RAIN... just sayin' as I'm NO expert...

Black-Tooth

Tony Natoli
I purchased some NEW WSW blades a year ago at AutoZone that were of a make I knew not of... for my Honda Pilot. The old ones were ten years old...

Anyway, thanks to the California sun, when I activated them the made a bunch of noise and streaked and were coming apart at their ends. I think I may have used them ONCE.

To my point... I purchased a pair of Michelin blades, 23 inch and 21 inch for left and right, about 7 bucks and 5 bucks respectively which was about mid-price for what WalMart offered... and they are FANTASTIC! I don't remember the originals working this good and with absolutely no noise.

I'll let you know how ell they last and wear in a year or two... HA!
 
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An idea

Some enterprising individual should start a wiper leasing or rental program. We buy them, mount them, and when we go to use them 10 years later they're drier than a lizards underbelly during August in the Sahara. Note, no lizard was harmed in the making of the above conceived reference.
 
10 YEARS?!?!?!

Tony,

Here in the Pacific Northwest (where, despite our reputation for constant rain, we only get 35 inches per year, average), we replace those pesky little things every 6-12 months. Before they dry out, by the way. :)
 
WOW! What a GREAT IDEA!!! We can rent them when...

we actually need them... kinda like Tire Chains (whatever those are???) and then just turn them in afterwards! Kids could stand by the side of the road and install them for a buck too!

You are really something when it comes to being creative Cesare... or is it your "brand" of smokes?

HA!
 
Well Tom, so since we only get about 3.5 inches...

of rain a year, or 10% of what you get... our blades should be replaced every 6 - 12 years then... RIGHT?

BTW, I lived in Coos Bay for 2 years working for Uncle Sam where I think we got 35 FEET of rain each year! HA!
 
I use Rain-x or Aquapel and rarely use my wipers above intermittent. In fact you can get away with no wipers at all (even in Seattle). I still replace my wipers once a year or so.
 
Matt... I tried Rainex and maybe its just me...

but it ain't "good enuff" (IMHO) and I usually pull over and install my wipers. I store them in the trunk with my top... which hardly gets used too!

I have found a NEW LOVE in "Invisible Glass" as not only does it make your glass look "invisible"... after a few exterior applications it repels water much like Rainex does. I was especially impressed with the side and rear windows... and maybe its no better than Rainex... but I never thought to use Rainex on the side and rear windows before.

http://www.invisibleglass.com/

A bit expensive at around 7 or 8 bucks for the typical Windex-size spray bottle... I think 22 oz. But I really like the way it cleans and polishes glass (maybe polish is the wrong word, "treats" may be better) and the repelling quality is an added bonus.
 
LOL Tony. My wife didn't think my suggestion was 'constructive' either. No sense of humor that one.
 
Yeah... I think all wives tend to loose their sense...

of humor after living with the likes of us for a few decades.

Can't they see it's actually God that has a sense of humor... maybe a bit cynical... but its there. I see it every morning looking back at me in the bathroom!

I also note that nobody else sees the humor in this post on this board either. Maybe they're all becoming a bunch of "old" women too... HA!
 
My wife has a great sense of humor. I say something, she laughs, End of story. I buy my wipers at NAPA and they last a good three years or better. My cars are garaged when not in use so that has a lot to do with it I think. Eleven years ago I buffed some serious scratches out of the X's windshield using a felt wheel and Cerium Oxide. I have used it every once in a while since with a soft wet cotton cloth and just hand polish. seems to get the film that regular glass cleaners miss. It is messy and looks kind of like mud but rinses off with just water.
 
I had a set of Bosch microedge on my daily driver '03 Subaru for at least five years before I replaced them. And we get anywhere from 40 to 60 inches of rain per year where I live so they were used quite a bit.

I've since replaced them with Michelins. Simply because I was at Wal-Mart one day and needed a set and decided to give them a try. I'm not as impressed with the Michelins as I was with the Bosch.

However my cars sit inside a garage if they are not being driven so I suspect if I left it outside in the weather, a year would be about the life of a wiper blade due to UV rays.

It's hard to find these in 15" for a Fiat unless you order them over the internet. None of the autopart stores seem to carry a wide variety of brands in that size. Trico is about all I can find in a 15".

Couple of tips for getting more use out of a set of wiper blades. First of all AutoGlym windhshield polish works great at removing road funk buildup.




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This tool is actually one of the better things I have bought at an as seen on TV store to remove funk buildup off the blades:

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And of course Rain-X mixed with washer fluid. I also spray my windows down with Rain-X before leaving my garage if it's pouring rain. This stuff also makes it allot easier to scrape frost/ice off windows in the mornings after working nightshifts.
 
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