Windshield Wipers.....

[The O.C.]

I'm wondering who else out there (besides myself and OCCarNut) find windshield wipers, wipe pattern, and articulation a kind of "style" on a car, or do they mean absolutely nothing to you?

I hate getting into a new car and it has an absolutely BORING wiper system. My new C6 is an example. My C4 I used to have had the wipers that parked in the middle and swung out to opposing ends. That just simply looked COOL.

In fact, those are one of my favorite wipers......those that swing out from the center (early-gen W-bodies, GM and Chrysler minivans, new Civic, old Corvette, old 220-class Mercedes, etc.)

#1 for me, though, has to be old Mercedes wipers that both parked on one side of the windshield (560SL, 300SD) and swung across the windshield almost together.....old 911 Porsches did this too.

I also love articulating wipers like the last single-wiper on Mercedes-Benz's.....and most BMWs....even though they have two wipers, the driver side articulates as it sweeps.

Finally, anyone remember the S-Class from three generations ago? (The "Princess Killer.") It had relatively a realtively normal two-wiper setup (although it also articulated as it sweeped) but they were REVERSED.....and they swept from the driver side up to the passenger side......like they were made for a RHD car.

Just wondering if anyone else out there agrees!

[Flybrian]

Finally, anyone remember the S-Class from three generations ago?  (The "Princess Killer.")  It had relatively a realtively normal two-wiper setup (although it also articulated as it sweeped) but they were REVERSED.....and they swept from the driver side up to the passenger side......like they were made for a RHD car.

164545[/snapback]

That sounds like a pretty lousy setup, unless the articulation means it swept that upper corner that's usually not covered by the traditional passenger wiper blade.

I'm not a big fan of the single wipers on Mercedes because they look a little funny when they operate - the arm 'bounces' up and down. Seems goofy. But I agree, its a unique touch, whether I like it or not.

In the realm of standard wiper blade, I appreciate my Aurora's concealment of the blades when the wipers are off as well as the hidden nozzles. Nothing look chintzier on a $30k+ car than expose nozzle heads, IMO. Also, perhaps I'm alone in liking the skeletal look of traditional wiper arms versus these new structureless blades. It looks more elegant and delicate and I like that.

[The O.C.]

That sounds like a pretty lousy setup, unless the articulation means it swept that upper corner that's usually not covered by the traditional passenger wiper blade.

I'm not a big fan of the single wipers on Mercedes because they look a little funny when they operate - the arm 'bounces' up and down. Seems goofy. But I agree, its a unique touch, whether I like it or not.

In the realm of standard wiper blade, I appreciate my Aurora's concealment of the blades when the wipers are off as well as the hidden nozzles. Nothing look chintzier on a $30k+ car than expose nozzle heads, IMO. Also, perhaps I'm alone in liking the skeletal look of traditional wiper arms versus these new structureless blades. It looks more elegant and delicate and I like that.

164547[/snapback]

I actually like the structureless blades.

Yes, the S-Class' reversed wipers articulated to the point where they swept damn near the entire windshield....so in this sense it was okay. But I see what you mean.

[Flybrian]

I actually like the structureless blades.

164554[/snapback]

I like the idea, too. I guess I like them less because I tried to buy a set and after spending $40 on them, they wouldn't fit my car (different clips) . So, that was an early birthday present for my father. They actually look good on his Bonneville because a) it has exposed wiper blades, so you can see them and b) its a more 'sporty' combination.

Now, check out the coolest wipers ever...

[The O.C.]

I like the idea, too. I guess I like them less because I tried to buy a set and after spending $40 on them, they wouldn't fit my car (different clips) . So, that was an early birthday present for my father. They actually look good on his Bonneville because a) it has exposed wiper blades, so you can see them and b) its a more 'sporty' combination.

Now, check out the coolest wipers ever...

164559[/snapback]

Oooooooooooooo

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

I'm guessing they swing all the way around in a 360-degree circle.......way too cool!

[Satty]

Dont kill me, but I think the 3 blade setup on the FJ Cruiser is pretty cool.

[sciguy_0504]

Dont kill me, but I think the 3 blade setup on the FJ Cruiser is pretty cool.

164573[/snapback]

Definately unique.

[Nick]

Didn't old Jags (like the e-type I believe) have a 3-wiper setup? Kinda neat.

I like the ones on my car...kinda hard to explain how they work...but it is interesting watching them gracefully slide across the windshield (that is, when the wipers aren't making loud cracking noises because they need to be replaced...)

[tmp]

MG-B's had 3 wipers as well.

I liked the single wiper on the Benz as well. I wonder why they dropped it? The kind of made a big deal about how great it was at the time.

[pow]

I'm glad I'm not the only one amused by good wiper designs. I love the ones in our 5-series, which articulate to reach the very edges of the glass, stay glued to the glass even at high speed, and make a gentle thunk-thunk sound, nice on rainy days.

Most Japanese cars I've been in have crappy, underengineered wipers. The ones in our Odyssey are flimsy and don't push hard enough against the glass to be streak-free.

[pow]

MG-B's had 3 wipers as well.

I liked the single wiper on the Benz as well.  I wonder why they dropped it?  The kind of made a big deal about how great it was at the time.

164613[/snapback]

Their current articulated dual-wiper set-up is about the same... it's just that the driver side gets its own.

[PONTIAC06]

My Regal was hinged at the outside and they rested in the middle...I miss that...I miss alot about that car...but that's in the W body post...all my friends thought it was weird when they got in the car, but my Jeep just has normal ones...BORING...ha ha

[avant1963]

While the structureless blades on my G6 are nice, they cause the car to have the most annoying thing on any car - the hood nipples to shoot the spray. I hate the hood nipples, especialy when they are black.

My 2006 MAXX SS has regular blades, but the sprayers are built into the arms themselves (the perfect design) and there are no hood nipples. My Z28 has the sprayers built into the lower windshield vents and the blades are HUGE with the little wind wings to keep the blades firmly attached to the windshild at high speeds.

I loved the opposite blades on my 1992 Grand Prix and my dad's Vette.

[balthazar]

I prefer opposed wipers as opposed to the standard go-the-same-direction ones the majority of vehicles have. To tell the truth, I also prefer the vintage style (imagine that!): stainless opposed arms, stainless blades, park tight to the bottom of the windshield; you don't even notice them.

The valley that most hidden wipers park into today --what with the ubitquitous contoured plastic pan-- catches my eye much more. Hell, they don't even disappear anymore! The vintage system is much more elegant than the giant 'spider legs' many cars have now. I don't know what happened, but progress took a nap on this one stylistically.

I positively abhor windshield washers mounted on the hood- nothing looks cheaper than those twin plastic zits. God those are awful.

BTW- we can thank Pontiac (in the U.S. at least) for hidden wipers- intoduced in '67. Pontiac (along with other Divisions no doubt) also offered articulated wipers beginning in '65 (Cadillac may have been a year earlier).

[capriceman]

I agree 110% with Balthazer!

[Paolino]

I loved wipers that set under the hood, so they weren't there visible when they weren't used.

Avant, I ALWAYS wondered why the wipers in the Camaro/Firebird had the wings! You just solved a question I have had for years :AH-HA_wink:

I think the structureless blades are kinda cool, but I have yet had the opportunity to study them up close. Are they stiff? Do they wipe differently because they are flat?

[the_yellow_dart]

Funniest thing about the opposing wipers is being able to soak people on either side of the car. Friend of mine went into a store when it was raining lightly. I turned off my wipers when he got out of the car, and quickly flipped them to 'high' as he walked past the windshield, back to the passenger door. He got SOAKED.

[CARBIZ]

All I care is that they work! The driver's side wiper arm on my '67 Polara flew completely off while I was on the freeway in pouring rain (okay, the car was 12 years old at the time!) and I had to drive home while sitting most of the way onto the passenger side!

Then my '87 Shadow had a "turbo bump" on the hood which caused the driver'side wiper (of course!) to lift slightly at speeds above 55 mph, which was a lot of fun in the winter when the roads were salty. I tried everything: double bladed blades, those little clip on fins - nothing worked. It was dangerous, really.

And have you ever noticed that some vehicles (like a '90 Olds 88 I once had) use tons of washer fluid to clear the windshield, while other vehicles are quite efficient with it?

[z28luvr01]

The early C3s were cool, with the vacuum actuated cowl cowl that lifted up when you turned the wipers on. They also had the nozzles on the wiper arms.

[Drew Dowdell]

I installed a set of Bosche Icon structureless blades on my CTS. They work very well.

[Cory Wolfe]

Eh... I wish I knew how the remove the chintzy ones my Millenia has. I bought new ones but it doesn't seem that the old ones are removable. So annoying... it's like I'm going to have to break them to get then off, but I don't want to end up being without wipers, heh.

[loki]

i just preffer the ones that "hide" when not in use.

the only good thing about hood nipples are when you want you wet down bird crap first so it doesn't smear a ton.