This is slightly off the topic of oil-burning Rams, but I'd like to know if anyone agrees with me. It seems to me that wiper blades wear out much faster today than they did twenty years ago. I started driving in Minnesota in 1985, and the harsh climate there would wear out wiper blades in a couple of years. Since then I've lived in Southwest Texas, Southern California, and now Maryland. I've tried different kinds of wiper blades and they all seem to last less than a year before they begin to leave streaks on the windshield. I always clean the glass with Bon Ami cleanser before I change the wiper blades, and I go over the glass with detailing clay every few months to remove gritty debris. You fellas have any thoughts on this serious matter?

 

I replaced my blades almost right off the bat. The stock ones sucked! They chattered and didn't clean jack.

I ended up putting the triple edge blades on and they work great. No noise and they seem to work very well.

 

Anyone use those Rain-X blades? Are they as good as they're supposed to be? What kind do you use?

 

I've changed my blades a couple of times now. Last year or so I put some sort of silicone edged poly raz-za-ma-taz blades on there. They, like anyother new blade, worked great for a while, but for the costI would have thought that I would have gotten a little more life out of them. Around Christmas time I put another set on only this timeI went withI think they were Bosch blades. Regular rubber blades, nothing fancy, but more expensive than the cheapies. When I have them set to the slowest delay, just a slight drizzle, they hop a bit, but in rain they seem to work fine.

Who knows ....

 

The big problem with wiper blades is the exposure to the Sun, UV kills the blades.
I have tried everything, even those new high tech. one piece blades, and I can still only get one season out of them.

I will give your Windshield cleaning method a try, I had not thought of using Bon Ami or similar. I don't have "Detailing Clay", everything I have is in a "Paste", if I use it I wind up with an oily film on the windshield.

 

I change my blades 2 x a year. A winter set, and a summer set. I also use a size 2 inches shorter. Keeps them on the window much tighter at higher speeds. I have never gotten a full year out of wipers...lol. I also use the orange rainX washer fluid. LOVE that stuff. I don't even use the wipers on the highway.

Good luck with ALL our rides.

 

I use that stuff too and yeah, it DOES work really well !!

 

I'm sure you're right about the UV radiation killing the wiper blades.

If you try the cleanser trick to clean your glass, only use Bon Ami. I learned it from a body shop guy a long time ago. He said other cleansers like Ajax or Comet could actually scratch the glass. Detailing clay is great for getting gritty stuff off your paint or glass. Try it before you wax, and you'll wonder how you got along without it.

 

Mine make it about 4 or 5 months before they're toast, course I use them almost everyday. But the ones that came on it from the dealer lasted a year, not sure what they were.

 

I can't talk about how long wipper blades lasted twenty years ago - - but blades do suck. I wonder if it is because we all use some type of high speed washer fluid. I use a de-icer in the winter (ok I hate to scrape windows I'm lazy so what) and in the summer I have rain-x in my fluid. So how much does all that stuff we put in the water effect it? My pop's never puts anything in there other than water - - his still last two seasons at least.