mrtoyou7747 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Anybody have any experience with Rainx wipers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subyfreak Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I am running them right now on my 01 Outback. Worthless in the colder seasons and not any noticeable improvement over the cheapies in the summer. I wont be buying them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I run anco on my subaru and my wifes minivan. Kinda crap on both and ive had good luck with them. Im not sure of the brand but a friend of mine at work as a set of frameless wipers on his suburban. He swears buy them, saying he never has any streaks or problems with them breaking. There pricey though i believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 GF is digging the Bosch Icons I put on her 2006 Impreza last summer. I used to ru nnothing but Anco winters - but they turned to crap years ago. I think there are only a few manufacturers of wipers left. Just different brand names - I figured that is what happened to the previousely trusty Anco's. Icons were a bit pricey - like almost 20 bucks each. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 anco winter blades from wal-mart work great for me, but they no longer stock anco winter blades that fit my legacy's .so went regular anco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aba4430 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 The cheapest Bosch's are the Micro Edge's, and then they go on to the Excel and Icon's, I think. The Micro Edge refill's used to be available in the past, but I cannot find them anymore. So I just buy the wiper blades now. However, the Micro Edge's are excellent and @$7 - 8 for the 17" length. I use them on all our vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I'm using the Bosch Icons on my '00 Forester. I put them on in the Fall. I really don't like them. Particles get trapped in the double blades and you have to wipe them down. In the cold weather they are no better than anything else; they don't wipe the window completely dry once I defrost it with deicer. I think I will be replacing them come this Spring. This was a first time purchase of the particular model and it will be my last. Bosch wipers are usually great but not this one. ~Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I run rain-x ones on my Impreza and my wife's Accord. They have a nice initial performance but after about a month they lose their luster. I have yet to find a wiper brand that I like though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I'm glad someone asked this question! I have never had a decent wiper. They always streak or just don't work right. So I'm hoping there is a unanimous vote towards a specific kind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenleg88 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 im a fan of the michelin wipers i got from wal mart. i put em on for a road trip cross country. with lots of sand grit.. and through a pretty rough winter so far and theyre holding up a lot better than i had expected. just the regular 7 dollar ones. not the 20 dollar radius ones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Anyone try the Michelin blades I see around ? They're made by someone else (of course !) and they're just using the Michelin name. Anco maybe ? ~Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydfloyd44 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I work in the auto glass biz and we replace wipers using bosch. They are just OK.... RainX, in my opinion, are the absolute worst wipers available. They are strictly a 'novelty' wiper!! Believe it or not, we replace probably around 20-30 windshields a year because of the poor quality mounts they use. People come in and they have a rainX wiper that fell off in the rain and scratches the hell out of the glass. This happens A LOT! Not to mention we get reports from customers they are only lasting a month or 2. For me, I actually run Valeo Ultimate wipers from TireRack.com. These are the Euro style blades. These were originally OEM from VW, Mercedes and BMW, but have now expanded into most makes/models. Have them on my 95 Legacy and 4Runner now for close to a year and are still running fine. TireRack has this style (hook-lock) as buy one get one free. 2 blades for $19.99! Can't beat it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoyou7747 Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 Here's some Info from Consumers Report latest test - First numbers are cost (small to large size) and the last number is rating. blue check is "best buy". The whole report is on line at their site (Nov 08?) Valeo 600 Series $9 $15 72 RainX Latitude 17 21 70 Anco 31 Series 7 10 66 Michelin RainForce 7 7 65 Anco Contour 18 20 65 Valeo 900 Series 20 17 64 PIAA Super Silicone 18 24 62 Bosch Icon 18 22 60 RainX Weatherbeater 6 10 60 Trico Exact Fit 10 13 59 Michelin HydroEdge 10 10 56 Michelin Optimum 16 16 55 Anco AeroVantage 9 15 53 Trico Teflon Blade 10 16 52 Trico Innovision 13 14 47 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I have used Bosch blades in the past and they are great. Except this time I had the idea to try their new ICON blades. Plus they were on sale; buy one get, get one free. In my book you can't beat that ! These blades have been on my car about 5 months and they will need replacement shortly. I even tried cleaning them with alcohol. They did improve a bit but they still aren't real good. I contacted Bosch and they are replacing them at no charge. Bosch blamed the dealers for not rotating their stock and that I purchased "old rubber". The other Bosch blades I have used were made in Belgium. These new ICON ones are made in CHINA ! ~Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Bosch blamed the dealers for not rotating their stock and that I purchased "old rubber". i wonder how many months 'old rubber' is? do they age faster or slower mounted on the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 (edited) i wonder how many months 'old rubber' is? do they age faster or slower mounted on the car? I have no idea what Bosch considers "old rubber". But according to the warranty center rep I spoke with the problems I am having with the blades means they are aging faster on the car; they are not as flexible as they should be, etc. ~Howard Edited February 20, 2009 by howards11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I have never found a good wiper blade (in almost 50-years of driving). But it helps to clean the blades every time that I fill up with fuel. I wipe the blades with the back-side of the window squeegee-tool; and then I clean off the blades with a paper towel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abog Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Hey John, maybe they should seal new wipers in a vacuum at the factory to give them a shelf life!!! hahaha, or maybe they could actually use decent rubber to manufacture them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Hey John, maybe they should seal new wipers in a vacuum at the factory to give them a shelf life!!! hahaha, or maybe they could actually use decent rubber to manufacture them. that's what i was thinking, if they get old sitting in the box on the shelf, what chance do they have in the real world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 (edited) that's what i was thinking, if they get old sitting in the box on the shelf, what chance do they have in the real world. Like I said the warranty rep from Bosch told me he would send a "fresh" set. They were very nice about it and I received the set in about a week. He said the fresh set would be right from the factory. The ICON blades were a good price. I think I got them on sale at Advance Auto in a buy one, get one free sale. The odd part is that I remember Bosch's products were made in Europe (Belgium maybe ?). But these new Icon blades are made in CHINA. Like some Chinese made products they tend to skimp on things; like maybe better quality rubber. I might continue using their products but not the ICON blades. Once I use the free ones, I'm going to try Michelin brand from Wal-Mart or Target. I've made it a habit to change my blades before winter. ~Howard Edited February 20, 2009 by howards11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abog Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Thats the problem, they are all going to china, price over quality. Chinese rubber, vely, vely bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Thats the problem, they are all going to china, price over quality. Chinese rubber, vely, vely bad. YEP........and make more $$$ for the company ! ~Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoyou7747 Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 I looked around and decided to try DURALAST from Autozone. Put them on both my cars (Sube, Accord) I'll keep you posted about how they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abog Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Ya know the interesting thing is that on my 04 Crown Vic, I went to Wal Mart and purchased the Cheap Anco blades for like 6.00. These blades have been on the car for over a year and work fine. My 03 Superduty has the same blades, no problem. These blades worked for about a month on my outback. I wonder if there is something about the curve of the window? Hmmmmmmm. strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Thats the problem, they are all going to china, price over quality. Chinese rubber, vely, vely bad. Do you have any facts that you could share with us? Or this just a racist/xenophobic rant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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