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Windshield wipers

cantunamunch

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Silblade update: the blades are great - still running the first pair from years ago - well sort of. The frames broke apart and I had to hack the silicone wiper into a Bosch frame.

The blades - but only the blades and no other part of the wiper - have been on the car since November 2017 in a high ozone area, no streaking or skipping.
 

pete

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@Jerez

if doing them yourself just buy both sets, you can always swap em out as needed and get first hand experience.

or you could simply put on of each on the car, then move whichever is best on the driver side leaving the other for the lowly passenger to suffer through. Subsequently just by the better of the two in future.

Blades overall costs aren't horrible as compared to tires.
 

Jerez

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@Jerez
or you could simply put on of each on the car, then move whichever is best on the driver side leaving the other for the lowly passenger to suffer through.
Blades overall costs aren't horrible as compared to tires.

Hehehe. Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, they are asymmetrical (different sizes), so I'm spared the temptation of being mean to my passengers. :P

I'll try one set this year and one the next. Local auto parts only carries the Bosch, so will go with that for now. They have both Bosch Icon and Bosch SnowDriver. Can't tell the difference from the reviews so will go with whatever the shop recommends.
 

Doug Briggs

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I use these Trico blades. They are winter blades and conform really well to the windshield. After a year they are still working well. Ya, I know. I only put on 10K (actually a bit less) per year on my truck, but they are nice blades.

IMG_20190922_113139268.jpg

I also go out of my way to use RainX windshield washer fluid. Great stuff.

Something you may want to consider is when you use the gas station cleaning brush/squeegee, clean the blades, too.
 

Jerez

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Ended up with Bosch Icons. Will report.

We had RainX before, although not sure what model, and they had bad ice buildup in the warmer wetter snow of last season.

Will look into RainX washer fluid. Will the fluid (as opposed to the coating) mess with the rain sensors on a 2015 Jeep?

Good suggestion to clean the blades. Never thought about that before. :doh:
 
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Plai

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Picked up Michelins at Costco (on sale, sorry forgot the price) . They changed the attachment system a little. It's easier now and looks more secure.

Looking forward to bad weather soon.
 

Uncle-A

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I use these Trico blades. They are winter blades and conform really well to the windshield. After a year they are still working well. Ya, I know. I only put on 10K (actually a bit less) per year on my truck, but they are nice blades.

View attachment 80710

I also go out of my way to use RainX windshield washer fluid. Great stuff.

Something you may want to consider is when you use the gas station cleaning brush/squeegee, clean the blades, too.
I have used the Trico wiper blades and was not happy with them, they seemed too stiff would not flip back when they changed directions. Also seemed noisy because they didn't flip when the changed directions.
 

crgildart

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I'm running some upper end Bosch purchased recently. I was unimpressed with the way they were BENDING in the sub tropical storm winds on the outer banks last weekend. They did a good job clearing the hard rain, but if they bend and chatter like that in the wind I fear they won't do well under heavy snow building up.
 

Ogg

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I'm running some upper end Bosch purchased recently. I was unimpressed with the way they were BENDING in the sub tropical storm winds on the outer banks last weekend. They did a good job clearing the hard rain, but if they bend and chatter like that in the wind I fear they won't do well under heavy snow building up.
I've had very good experience with the Bosch Icons with no issues in nasty winter conditions but performance can vary between vehicles.
 

crgildart

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I've had very good experience with the Bosch Icons with no issues in nasty winter conditions but performance can vary between vehicles.
The driver's side is like 26" long. Thinking the design and flexible plastic spine isn't robust enough for that length. I've still got the older Rain-X in the back. I always keep the old one unless it is totally trashed. After being on an all nighter eons ago when a wiper fell apart in a storm in the middle of nowhere I tend to keep a spare just in case LOL..
 

KingGrump

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Two of my Dodge mini-vans takes 28" on both sides. Tried lots of blades but keep going back to the Bosch Ikon.
A new pair is usually good for a whole year. No issues with lifting or fluttering even at 95+ mph.
Rockauto carries them at a decent price.
 

Uncle-A

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The driver's side is like 26" long. Thinking the design and flexible plastic spine isn't robust enough for that length. I've still got the older Rain-X in the back. I always keep the old one unless it is totally trashed. After being on an all nighter eons ago when a wiper fell apart in a storm in the middle of nowhere I tend to keep a spare just in case LOL..
Always keep one old wiper in the vehicle just in case. I bet that is not uncommon for those of us here in this community.
 

Uncle-A

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Two of my Dodge mini-vans takes 28" on both sides. Tried lots of blades but keep going back to the Bosch Ikon.
A new pair is usually good for a whole year. No issues with lifting or fluttering even at 95+ mph.
Rockauto carries them at a decent price.
95+ are you going to tell the world that you drive that fast? At our age the reaction time is not what it was when we were young.
 

KingGrump

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95+ are you going to tell the world that you drive that fast?

To be honest, sometimes I drive faster. :D

At our age the reaction time is not what it was when we were young.

Only when condition permits. Mostly on empty interstates out west.
Driving fast is not about reaction time. I always have slow reaction time, so nothing is lost there. Driving fast is more based on a solid skill set.

Just like skiing tight trees, a solid skill set is more useful than athleticism. it's not about how fast one can reacting to the trees. Trust me, the trees can and will always move faster than any skier.
It is more about line selection and shaping the turns to develop the line. The trees exhibit a lot less movement when I utilize the line method. :cool:
 

crgildart

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Two of my Dodge mini-vans takes 28" on both sides. Tried lots of blades but keep going back to the Bosch Ikon.
A new pair is usually good for a whole year. No issues with lifting or fluttering even at 95+ mph.
Rockauto carries them at a decent price.
Oh they were definitely clearing the deluge and not skipping. It was only when I looked closely that I saw them bending and flexing with the wind some. A little chatter but still cleared the glass every swipe.
 

KingGrump

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Oh they were definitely clearing the deluge and not skipping. It was only when I looked closely that I saw them bending and flexing with the wind some. A little chatter but still cleared the glass every swipe.

Agree the Ikon needs a bit more tweaking in the aero department. One of my cars had a annoying clicking noise emanating from the center front of the dash when going over 90 mph. Tore the dash apart to find the noise. No luck. Replaced the wiper and the noise went away. Who would have thunk.
 
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Plai

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After several years of using whatever was available at Costco, late last winter I decided to switch to Bosch Icon based many inputs upthread. But, with the early closure of last year's ski season, the decision didn't get applied until today.

We have a heavy storm coming our way (West Coast/Tahoe). OpenSnow calls it the First Real Storm of the season.
https://opensnow.com/dailysnow/tahoe/post/19234
I'm hoping to find out how the new wipers perform in the next few weeks.

Fingers crossed (on a number of fronts).
 

Coach13

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I’ve had all the major brands and I don’t see a ton of difference from my perspective. They’re all great for abut 6 months and then deteriorate gradually thereafter. As a result I buy whatever is on sale.
 

cantunamunch

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I’ve had all the major brands and I don’t see a ton of difference from my perspective. They’re all great for abut 6 months and then deteriorate gradually thereafter. As a result I buy whatever is on sale.

The Silblades worked well enough for us to show a clear :) advantage to silicone. Trying the PIAA version next.
 

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