Best Wipers

[NateTDI]

After years of looking for decent wipers I think I have finally found them. I installed Latitude blades from Rain-X and they are excellent. And they have a built in spoiler to keep them firmly planted on the windshield. I used them all day today during the non stop rain we've been having here in Ohio. I ordered them online at www.rainx.com.

Just thought I'd share this with my TDI bros and sis's.

Nate

 

[Joe Fisher]

Looks good. I've looked for a place for a good wiper that has the spoiler, as the drivers side does on the TDI.
Is this set just a straight across trade for the oem wipers?

After years of looking for decent wipers I think I have finally found them. I installed Latitude blades from Rain-X and they are excellent. And they have a built in spoiler to keep them firmly planted on the windshield. I used them all day today during the non stop rain we've been having here in Ohio. I ordered them online at www.rainx.com.

Just thought I'd share this with my TDI bros and sis's.

Nate

 

[volvopunk]

I bought silicone wipers for my Beetle back in 2002 when we bought it. They still work like they did when new, amazingly. Meanwhile, I have not found silicone blades at ANY parts store recently. Did they quit making them or something? I wish I knew what they were now, because nothing I've bought since has worked on my other vehicles, including expensive Bosch wipers on my Volvo.

The new Michelin Radius wipers are getting good reviews on the other car boards I read. They're the goofy springy looking ones:

http://www.michelinwiper.com/

 

[hskrdu]

You can get wiper blade refills from VW for about $5 and you don't have to waste the rest of the unit. The quality is good and they last about 6 months. All you toss in the trash or recycling is the strip of rubber. If your original wiper arms came with the aero wing (spoiler) then it stays in place.

 

[John McMillin]

Thumbs down on Rain X wipes

I have to dispute this, because my experience differs.

I bought a pair of Rain-X wipers recently for my Forester. I don't recall the name, but they're the expensive ones ($20 each) with a fin "spoiler" and a simple, one-piece design. It looked great, but it turns out that complex, unsightly system of dual pivots found on other wipers has a purpose after all. Without it, the Rain-X blades don't spread pressure evenly across their length. They wipe properly at the center and ends of the blade, but not in the middle of each blade half. In snow and slush, there's little wiping action there, leaving a wet trail.

These are the worst wipers I've ever bought. I'd replace them now, but I want to let the sunlight make them suffer a little first.

 

[aja8888]

So, if the rainx are not that great, then are there any other suggestions besides the stock VW inserts?

 

[Souzafone]

I've had Bosch Icons on my car for almost 2 years now, and they still work like new. They've got the built in air dam, so they stay in place at speed, and they work great in snow and ice. Pricey though.

 

[Fyrman]

I've had Bosch Icons on my car for almost 2 years now, and they still work like new. They've got the built in air dam, so they stay in place at speed, and they work great in snow and ice. Pricey though.

A lot of the guys in our area have switched to the Bosch. I personally haven't but the guys that do use them here rave about them. They are pricey which deters a lot of people but as they say, you get what you pay for, (except the $20 RainX ones apparently! ).

 

[sdk131]

Wow, I must be some kind of anomoly!! I've got 4 years on my originals and they still work just fine. I live in MD, so the climate is sort of middle of the road.

 

[Lex4TDI4Life]

I got the ICONs recently. I like to call them Ninja wipers because they are completely, 100% silent. I use rainx stuff on my windshield, so that might help,

 

[diezlpwr]

bosch icons w/ rainx on the windshield once in a while works great. plus they have the look of the newer aero wipers

 

[aja8888]

Thaks, I'll got for the Bosch Icons.

 

[visionlogic]

Add my vote for the Bosch ICONS. I've had them about 6 months... still working great and completely silent.

 

[bf1967]

Bosch Icons

My experience with the Bosch icons has unfortunately not been as good. They worked very well when I put them on, but now about 8 months later they are streaking all over the place. As expensive as they are, I would hope to get a year out of them. Do I have an unrealistic expectation?

Bob

 

[bf1967]

Edit: Bob and I posted same time--if you have extremes of heat and cold you'll find a year is about all to expect. My brother put on a BRAND NEW set of icons, came out one morning to some ice on the windshield--about 2 weeks after install. Pulled a bit too hard on them and his started streaking. They take some abuse, are made for some ice use, but if you mess them up like that I don't know of many wipers that will survive...

BB,

It's Wisconsin, there are extremes of heat & cold all in one day.

Maybe I should swap them for the winter. Like I said, they worked great till the tail end of winter.

Bob

 

[Bob_Fout]

Bosch icons for about a year now. Still work like new!

 

[Losha]

Thumbs up for Bosch Icons, I replaced my Mitchel wipers with Icons and they rock. After driving my sisters 07 passat with them on, I bought Icons without second thaughts. Yes, they are pricy if you buy from local store, but I got them for very cheap thru my parts supplier

Hey Aaron (bleachbora) maybe you we should have group buy on Bosch Icons wipers for fellow tdiclub members?

 

[aja8888]

Thumbs up for Bosch Icons,

Hey Aaron (bleachbora) maybe you we should have group buy on Bosch Icons wipers for fellow tdiclub members?

I'd go for that, too!

Tony

 

[Russnut]

I ran the PIAAs on both Subarus I've had. I went through 2 windshields on the rally car and used the same set of wipers. I'm sure they're probably about equal to the bosches. I think they were like $26 for the pair. I haven't seen those anywhere other than the Portland area.

 

[Brockflock]

My $.02

We have had the Bosch wipers and the OEM's, and regular winter blades.

Once the OEM's died, after several years, the Bosch ones lasted about 2 years. Only problem is with the hinges. In our climate, we get all kinds of freezing rain, sleet, etc. The hinges ice up, and then the blades can't stay against the windshield.

We now have the Trico winter blades. They are one inch shorter than the OEM spec because the dealer didn't have the right ones. They aren't flexible enough to keep the entire blade against the windshield ( the ends don't touch when the blade is horizontal - New Bug - highly arc'd windshield) but the majority of the blade, especially the center of it, stays on just fine. Because the arm is housed in rubber, and doesn't get water/ice in it, I can always be guaranteed of seeing what I need in all conditions, as long as I stay below 70 mph in rain with strong headwinds. Once I get to that speed, the entire blade lifts off the windshield. I consider that a warning that I am going too fast in bad weather anyway!

And no, they aren't pretty!

 

[Brockflock]

I bought silicone wipers for my Beetle back in 2002 when we bought it. They still work like they did when new, amazingly. Meanwhile, I have not found silicone blades at ANY parts store recently. Did they quit making them or something? I wish I knew what they were now, because nothing I've bought since has worked on my other vehicles, including expensive Bosch wipers on my Volvo.

The new Michelin Radius wipers are getting good reviews on the other car boards I read. They're the goofy springy looking ones:

http://www.michelinwiper.com/

Volvopunk:

If the blades do last that long, that alone explains why they don't have replacement blades. How are they going to make money if they can't sell you a product that has got planned obsolesence engineered into it?

 

[Losha]

We have had the Bosch wipers and the OEM's, and regular winter blades.

Once the OEM's died, after several years, the Bosch ones lasted about 2 years. Only problem is with the hinges. In our climate, we get all kinds of freezing rain, sleet, etc. The hinges ice up, and then the blades can't stay against the windshield.

We now have the Trico winter blades. They are one inch shorter than the OEM spec because the dealer didn't have the right ones. They aren't flexible enough to keep the entire blade against the windshield ( the ends don't touch when the blade is horizontal - New Bug - highly arc'd windshield) but the majority of the blade, especially the center of it, stays on just fine. Because the arm is housed in rubber, and doesn't get water/ice in it, I can always be guaranteed of seeing what I need in all conditions, as long as I stay below 70 mph in rain with strong headwinds. Once I get to that speed, the entire blade lifts off the windshield. I consider that a warning that I am going too fast in bad weather anyway!

And no, they aren't pretty!

Get your car & windshield waxed good and you will never need to use wipers when driving on highway at 70mph. After I detailed my Golf I rarely used wipers at high speeds, since wind would blow away all water & snow off windshield.

 

[gootie]

Another wiper blade choice

I have had Valeo's purchased through Tirerack since 11/2005. I was going to consider replacing this Spring but they are wiping well. I do Rainex 4-6 times per year. We had a record breaking Winter here in southern WI and I had to snap ice off the front blades only once.

05 Golf

 

[ruking]

I am not sure how this fits into this thread, but some care of the wipers might result in them lasting longer. Every so often (no real schedule here), take a - 2 sided sponge/nylon pot scrubber (Scotchbrite) and depending on whether I want to renew the rubber wiper or just clean it, run it up and down the rubber portion, on one side or the other and/or both. I use normal diluted car wash or if I do not want to contaminate the car wash water with nylon particles; just use a stainless steel bowl dish soap dliuted normally to clean dishes (or diluted car wash) . Predictably the sponge section gets/ looks real black.

I have a 2003 (bought new in 2003) They still work well 5 years later (Mar 2008). I have another set on another car (2001) that still work well. When the rubber on the wipers blade starts to tear or separate-they obviously REALLY need to be replaced.

 

[sr20al]

Get your car & windshield waxed good and you will never need to use wipers when driving on highway at 70mph. After I detailed my Golf I rarely used wipers at high speeds, since wind would blow away all water & snow off windshield.

Good point! It's the rust and other contaminates on your windshield and paint that keep the water from beading off. A fine steel wool and strong ammonia based glass cleaner will remove the rust from your glass. I prefer not to use petroleum based waxes on glass

A clay bar works pretty well to remove these contaminates from the paint. I prefer this method to any cleaner wax.

Back on topic. I must have purchased the wrong Bosch wipers from my local autoparts chain because they were complete garbage right out of the box. Since then I've installed PIAA's Super Silicone wipers on all my cars and have never looked back.

 

[Brockflock]

Steel Wool on Glass?

Good point! It's the rust and other contaminates on your windshield and paint that keep the water from beading off. A fine steel wool and strong ammonia based glass cleaner will remove the rust from your glass. I prefer not to use petroleum based waxes on glass

Hey, SR:

Steel wool will scratch glass horribly. Even the Scotchbrite can scratch glass.

Just a note to readers of this thread:

There are a number of folks who know that any abrasives on glass will cause terrible nighttime streaking from scratches. I am referring to the streaks of light caused by headlights from oncoming vehicles. It can get very dangerous.

As far as any waxing/coating of windshields, that too can cause streaking when the wax softens and gets smudged by the wiper blades. Even the Click and Clack (NPR - Car Guys) mentioned that the other day.

There is nothing better than an undamaged glass surface that is free of all coatings. One of the best ways to get that is to clean your windshield with a vinegar and water solution, which will strip all road oils from the windshield. It is not a permanent fix, and requires that you clean it periodically, but it works. Any cheap white distilled vinegar will do. You don't need Balsamic!

I may sound "old school", and thus not as trendily attractive, but the type of blade material is less important than the ability of the armature to produce enough downforce to keep the blade on the glass properly. That is the result of the curvature of the windshield, the design of the wiper blade arm (and how it reacts to wind speeds), and the strength of the spring in the car's wiper arm.

To use a simile: It is like replacing the good tires on your car because the suspension is worn and tired and not keeping the wheels on the road. It ain't gonna do the job!

 

[mechanicalbrew]

i did an extensive internet search while trying to get rain-x off of my windshield. it seems that one of the best products out there to clean the glass is Bon-Ami cleaning powder (NOT cleanser). It worked really well for me. no scratching

 

[Steve-o]

Steel wool will scratch glass horribly. Even the Scotchbrite can scratch glass.

There are different kinds of ScotchBrite. The green stuff definitely can scratch glass (I've done it, though not on a car); the white "medium duty" stuff or the blue "non-scratch" won't. It's easier to buy the lighter-duty versions in a store other than an auto-parts store or hardware/home-improvement store.

 

[BDison]

Very true, trouble is I cant find Bon-Ami cleaning powder anywhere local, but have found it at agelong.com - 6 can case for $10- more than I would use in my lifetime.


As far as what I use - Trico exact fit
They last a long time, wipe great w/few if any streaks, are somewhat resistant to park set, no high speed chatter, and are cheap.

i did an extensive internet search while trying to get rain-x off of my windshield. it seems that one of the best products out there to clean the glass is Bon-Ami cleaning powder (NOT cleanser). It worked really well for me. no scratching

 

[Matt-98AHU]

Everyone seems to be coming out with these fancy single-piece/non-hinge/downforce-producing blade these days. Aanco just came out with some as well.

I'm using Bosch Icons on my TDI and a set of Tricos on my GTI (which are similar to the Icons and the rest of those style blades). I've been happy with both thus far. Quiet, stay well-planted on the windshield. I also use RainX washer solvent. Works fantastically well and it's a whole lot easier to apply than the squirt bottle and a towel. All I have to do is yank back on the wiper stalk to spray the washer solvent, wipers do their thing a couple times and it's done.