[s-cars] Best wiper blades?

[Marc S.A.Glasgow]

The definition of the best wiper blade coheres with the type of
environment you plan on needing them in, and your definition of best
(longest life or highest effectiveness?). Generally, your questions can
be answered by viewing the new blades at the auto parts store from the
end to determine thickness. Before I start talking tech, let me explain
a few terms for the uninitiated:

Blade edge -- the thinnest part of the blade, the portion that rests
against your windshield.

Blade Triangle -- if you look at the wiper sideways from the end, you
will notice that the blade edge traditionally sits on the apex of a
triangle of material (usually a rubber-plastic compound), with the
opposing side of the triangle formed to connect to more of the same
material. This triangle of which the front edge is the blade edge is
the Blade Triangle.

Blade Pivot -- if you look at the wiper sideways from the end, you will
see that the back of the blade triangle (the flat side opposite the
blade edge) is connected to the rest of the support with a narrowing of
the material between the blade triangle and the remainder. This
narrowing is there to permit the edge triangle to pivot as the wiper
changes direction. This is the pivot I am talking about and not the one
at the mounting bracket.

Indent -- the indent is the amount of material difference between the
maximum width of the blade triangle and the minimum width of the blade
pivot. A larger indent makes for a loser pivot, if all other things are
the same.

Now for the recommendations:

For snow and ice-bound situations, especially with dirt/salt mixtures,
use the thickest contact surface blade you can get, with a thick blade
pivot (minimal indent), since flex isn't nearly as important as wear
and ability to push.

For light to medium clean or acidic rain, use a medium-thickness blade
edge with a medium pivot (medium indent). Most blades fall into this
category. Specialty blades in this category include silicon and teflon
stripe blades.

For medium to heavy rains, and rains in locations with high
calcium/lime contents (such as most of the southeastern USA), use a
very thin edged blade with a thin pivot (large indent). Bosch MicroEdge
wipers are particularly good for this scenario. Naturally, thin-edged
blades tend to not last as long as thicker-edged blades, but they form
a tighter bond to the glass (the pressure from the spring in the arm
being the same at the blade mount, and less surface area being in
contact with the glass) and thus do a better job of wiping away water,
and water bearing residual mineral content before it calcifies/hardens.

Hope that answers every possible question you could ever have about
wiper blades.
Cheers,
=-= Marc Glasgow