a while on his Bimmer. $20 each

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lfdal

· #6 · Jan 6, 2010

I bought some blades made by Valeo (I think that's that name) from Amazon and they've been the best blades I've ever had.

Funny thing about the Bosch blades, people I've spoken to around here either love them or hate them. I put a set on my ex's 04 Elantra and my wife's 08 OBW, and they totally sucked from the get-go on both cars. Pulled them and replaced with generic Anco after less than a month. Go figure, but it amounted to $80 down the drain, plus the cost of the Anco's.

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funkymonkey1002

· #7 · Jan 6, 2010

I run the michelin beam type blades. They work perfect up here in rochester. Only issue is the lower side of the drivers wiper doesn't touch always, but it still wipes everything else perfect (its just due to the ends of the wipers being solid from the plastic end caps). They last at least a good year or two, and seem to hold up the best to ice etc. I run them as "winter" blades, and use the 09+ aero wipers the rest of the year (they seem to wipe the best out of any traditional jointed wiper style).
I actually used to run slightly larger than stock wipers (my first set of michelins were a size or two bigger on the drivers side), but they only had the stock size in stock this year!

The main reason i use the beam over the rubber clad jointed winter wipers is that they tend to lift a bit at highway speeds and aren't nearly as good when not actually in snow. Also, the michelin's rubber seems to wear down the least when theres some ice build up on the windshield.

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rsay777

· #8 · Jan 6, 2010

I just replaced the OEM's with the Michelin's. Not too bad of a winter thus far in the Utah area. The wipers are doing their job but will wait to see how they handle one of the inch + per hour snow storms b4 I have a final decision.

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DAC17

· #9 · Jun 26, 2010

Does anyone know if you can put the entire new holder and blade on the 2009 Forester? I tried putting on a new pair of RainX wipers last night, but the old ones didn't seem like the normal style you see on other cars. I tried the manual, but that didn't help me.

Thanks.

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