[s-cars] Altimax again, S-car in single digits (& aero blade wipers?)

[JC]

Just back from 6 days in Vermont & Quebec running in lots of slippery snow &
ice, Altimax still get full marks.  For real ice OK you want them studded,
but I can only believe they'd be great - very Hakkapelitta flashback.
 
And we remain amazed at the 187k mi S-car battlewagon's willingness to be
completely dependable at its abused and infirmed age.  Fired up in single
digit Farenheit temps in Montreal darkness this morning, and ran all day at
said temps with no complaints or hiccups, just hitting home an hour or so
ago.  (note I was not willing to post this until I was safe at home... Audi
gods must be respected...)  
 
Even took a firm hit to the transom from a renegade Kia sliding on black ice
with no major damage (poor Vermonter was looking at the Audi thinkin' "this
Massh0le guy's gonna be pissed and that damn german car looks expensive to
fix!!", completely thrilled when I said "ahh couple scrapes, nuthing that
won't buff out on this old beater..." and drove away).
 
The oil temp gauge did run colder than I've ever seen it, but the water
temps were the usual Audi rock-solid... had a momentary thought about doing
the trucker-trick and stuffin a piece of cardboard up in front of the oil
cooler but wife wouldn't have probably endorsed me rolling around in the
sand and salt on the cobblestones in 4 degrees this morning... 
 
Change of topic - I'm guessing I'm out of the loop on this one, but what is
the collective wisdom on these new pricey aero blade wipers? I am trying a
set of Michelins and found:
- Not suitable for passenger side, due to too much window curvature, doesn't
wipe well at the far end... Hence currently I'm running a 'regular' blade on
passenger side and auditioning an aero on drivers.
- Driver side is pretty great at warm temps and low speeds, but seems to
develop a 'dead spot' in the middle of the blade at high speed & cold temps.
Also a small dead area at on tip like the passenger but less
noticable/important. 
 
I'm wondering if this is endemic to the breed or if brand is an issue - I've
always done OK with Bosch so am wondering if their version would be more
successful and was the Michelin a bad idea....  Any BTDT?
 
 
 
 
John J. Cunningham
 <mailto:jc at j2c3.com> jc at j2c3.com
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