I was curious to see what everyone is using. It was raining last night and I noticed the Clubbie needed new wipers. I've been using Bosch wipers with pretty good results on the other 2 cars and they are relatively inexpensive. Any recommendations from experience?

Also, I know some people use additives or sealers... Anyone using them? I was going to buy the Rain-X Additive that goes in the washer fluid tank that coats the glass for beading. Never put any attention to this, wonder if it's worth doing.

 

I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and have experienced my share of driving in the rain.

I have been VERY impressed with PIAA wipers. They were twice the cost of the Bosch, but perform better and have lasted over a year so far. I will not go back to cheaper blades.

I have used glass sealants before also. They work great while they remain on the glass (maybe a month or so), then it makes the wipers smear the glass. If you go this route prepare to keep up the treatments.

Additives... Never added anything to the fluid, but have purchased expensive to cheap fluid and have not seen much difference.

My bottom line is that new blades, no matter what kind, are the biggest improvement to seeing what is ahead of you.

 

I use the Bosch set of blades in the twin package since they are the closest to factory with the airfoil/spoiler on the left blade.

That and they are inexpensive from my work......

 

Bosch Icon. The fit is great as long as you get the same size for the passenger side as the driver's side. They also last nearly forever. I have only changed mine once in almost 3 years and I lived in Florida where it rained 4 to 5 times a week.

 

Totally agree. I use PIAA silicone wipers and I have been extremely pleased with them. And they seem to last a very long time as well.

 

I will never use Rainex products again. I used Rainex aerosol glass cleaner the first time I cleaned the windshield on my brand new 2013 Roadster. The factory fresh wiper blades immediately started chattering horribly. I got some Mother's California Gold Water Spot Remover for Glass and cleaned the windshield good. The chattering stopped right away.

 

+1
Piaa
So far the best i have seen on a mini!!
100% coverage, and long lasting....not cheap, but they simply work. No lift off, no streeking, no missed parts due to curving windshields.

 

Thanks for the pointers guys. Do you know which model you guys were using?

PIAA lists these:

Silencio X-TRM Silicone Wipers
Si-Tech Silicone Wipers
Forza Hybrid Silicone Wipers
Super Sporza Silicone Wipers
Super Silicone Wipers
Super Silicone Curved Wiper

 

I use oem wiper blades. When they start streaking, I go to the dealer and get another set for free.

I had a rock chip and the windshield repair place said that if there was Rain-X on the glass, their glue machine wouldn't stick to it.

I use 20-10 fluid, when I can get it on sale, then I get a few gallons of it.

Dave

 

I was either using the Super Sporza Silicone, or the Super Silicone. Can't remember which.

 

I've used PIAA and BOSCH and ANCO and dealer's

I've used Rain-x and not

and after 30 years of playing what I've found is the MOST important factor in wiper performance is a CLEAN windshield, followed by decent blades.

By clean, I mean running your entire windshield with a single edge razor blade once a year ... or even on a brand new car. You won't believe the crud you'll scrape up. Follow that with this hint ... when you wash your car do you make it a point to wash your wiper blades? When you run the wipers to get that crud or bug off the glass, does any stick to the rubber blade? You betcha .... wash the blades, and inspect for deterioration.

With this plan I am happy with the dealer's blades until out of pre-pay and then use ANCO replacing once a year or when they need it. When I see the blade streaking the first thing I do is get out the single edge razor blade window scraper and most of the time, problem solved.

Griot's now has a special clay just for glass, and many advocate saving your 'not good enuf for the car' clay, for a few uses on the glass. I do this too, but still find that the razor always finds things to 'bump' on, and take off.

 

Silcone curved on a gen 1 conforms to the windshield.....keep the windshield clean, and ozone will not harden them like natrul rubber blades...heck 2 years is about right for the piaa's.

 

I have taken in the past a green scotch bright with some water and isopropl alcohol and scrubbed the crap off the windshield. works great but, you see all the knicks and scratches in the glass from road damage.

 

I bought mine from Alta.

 

I'm glad to see how many people love their PIAA's because i literally ordered some yesterday. I got the super silicone set from outmotoring.com:
http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...ni_cooper.html

I also use rainx because in the northwest we get a lot of half-a$$ rain that isn't coming down hard enough for the lowest speed setting, and it's nice to just let it bead up and whoosh away.

Capt_bj I'm intrigued by your razor blade approach. I always wash my wiper blades but never thought of taking the glass cleaning to the next level. Hmmmm.

 

That's entirely expected - the RainX cleaner is just a cleaner to prepare the surface for the actual RainX water dispersant. Rubber will catch on a perfectly clean surface and skip like that.

To stop that you need something with a lubricant in it - which presumably the Mother's Spot Remover does.

 

an2, I don't mean to be argumentative, but the Rain-X glass cleaner is not just a cleaner. Rain-X claims it also applies rain repellant. Here is what their literatiure says:

Rain-X® 2-in-1 Foaming Glass Cleaner and Rain Repellent applies water-beading technology to your windshield for enhanced visibility and helps prevent the accumulation of sleet, snow, ice, bugs and road spray.

Product Features:

• [*]

I don't know 100%, but I don't believe the Mothers product has any lubricant in it. Here is what their literature says:


California Gold® Water Spot Remover for Glass

 

In my opinion the only RainX product worth buying is the traditional swirl on/buff off liquid. I've tried their other sprays, cleaners, and washer fluid which are all much easier to apply but none of them come close to the effect of the original.

That being said, I found that if you live where it doesn't rain often RainX isn't worth using. The dust and crud that accumulates on the windshield between rains cancels out any benefit of the RainX. At least that was my experience while living in Chicago.

I'm excited to see how the PIAAs measure up.

 

when I tried PIAA they came with a little pouch with a disposable cloth of a glass treatment to be applied to the glass to enhance the performance of the blades.... Acted a whole lot like RAINX . . .

 

Huh, that'll teach me to read my own bottles. I'd made assumptions since I get the same chatter with the RainX cleaner, but I also get it with a different clean-anything grime remover I use (I had a splash of tar, so had to spring for something stronger), and I know that fully clean glass gives rubber a much better surface to "stick" to giving you the chatter.

But I've always used the cleaner followed by actual RainX, and so I've never had that issue. I'll bet the Mother's has some kind of silicone or similar in it for the shine though, most of the bigger name car cleaning products do.

What I can say for certain is I don't like RainX's one-piece blades - they catch the wind at high speed and lift, at least on the driver's side. They also seem to create an air pocket behind them that pulls back water from the A pillar across half the windshield. I also agree with someone said about the sprays - they're effective, but they don't last anywhere near as long.

 

i've been using rainx since about 1976 on windshields and my motorcycle helmet faceshields

i have tried all the variants they have come out with, but the original wipe-on-let-dry-buff-off liquid is still the best

i also apply rainx to my wiper blades ... it seems to "seal" them from the ozone and other stuff that destroys the blades ... the blades on my p/u are 4-going-on-5 years old

i used to reapply the rainx every 2 months, but since i started using the rainx brand windshield washer fluid, i am only applying it 3 times a year

also, i rarely use the wipers in the rain, it is not necessary, the water beads and blows away

i bought the 6 year/100k mile extended maintenance so i expect i will be using oem wiper blades for at least 6 years and so far with the rainx, the oem wiper blades are working fine

scott

 

I use the good year monobeam blades... They are 7.99 each and Costco has a coupon for buy one, get one $0...

$8 for monobeam wipers, I like that.

Now if I could figure out the right size. 19" too big for the pass side, 18" seems too small.

 

I heard so much good feedback I just went ahead and ordered a few sets from TireRack. 2 pair for the MINIs and another for the p-car. Looks I should be really happy with the results. Thanks boys

 

Super Silicone PIAA's and Aquapel for me.
After the first set wears out, the PIAA refills are very reasonably priced.

 

I'm a groupie now. I installed them on the Clubbie today. I tested my OEM blades first with some windex on the windshield and saw how each swipe mediocre. I then installed the PIAAs and every swipe was so crisp and clean. More than anything I want to see the rain bead up while driving. Thanks guys you were all very helpful.