Beam-style wiper blades

[ricebike]

Well, I purchased a few sets of beam style wiper blades already & here’s my quick review of them.

The pros:

Ease of clearing your windshield during the winter months & there are no joints on the wiper blade assembly to worry about freezing over

Sleeker style (i guess)

Some say no streaks across the whole area, but it depends on how curved your windshield and if there’s a stray piece of debris in between the wiper squeegee and the glass.

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The cons:

Most of them wear at the center of where the assembly meets the wiper arm. The pressure of the arm to the wiper blade assembly usually is more than the outer edges

Virtually no “refill” to purchase from the brick/mortar store & replace on its own when they finally degrade after 2-3 years. The assembly is still in good shape & some people do find the correct width/lengths out there to just buy the refills on their research but it’s a major PITA

One set I got were Valeo w/ natural rubber squeegees.

http://www.valeowipersusa.com/?q=wiper- ... s-ultimate

They didn’t last too long ~ 2 years (glad I got eat cheaper online vs. a brick-n-mortar store)

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Another set were discontinued Triple Edge wipers called “Gliders” w/ Silicone rubber squeegees. They lasted 4 years. They had an Armor All equivalent for a short time & had a guarantee of 5 years, but they recently took down that design because of the wear flaws that other buyers & I are finding… that weak point in the center!

http://www.thewiperstore.com/

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SilBlade has a similar style product with the beam design & they still have a 5 year warranty on them… FlexBlade it’s a bit high in price, but if it guarantee’s 5 year performance, it may be better to get these instead of the regular rubber blades of the same design

http://www.silblade.com/Flex-Blade_c_8.html

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I went with an Ebay seller from NYC that boasted a “limited lifetime warranty.”

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190189630452?ss ... 1438.l2649


Since Ebay archives their sale record, I quickly got another set shipped to me, no questions asked & they confirm the sale record & address today.

It was a SEE CLEAR by Service Pro brand with natural rubber squeegees & they did pretty well for a 3-year run & was amazed at their customer service. No shipping fees on their warranty. http://www.service-pro.com/products.html

The replacements were another non-national name brand called Arc Flex Ultra… beam blade with natural rubber squeegee with some sort of coating on the blade. Made in the USA was surprising. (upon further research on this set, it’s really Goodyear Assurance ~ just in a private less known label made by Saver Auto Products). The back of the packaging has the EXACT info as the national name branded one!

Whatever the case, I’ll contact the seller in another 3 years on this set if it falls apart again.








What are your experiences with these newer-styled beam wiper blades?

[ricebike]

Slightly off-topic:


On the Quest minivan, I reverted back to standard wiper frames w/ silicone squeegees from Triple Edge. I didn’t pay the website price (since they were way cheaper from another Ebay seller, but the wiper store dot com accepted my online registration for the lifetime warranty (they do make you pay $4.99 shipping for new blades/assemblies when you send in a claim).

Some people like it; others don't... the other edges of this wiper blade doesn't touch the glass at all! slight chatter only when it's not really wet on the glass, but for silicone, it's a tradeoff over natural rubber squeegees...

Both companies I’ve dealt with are excellent in customer service & don’t want the old wipers back. So I’m documenting it here for other potential customers going this route
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On my 240sx, I have purchased a discontinued blade set that were close to the platinum blue (really looks like silver) OEM color of my car… those silicone blades have been on there for over 7 years! (I’ve long lost the receipt & the brand/ make of the manufacturer)

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Also purchase a set of silicone wiper blade REFILLS when it was on sale at the local dollar store… this was also over 7 years old & was mounted to the rear wipers of my minivan & wifey’s SUV… not dry rotted at all! A quick wipe with a glass cleaner is all the maintenance it needs & since they're rear wipers, they aren’t used that much anyways.

[Jesda]

I like how smooth and quiet Triple Edge blades are. However, I've recently switched to Bosch Steeltech. They use a traditional metal frame that puts even pressure on my curved windshield (old Saabs have wraparound glass), which helps remove water at the edge. So far (1 year, 12,000 miles) they've held up well in all kinds of weather.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I've consistently run Michelin Radius wiper blades on my cars for a long time. Very fond of them. They don't like heavily curved windshields (you end up with the ends or center of the blade lifting while the rest gets all the pressure). But on cars like my LS8 or the Q45 with flat, square windshields, they do well. I've also had part of the plastic aero...stuff fly off in an air drier at a carwash, but that plastic seems to be purely cosmetic, despite the box's claims that it produces downforce which helps distribute blade pressure more evenly.

One of my favorite things about the Radii is that they stand up to strongly varied seasons well. Surface ice won't tear them. Cold doesn't stiffen them. Sun doesn't oxidize them. And they tend to have decent wear duration. They also seem less prone to freezing to the windshield for some reason, though that could be pure coincidence (I certainly can't think of any physics to back such a claim).

They do also look nicer than normal framed wipers when tucked into the cowl on the LS8, where they're barely noticeable. But that's merely a bonus.

Couple other threads on the subject:
post6094846.html
post5962157.html

[Jesda]

Once in a while Costco will score a deal on Michelin blades and sell them for $8! They run out quickly though. Their usual stock is a similar Goodyear blade for $7.99-$8.99.

[Looneybomber]

I am super impressed at the life of some of those wiper blades! I use either Michelin or that cheap brand that's everywhere. I don't think i've ever got more than a year out of a set of blades before they start having lifting problems where there's that small arc across the windshield that isn't touched...and I rarely use my wipers since I rainX my windshield! Once I am at about 40mph, I shut my wipers off. I see folks all the time with their blade going full blast and my wipers aren't even on. Maybe I need to use them so they don't go bad?

[Ace2cool]

Yeah, I've never gotten more than like 9 months out of a "regular" set of blades. I swapped over to these bean style ones, and they're just now starting to streak, after 2 and a half years.

[WDRacing]

The only way I've ever had wipers last was to apply rainx with every car wash. Less friction = longer life. But I usually replace wipers every year regardless.

Anyone tried the Rain X wipers? With my BMW I'm pretty much F'd, they don't use traditional wipers. So I have to buy them from the dealer or someplace online that sells them.

[Oatmealman]

I had a set of em.Broke two days after I bought em.vowed never to buy a expensive wiper blade ever again after that.

[szh]

You all need to try Silblade wipers ... see www.silblade.com and also available at Amazon.

Also, I am not as enamored with the beam blades anymore. My last Silblade beam set on my M45 do not seem to provide as even a force across the entire length of the blade as I would like. So, this time around, I plan to go back to more traditional ones - the Silblade ones in their more standard setups on my wife's last car (had curved windshield too) did better.

Z

[szh]

With my BMW I'm pretty much F'd, they don't use traditional wipers. So I have to buy them from the dealer or someplace online that sells them.

Just like their batteries! I could not believe that one of my colleagues got charged $575 for a battery replacement on his 5 series. I paid around $110 or $120 for my last battery (top of the line Interstate brand) on my M45 - did the replacement myself ... piece of cake!

Z

[ricebike]

You all need to try Silblade wipers ... see http://www.silblade.com and also available at Amazon.
Z

yea, i mentioned them in my OP... 5 year warranty isn't bad, but cost still up there

since i already have "limited lifetime warranties" on my vehicles, it's one less thing to worry about spending $ for a wear-and-tear item
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some Honda's however, had replaceable wiper refills from the dealership though & it's a hybrid~ beam-traditional style

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGqTh5rfnQE[/youtube]

others should follow suit because those aftermarket blades cost a pretty penny

[WDRacing]

With my BMW I'm pretty much F'd, they don't use traditional wipers. So I have to buy them from the dealer or someplace online that sells them.

Just like their batteries! I could not believe that one of my colleagues got charged $575 for a battery replacement on his 5 series. I paid around $110 or $120 for my last battery (top of the line Interstate brand) on my M45 - did the replacement myself ... piece of cake!

Z

I bought mine at Advance, was $135. If you buy from BMW you get raped.