I'm looking to change the wipers on my RS for the coming winter. I want something that will stand up to snowy conditions. The stock ones are pretty crappy. What do you guys recommend?
Thanks

JOE

Silicone wipers! :)

Either the triple edge or the colored ones out of JC Whitney.
For either one, you will also want to try to find the little wiper blade "sharpener" device.

Wow. Winter in Sonoma county must be harsher than I thought.

I have tried lots, and the ones that work the best are the triple edge. I have never tried the bosch silicone ones though.

-what are blade sharpeners?

Good one Jon! Of course I'm referring to Tahoe! ;) Anyways, have you guys had fitment promlems w/ aftermarket wipers. I have had problems in the past. Also, has anyone tried the PIAA ones?
-JOE

IMO, Subaru ones seem to work the best, they wipe wonders.

See I think the OEM ones are garbage. *shrug* :)

I've been using Anco wipers for YEARS. Summer and winter.
Their Premium Winter blades are great. Not expensive, either.
SUPER easy to install.

I used Bosch and thought they were terrible.

-S2-

Bosch's

The absolutely best windshield wipers are the Bosch Micro Edge Excel! They are truly great. They are only a little more expensive but they last really long and they clear the windshield like nothing you've ever seen.

Little known fact: Santa Rosa is one of the worlds harshest microclimates :)

From Consumer Reports 10/2000, rated in this order(take the information any way you want):

OEM
ANCO Premium 31
Trico Exact Fit(has best fitting assembly)
Anco Aerovantage 91
Bosch MicroEdge 407
Trico Nu-Vision 21
Bosch MicroEdge Excel 409
Car and Driver

All others reviewed did not make the cut. They recommend replacing the entire blade fixture rather than just buying refills, since they fit better.

JulianH

I like Trico Exact Fit the best, but I've had problems with them. It only happens on my 2.5RS and a 1998 SAAB 900S (my other car). And only on the driver's side. The wiper does not seem to have a sufficient latch mechanism and slips from the wiper arm during use. Of course, this only happens in a downpour, so it's VERY dangerous. It never happens on any other cars I have, including a 1994 Impreza and a 1986 SAAB... Very wierd! I am forced to by Bosch, which are not as good.

The Bosch Excel wipers were a complete bust on my '04 wrx. Never worked as well as the stock wipers and went downhill fast. I live in Portland Oregon and in the winter your wipers get a workout near daily and these did not even make it thru one season. I just switched to the Bosch Icons at the recommendation of a friend, and even though they are much more expensive, they are workign beautifully. The longevity is still in question, but they clear the rain well.

The dead have risen.

Bosch Icon's are awesome imho

I am a manager at a auto parts store and the best wipers Ive seen from any company on the market today are exactly what norexyet said..... The bosch ICON. They are more expensive than most at roughly $20 a piece, but if you want something that lasts and wipes clean for a long time you cant go wrong with these. I run them on my STI and they have been amazing. The ones I have on it now wipe just as clean as the day I bought them and they have been through 2 NY winters and 4 months of Florida heat.

I have to admit even working and selling tons of them, I was still skeptical of spending $40 for wipers but I tried them on a sale they had one month and havent looked back. Any bracketed blade(the tree branched looking ones that come on most vehicles) are the same. They last about 4-6 months depending on usage and weather conditions but the technology in the ICON are way more superior to any of them. I havent seen any ICONS last less than a year.

Thats my opinion though.

PIAA wipers all the way.
www.piaa.com

whatever you do, don't fall for the rain-x latitudes.. they SUCK

Subaru refills FTW.

i live in maine. i know snow. i got hese new wipers i saw last year. there ancos but there like a huge bow , and a squigy in one. they work really really well , better than every other brand i have tried. they are $17 each though but worth it

just picked up a set of icons, work well so far, not a fan of the "stylized" little plastic clip on them though, might match up better on a camaro or something.

a new Autozone had just opened and were running buy-one-get-one on all wiper blades, sweetness...

Valeo ULTIMATE (Hook-Lock) are the the 4th set on the wagon and the best so far, only a month but no shuddering, completely cleans and they were buy one get one.

Bosch Icon's are awesome imho

Another vote. Best blade I've ever used, and I spend a lot of money trying to figure out which ones were the best. They last about a year, in my personal experience, before they don't clear effectively any longer.

I think Consumer Reports did a recent study on wipers:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/tires-auto-parts/auto-parts/windshield-wipers/overview/windshield-wipers-ov.htm

British ato mag Auto Express tested wiper blades recently and two Bosch blades came out on top:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/228342/wiper_blades.html

I believe the Bosch Aerotwin blades that came in second are the same as the Bosch Icons sold here in the U.S.

whatever you do, don't fall for the rain-x latitudes.. they SUCK


Definately. Bought them for my wifes car and my truck (sold it). Wife hates them, don't clean well. She had one end cap fall off and the blade was coming out. The ones on my truck didn't clean well, and any speeds over 50, they would lift on the down stroke. I contacted customer service a couple times with no responce.

for subaru imprezas, its 17inch right? (sorry for noobish Q)

the ones i have had the best luck with are the michelin.

my first set of michelin lasted 14 months on my car here in tx.

my second set i am about 8 months on and still wiping strong.

i have tried anco,rain x,bosch,and triple edge.

if i did not get mich. i would go with triple edge i got about a 1 year out of them.

rain-x lasted me about 7 1\2 months.

anco's and bosch about 5 months.

for subaru imprezas, its 17inch right? (sorry for noobish Q)

I'm pretty sure it's 22" (driver) and 17" (passenger).

One thing I do, that helps no matter what wipers Im running is waxing the windshield. Wax it just like you would any other part of the car. The water beads up, and the wipers-old, new, junk all throw the water right off the windshield.
I have been running OEM's for 2 years now, I think its getting to be about time to get some new ones, probably trico since thats what the auto parts store around the corner has.

+1 crappy 5 dollar wipers with rainx works well with me.. for something that needs to be changed so frequently I can't justify spending 50 bucks- I'd rather save my money and buy better engine oil...

You said snowy weather. Trico makes winter blades for the job. http://www.tricoproducts.com/common/images/Trico/ezlit/Winter1.jpghttp://www.tricoproducts.com/common/images/Trico/ezlit/37_210_card.jpg

They work better because the rubber boot keeps snow/ice from clogging the blade.

+1 crappy 5 dollar wipers with rainx works well with me.. for something that needs to be changed so frequently I can't justify spending 50 bucks- I'd rather save my money and buy better engine oil...

That's just it - if you buy good wipers they don't have to be changed frequently. I've use the PIAA silicone wipers. So far the ones on my WRX have lasted 4 years and over 60,000 miles. The ones on my wifes LGT I just replaced after 2 1/2 years and over 40,000 miles. And the third set on my SVT lasted 4 years and 160,000 miles. And, I no longer need to use RainX. I just replaced the LGT wipes and SVT wipers with the Valeo. Tirerack had them on sale buy one get one free. Since they get good reviews here, I decided to give them a try. Big mistake.... The design is great but the bottom line is the blades aren't silicone and they don't work as well as the PIAA. So I will pay $50 for two wipers that last 4 years or more and save time not having to clean the rubber blades and put RainX on my glass every 2 weeks.

I'm pretty sure it's 22" (driver) and 17" (passenger).
driver and passwenger wiper blade sizes are different???
arent 5inches a little too big of a difference??

17" (passenger) and 22" (driver) on my 2005 STi. Bosch Icon FTW!

i've never used the rain-x wipers, but actual rain-x works very well.

17" (passenger) and 22" (driver) on my 2005 STi. Bosch Icon FTW!
o really? i better check my owners manual then haah

I just bought some Anco contour blades for our Baja and they are working well so far. Their design is similar to the Bosch Icons with the fin or spoiler towards the back of the blade and not in the center like some of the other designs.

That's just it - if you buy good wipers they don't have to be changed frequently. I've use the PIAA silicone wipers. So far the ones on my WRX have lasted 4 years and over 60,000 miles. The ones on my wifes LGT I just replaced after 2 1/2 years and over 40,000 miles. And the third set on my SVT lasted 4 years and 160,000 miles. And, I no longer need to use RainX. I just replaced the LGT wipes and SVT wipers with the Valeo. Tirerack had them on sale buy one get one free. Since they get good reviews here, I decided to give them a try. Big mistake.... The design is great but the bottom line is the blades aren't silicone and they don't work as well as the PIAA. So I will pay $50 for two wipers that last 4 years or more and save time not having to clean the rubber blades and put RainX on my glass every 2 weeks.

Maybe I"ll try PIAA I have heard nothing but good things... I don't know how long they will last though I have tried almost (except PIAA) every wiper out there and in Toronto's icy, salty, dirty winters every blade I've used is gone by the end of the winter...

I use Bosch Icons and they work just as well as the PIAA for half the price and you can get them at just about any auto parts store.

JM2C

http://www.boschautoparts.com/Products/WiperBlades/Icon.htm

NWBs (Nippon Wiper Blade) FTW!!!

whatever you do, don't fall for the rain-x latitudes.. they SUCK

Definately. Bought them for my wifes car and my truck (sold it). Wife hates them, don't clean well. She had one end cap fall off and the blade was coming out. The ones on my truck didn't clean well, and any speeds over 50, they would lift on the down stroke. I contacted customer service a couple times with no responce.

Yes, they are extremely horrendous. I returned these for the regular Rain-X blades and they were far better in keeping contact with the window and in wiping performance as well.

I used to love the bosch and had two bad experiances with them. Now I only run PIAA way better quality and last longer.

I have the super sporza on drivers side and the silicone on the pass side. Both working just as good as they were 13 months ago.

As funny as it sounds read the instructions about cleaning, break in on dry windshield.

PIAA Silicon all the way. I have them on my 04 sti and they still work great after 3years. Just make sure you install them properly and run them dry on the window for 5mins and you'll never have problems. The water will beed off the windshield you bearly need to use the wipers. They also work extreamly well for snow and ice. Much much better then Rain-x.

I've used the Bosch Icon blades for the past two years and I just replaced them with new Icon's.....They're Fantastic! These Buffalo winters demand a quality wiper and the Bosch deliver. They may be a little pricey, but my Subie is worth it!

...my Subie is worth it!

This line of thinking has gotten me in trouble sometimes ;)