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If you have to drive in less-than-ideal weather, a brand new kit can help you stay safe in rain, sleet and snow.
When it’s time to replace your wiper blades, you’re probably spoilt for choice.With so many different models to look for and techniques to consider, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.Fortunately, there are a few key factors to consider when buying a good set of wipers at a reasonable price.After finding the most promising options for a range of vehicles, we put them through our testing protocol to determine which ones are best worth slapping on your car.
Check out quick info on the best wiper blades below, then scroll down for buying advice and in-depth reviews of these models.
Performance aside, the biggest differences in wiper blades are the mounting system, style, and material of the blade itself.Out of the box, the ideal wiper should be affordable, easy to install, incredibly quiet, and clear the windshield better than the competition.It is also important to find the right size blade that is compatible with your vehicle.
As with many things in the automotive industry, there are countless standards.Numerous solutions already exist when it comes to attaching wiper blades to your vehicle, including pins, pull tabs, hooks, and sometimes even screws.However, that makes life difficult for a wiper maker that wants to create a connection to all of these models.
Before getting your wipers wrong, always check with your local auto parts store or dealer to make sure you’re getting the right blades for your vehicle.Every unit we tested – with the exception of the Bosch Icon and Bosch Focus with J-hook – used completely different components to interface with the car, but were universally compatible.
Most wipers come in two different forms.(There’s a mix between the two, but it’s less common.)
Framed: These wipers are the easiest and most affordable wipers on the market.To maintain contact with the windshield, they used a steel superstructure that suspends a number of levers attached to the blades themselves.These levers push the wipers against the windshield, often causing streaks where they meet.
Beam Style: While frame style wiper blades have a series of levers, these newer blades use steel beams that run the length of the wiper to provide consistent contact.In addition to better performance, the beam design is immune to inclement weather in winter and allows the airfoil to stop the wipers from lifting off the windshield in strong winds.
While the blades on some wipers are rubber, silicone wipers perform much better.This material is more resilient to the elements, performs better and lasts longer.No matter the material, wiper blades leave residue on the windshield; silicone is inherently hydrophobic, which should help water droplets off the windshield.Sure, rubber was more cost-effective in its heyday, but silicone wipers have become more affordable, and the performance benefits are well worth the price.If you can’t find a great set of silicone wipers, synthetic rubber is a great alternative.
When choosing the best wiper blades, I sourced a range of the latest models for exceptional value, functionality and design.To accurately assess the performance of each wiper, I turned to my 2015 Volkswagen GTI as a testbed.To create a repeatable experiment to evaluate each unit, I sprayed a clean windshield with a three-to-one mixture of washable paint and water, then used each wiper blade to remove it.I continued to turn on the wipers until the path was 100% clean and had no paint residue.Between each test, I scrubbed the windshield with car soap, then used a scraper to scrape off the remaining water and dry the glass.
To make sure I pack the windshield with the same amount of paint every time, I use a pressurized garden sprayer.Between each run, I depressurized and pumped down the unit 35 times.Once it’s time to drop the paint, I do two passes in a cross-hatch pattern – up and down and then left and right – for maximum coverage.
In a second experiment, I compared noise levels on a semi-dry windshield – because there’s nothing worse than a squeak of wipers in light rain.I wet the windshield first, then use the squeegee to remove 80% of the water.However, instead of wiping it dry as in previous tests, I left the remaining 20% water on the glass.Using a calibrated decibel meter placed on the hood of my car, I flipped the wipers over once to take a reading.After running this process 3 times for each model, I averaged the readings to get the final result.
While each wiper is custom designed to remove water from the glass, I found that all of these models performed very closely out of the box.The most notable differentiating factors – and what you should focus on during your search – are ease of installation and noise levels.
When it comes to value for money, wiper blades are no exception.Matching the most expensive models in our test, the Rain-X Silicone Advantedge performed the best and remained the quietest.It also has a waterproof coating applied as it runs along the glass.The same goes for the Michelin Endurance XT below, however, unlike that wiper, this one still whispers.My only gripe with it is that it’s difficult to install, thanks to a very complicated mechanism, and doesn’t trigger a secure connection.
Yes, the Endurance XT is the loudest wiper we’ve tested, but it’s also one of the most affordable for the price.Along with the aforementioned Advantedge, which costs nearly twice as much, the Endurance XT runs along the windshield with a water-repellent coating.With a small amount of silicone (hydrophobic in nature) placed on top of the blade, Michelin treated the wiper with a four-layer hydrophobic coating to improve cleaning, even before the wiper engages.This would be a good choice for motorists who experience relatively mild seasons throughout the year.
The Trico Maxx is on par with its compatriots in terms of performance, but is still one of the quietest, 10 decibels less than the Michelin Endurance XT.However, the defining part of Trico is that it’s very easy to install.Instead of being snapped by one universal carrier, the Trico comes with two that snap in and out using a series of clips.After the correct plastic bits are installed, there are a series of removable plastic spacers – to accommodate the different mechanisms – which snap in securely once I have the correct arrangement for my Volkswagen.
Fox stands out a bit in the wipers here.To optimize nighttime operation, this wiper uses clever technology to mitigate reflections while maintaining strong performance elsewhere.The spoiler – which keeps the wipers glued to the windshield in high winds – is coated with light-absorbing charcoal powder to eliminate reflections on the occupants of the car.In addition to the spoiler’s unique design, the Focus includes a wear indicator on the outer edge that turns yellow when the wipers need to be replaced.Aside from the super clever design point, this pair is easy to install and not too loud.
Much like the Focus, Bosch’s Icon uses clever design elements to improve performance.To eliminate wind lift (strong winds can blow the wipers off the windshield), the blade uses an asymmetric spoiler to create an even level of downforce on the wipers.It’s not Formula 1-level aerodynamics, but more contact with the windshield means more water is wiped away.Featuring Bosch’s ClearMax 365 technology, Icon’s blades feature a soft rubber core and hard polymer shell for improved performance and longevity.Much like the Focus, the Icon uses the same carrier mechanism for easy installation.
Post time: Jul-18-2022