Silicone is freaking awesome.

[Dirtman]

And not just for boobies!

I have a horrible time driving at night when it's raining because of the glare so I always keep my windshield spotless, use rain-x additive in my washer fluid and use good wiper blades. (Use to use Bosch icons). I decided to give PIAA silicone blades a try even though I cringed at paying 50 bucks for freaking wiper blades.

My god these things are amazing though. I heard they leave a little silicone on the glass as they wipe but always figured that was B.S. after all how much can they really leave with each wipe? But I just drove home 2 hours in a downpour and I only had to keep my wipers on one click and water was falling off my windshield like I just waxed the glass with the original rain-x.

I hope they last like this but well worth the 50 bucks even if they only last as long as cheap blades.

Just thought I'd share before I get into the burboun...

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Rain-X actually makes glare worse on glass. As an ex-welder of over 20+ years, I notice this at night especially. It leaves a coating on the glass that increases the glare.

 

[Dirtman]

The original rain-x that you wax on the windshield does that. I switched to the additive you mix with your wiper fluid, no film or streaks that cause glare. Plus you don't need to keep applying it. I just squirt the windshield down when it's raining and I'm good to go. I'm a welder too btw.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

I've used the same additive and still notice a hell of a glare when the windshield is wet, especially with oncoming lights. It's a "night and day" difference if I clean the window with rubbing alcohol and then stop using the Rain-X. All of this is only a concern when it's raining out though..

 

[Dirtman]

Odd I never notice an issue. I know exactly what you're talking about with the glare at night in the rain. The original stuff did that to me but like I said I have not experienced it with the additive.

 

[Curious Hound]

Wow. I thought the glare just had something to do with my eyes getting old or my glasses being dirty or the windshield being old and scratched up from lots of highway driving. Never even considered it could be the Rain-X. I just buy the Rain-X winter formula wiper fluid and use that all the time.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

50.bucks?

Ill stick my head out the window before i do that.

Give me the 3 dollar wal mart blades. Ill run them for 8 years.

 

[Dirtman]

I can picture rusty driving down the road wiping the mold off his windshield with a raccoon pelt...

 

[91stranger]

Those Walmart blades suck. I bought a set of those b/c it was for a spare car that barely gets drove. They were squeaking right out of the box. It's the most annoying thing ever. I haven't replaced them yet since like I said it is a spare vehicle. I'd pay extra for nice wipers that last 8 years rather than buying cheap wipers and needing to replace them every year. I bought my truck a few years ago and it has the nice wipers that hug the windshield and I have yet to need to replace them. They work good, no streaks and most importantly, no squeaks. Wipers truly follow the "you get what you pay for" moto.

 

[adsm08]

I buy the one just up from the cheapest and usually get 3 to 4 years out of them. I don't use them much and never really wear them out. Most of my wipers die after getting frozen to the glass.

 

[8thTon]

I noticed several years ago that the rubber formulations must have changed, because so many wipers no longer worked worth a damn below 40F. They just chatter and make noise. Plus even the ones that worked at cooler temps didn't last long. So I switched to Rain-X, which also kept the lousy blades from chattering, and that worked OK but after a while it gets nasty and smeary so you have to strip it clean. Plus it loses effectiveness over time and you have to be moving faster to get it to bead and blow off.

Now I also use the Rain-X washer fluid and find it to work quite well. I just buy the cheapest wipers at WalMart when they're on sale for $5 - It's a crap shoot with any other ones regardless of price, and I can afford to replace them more often.

I really don't like these new style mono-blades or whatever they are called - they are too thick and distracting to me.

 

[Dirtman]

I usually replace my blades every spring. (Winter really beats up blades around here). The Bosch icons are good blades, I never had problems with them and they are pretty cheap. About 8-9 bucks each when on sale. I could probably run them way longer I just do blades as part of my de-winterizing routine. (Change washer fluid, change oil, change tires etc).

This year I just wanted to see if silicone blades were worth the hype and to me they definitely seem to work much better but I'll see how they hold up over the winter since that's the real test. For 50 bucks if they can't last longer than the icons I'll be switching back.

I clean my glass with 99% isopropyl alcohol and use the cheapest garbage blue water I can find for washer fluid then add the rain-x additive. In the winter I mix in some extra methanol to keep it from freezing. No film, streaks or glare doing it this way on all my cars.

 

[Ranger850]

i got my last set of blades at the dollar store for 3 bucks on clearance. best 3 dollars ever spent. i usually change mine once a year so no need to spend big bucks on them.

 

[Curious Hound]

The summer sun kills them around here. I replace mine at least once a year.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Those Walmart blades suck. I bought a set of those b/c it was for a spare car that barely gets drove. They were squeaking right out of the box. It's the most annoying thing ever. I haven't replaced them yet since like I said it is a spare vehicle. I'd pay extra for nice wipers that last 8 years rather than buying cheap wipers and needing to replace them every year. I bought my truck a few years ago and it has the nice wipers that hug the windshield and I have yet to need to replace them. They work good, no streaks and most importantly, no squeaks. Wipers truly follow the "you get what you pay for" moto.

You only get 8 years from expensive blades? Shit i get 5 outta cheapos. Streaked/dirty/whatever windsheilds dont bother me.

I put a set of ancos on my 97 when i bought it in 2013. Just replaced them last month with walmart cheapos becsuse the ancos went up from 3.98 to 6.97 or somethin.