Windshield wipers good, bad, ugly

So what to you all use? I had been using the rain-X standard wipers and have had good luck with them. I would typically get 2+ years from them. They seemed to work good in winter as well. My most recent purchase was a set of house brand AutoZone wipers and I have less than a year on them and they are streaking badly. FOr the grand savings of $2 they were not worth it compaired to the Rain-x blades

Also What do you all do for maintenance? I clean them every now and them with soap and water and a soft brush and then wipe them with a clean cloth and that is about it.

Now don't laugh but remember the days of the wipers with the fins on them. They got bigger and bigger and eventually there were clip on options with different colored plastic that made it look like you had a florescent porcupine screwed to the wiper blades? Although these were silly and no I never put these on my car there were some brands out there that actually did have a small formed piece of metal on the top of he blade that seemed to promote the blade being pressed in to the windshield and helped with the wiping and helped hold the blade in place when at rest (my cars have exposed blades) Does anyone still make these?

The fiancee requested Rain-X wipers a few weeks ago, I complied. She loves them.

When the ones on my xB started going south, I went with Rain-X. I love them. (And the MR2 will be getting a set sometime soon I bet.)

I have been using a set of Bosche Icons since they came out... as in the same set, when they first came out.. haven't replaced them yet. and they work as good as new, as far as I can tell.

is the car garaged or parked outside?

I get mostly cheapies, but if something can last over a year being parked outside I am all ears.

Apexcarver wrote: is the car garaged or parked outside? I get mostly cheapies, but if something can last over a year being parked outside I am all ears.

All my cars are outside.

I just put Bosch Icons on the F150 and some other kinda Bosch wiper on the Civic so it will be interesting to see how they hold up.

I've been really happy with Rain-x.

I go with the yellow Anco blades - quick and easy and 1 year max life.

When I had a company car (with a credit card to pay for expenses) I would replace the Anco versions every 6 months.

Maybe that's why they pulled all the sales guys company cars......

I currently have the RainX repels on both cars and they are good, but not nearly good enough to justify the price. Going forth, I am going to buy cheap windshield wipers (likely Ancos) but use rain-x.

I'm having very good luck with a Chinese Michelin wiper I bought a Menard's, its holding up better on the sand pocked windshield of my Prizm than the PIAA insert in a random frame I have on the driver's side.

Bosch used to be excellent but have taken a big quality dive.

Im kinda anal about my windshield being clean, I find that the monthly rainx application and buying good wiper fluid through well aimed nozzles(I have a Hazet 4850-1) is just as important as the wiper itself.

I'll buy whatever is available that is branded a name I know. I also insist on having RainX on the glass. Even when it's wearing down it beats the heck out of not being there at all. My vehicles are a mixture of garaged and not and the blades don't seem as critical as the RainX itself.

The Michelin ones were pretty awesome the last set I bought. I thought they were far better than the rain x brand especially for the price.

In my truck however I have no wipers... I use Rain X on the window (period). We had a storm two weeks ago at 9:30 pm. I drove 35 miles with no wipers at all and I never missed them a bit.

I agree with running RainX. It is God's invention for rain.

I'm a fan of the BOSCH blades

I like the Trico NeoForms (the ones with the Teflon coating) that they sell at Advance. They are a beam-style and they wipe clean and last a while. I've had them on 3 different cars now and they work great.

In my old parts-slinging days, we used to sell Anco, Bosch, and Rain-X blades. Ancos only worked well on American cars. Bosch were garbage unless you got the most expensive ones (the Icon beam blades at the time), but they didn't fit right on a lot of cars. The Rain-X ones always chattered and people complained about them. I tried them and they did the same thing.

I've been using Bosch Icons for years, they have all outlasted the length of my ownership of said cars.

Longest I've had a set going is 3+ years.

Rockauto has cheap Trico's, which seem to work decently, not sure how long they last though.

I run whatever's one step up from the cheapest. I've never been able to tell a difference in performance or longevity.

Let me throw in a plug for the Rain X washer fluid, however. It's got a little Rain X in the mix, so by the time you've put about a half a reservoir on your windshield you've got an automatic application of Rain X. I won't claim it works every bit as well at the real deal, but it definitely makes an appreciable difference for zero extra effort.

alex wrote: I run whatever's one step up from the cheapest. I've never been able to tell a difference in performance or longevity. Let me throw in a plug for the Rain X washer fluid, however. It's got a little Rain X in the mix, so by the time you've put about a half a reservoir on your windshield you've got an automatic application of Rain X. I won't claim it works every bit as well at the real deal, but it definitely makes an appreciable difference for zero extra effort.

Yup I love that stuff, worth the extra couple of bucks a gallon.

I use the Goodyear ones from Costco, sometimes they go on sale or maybe even buy 1 get 1 free.

Or if I'm ordering from RockAuto and they have some on clearance that ship from the same warehouse as the rest of my order.

+many for the cheapest of RainX wipers and a gallon of their washer fluid in the resevoir, been using both for years and refuse to give them up. I also buff up all exterior glass with Meguir's cleaner wax probably twice a year, makes a hell of a difference.

Value pack do you use anything special to put the cleaner wax on the glass? Or just like a microfiber?

My wife won't let me put the wipers on the Nova because she likes the look without wipers. So it'll just be rain-X on the glass. Not like it's ever going to see rain anyways!

I'm using the Bosch Evolutions (Marathon at Wally World). I've had them for about six weeks, and so far they stay grimy and collect leaves like a vacuum. I'm going back to Rain-X after these self-destruct.

FranktheTank wrote: The Michelin ones were pretty awesome the last set I bought. I thought they were far better than the rain x brand especially for the price. In my truck however I have no wipers... I use Rain X on the window (period). We had a storm two weeks ago at 9:30 pm. I drove 35 miles with no wipers at all and I never missed them a bit.

I use Rain X ... but still need wipers .. Rain X is next to useless when it comes to mist/spay .... solid rain ? = great .... mist = meh