Thoughts on windsheild wipers
 

I just bought two new el-cheapo brand wipers, but instead of going with the standard 17 inch, I went to 18. There was a noticeable difference on the top of the windshield on the passenger side, but not the drivers, it seemed to do more on the bottom than the top, which defeated the purpose. Debating going to 19 on the drivers side to see if it helps more, but i don't think auto-zone will exchange them.

what have you done? any particular sizes / mods/ etc?

Either the springs on your wiper arms are worn out and not pushing the wiper into the glass hard enough or the 18" blade doesn't have enough curve to it to match the windshield. Something like the rain-x wiper blades have more of a curve to them and might fit better.

i use either napa brand blades or trico brand from advance auto. both work great! you may want to inspect the wiper tension as coldy13 mentioned as failing tension springs can cause the wiper not to make full contact with the windshield when driving.

no, they make full contact. I'm saying I used longer ones to cover more area.the difference i saw was that the passenger side seemed to be taller than the drivers side, like the wiper arm was longer.

I use bosch, they're amazing and worth the money,
Good idea though, I think I'll try bigger blades when I need to change mine next.

i've used both bosch and trico blades and either work great til they lay against the glass long enough to cause the rubber to stay bent one way and it bounces(chatter) across the glass as it goes up. to help with this problem, i flip them over every so often. as for the length, i think it's the 17" ones.

Nothing to see up that high anyway... 'cept the undercarriages of SUVs

I was running Bosch blades. I treat my windshield with Rain-X every season. It helps alot most of the time I dont even use the wipers unless its snowing.

i was also trying longer ones to see if it'd stop the chatter / skipping when they go up - no such luck. new or old, they all seem to do that. is there something I can do to stop that? I get all agitated when it happens, that's half the reason I replaced these blades.

i thought about the rainx blades, but I don't know. they that good? do they chatter?

I've used Rain X blades before, they were okay. Have you tried treating the windshield with Rain X?

Yeah, I typically treat the windshield, and it helps minimize the chatter a bit.
I love rainx, I use it on all the glass, including the mirrors. really helps.

Do the rainx wipers kinda' put rainx on the windshield as you use them?
I'm just iffy about them since regular rainx doesnt last very long, especially in oregon when it really rains.

No, but rain-x washer fluid does, but it also attracts dust/dirt on the area the wipers don't contact. I use the rain-x fluid anyway and don't use my wipers much.

If you want longer wiper blades, just look for any kind that has more curve to it than the blade you have, yours can't flex enough to hit the windshield. The rain-x blades were just an example since I know they have more curve to them. I have them on my dd and they work fine.

Chatter could be worn out springs, like I mentioned already, or the wiper arms are bent slightly and the wiper isn't at the right angle to the windshield. Does it only chatter when going up?

yeah, it only chatters when it goes up, and only if there's not "enough" water on the windshield. it also only seems to chatter the first 4 - 6 inches on its way up too.

19s on the drivers side make full contact. I have the Bosch Evolution blades and love em. 19s are too long on the passenger side, hangs off about an inch. Going to put that on the back and go to an 18 instead. The overhang with the 19 on the passenger side is taken up above 1/3-1/2 up the windshield.

The longer the blade is the worse the chatter will be IMHO. The spring supplies a certain amount of downward force which works to prevent the chatter. If you spread the force out over a longer blade then it will tend to chatter more, I think.

i'll remember that and give it a shot sometime, thanks.

i use the (19 in on drivers side and 17 or 18 on pass side) rainx flex or whatever the fancy new style is thats all in one bend. also have them on my mazda 6

im running the cheap walmart 19s on mine and no problems yet

I think the stock blade size will give you the best overall performance. If that weren't the case the stock blade size would be longer.

Longer blades will clear a bit more area, but it's a pretty much useless part of the windshield, up near the top - there is plenty of overlap in the middle with the stock blades.

At the same time the longer blades will create more drag and more stress on the wiper motor and linkages, while making it harder to maintain full contact over the full width of the blade.

The biggest wiper blades you can fit are 20 on left and 22 on right. FYI

Personally I wish there where some wiper arms with the "J" hook we could swap to.

I haven't searched but I distinctly remember reading a thread on here where someone modified the stock arms to fit the "J" hook style attachment, to very good effect (i.e. removed the chatter).

I remember that thread, they welded the end of a J hook arm onto the rx 7 arm, it is a mod that is on my list to do.