What is the best windsheild wiper for snow and ice

[pete6032]

What would you recommend. I always try and change mine out before it gets too cold outside and 6 months of winter sets in.

 

[wangotango]

I prefer this brand in the link below. They are silicone and last a couple seasons so far, think they will be fine for a third as well. I drive a lot so this is important to me. They do not ice up either.

https://silblade.3dcartstores.com/mobile/Flex-Blade_c_8.html#homeSubCat_8_1

 

[Jumpem]

I have never had issues with OEM wipers. They do tend to get ice frozen on them during driving from melting snow and ice refreezing on them.

 

[Vetterin]

For winter weather the Anco Winter Wiper is my go to blade.

 

[Raizinman]

I believe that you should be more interested in the type or style. For the most part there are two types. Regular and Winter styles. Pretty much any brand winter style wiper is what you are looking for. Basically, these type of wipers tend to resist ice build up on the wiper, whereas the standard wiper blade tends to fill with ice. Yes, you can use winter wipers year round, but the winter blades are a bit more expensive.

 

[Jumpem]

I believe that you should be more interested in the type or style. For the most part there are two types. Regular and Winter styles. Pretty much any brand winter style wiper is what you are looking for. Basically, these type of wipers tend to resist ice build up on the wiper, whereas the standard wiper blade tends to fill with ice. Yes, you can use winter wipers year round, but the winter blades are a bit more expensive.

Hmm. I wonder why car manufacturers don't offer an OEM winter wiper blade?

I don't usually like modifying my vehicles. The only change I make is snow tires.

 

[compcons]

There are the old style winter blades with rubber sleeve over a regular wiper. The newer silicon blades have a significant curve to keep them pressed against the windhsield. They have no springs/parts so you simply snap them to clear ice and get going. I have tried Michelin, anco and maybe Goodyear. However Bosch Icons lasted the longest and cleared better than the others. That said, I had one fitment issue with a Tribeca driver blade.

 

[ummduh]

I never found any that worked better than a standard anco style blade. The winter ones that enclosed the whole blade in a rubber boot didn't clog with ice, but then on the highway they'd lift off the windshield and be literally useless.

I don't like these new monobeam style blades, they all seem to suck pretty consistently. I moved from WI since they became popular so I don't have experience with them in winter, but I don't even like to use them in never-below-freezing CA.

When we move back to WI I'm going to rig up some heated washer fluid system.. May be the best of both worlds?

 

[LTC8K6]

GM offered heated wiper fluid systems as standard equipment. IIRC, they were a flop.

Heating the parking area of the wipers seems to be the much better idea. You will see that on many cars these days. A defroster grid at the base of the windshield.

 

[Raizinman]

When we move back to WI I'm going to rig up some heated washer fluid system.. May be the best of both worlds?

You would not be the first person who 'rigged up' a heated washer fluid system. Guess what happens when you spray 150 degree water on a zero degree windshield? This is why manufacturers have decided to leave heated washer fluid alone. Best to clean and defrost the windshield with inside defroster heat and outside liquid chemicals; which has been working good for many decades.

 

[LTC8K6]

Heated blades are getting popular, apparently.

http://www.everblades.com/

http://www.thethermalblade.com/home.php

 

[Jumpem]

Heating the parking area of the wipers seems to be the much better idea. You will see that on many cars these days. A defroster grid at the base of the windshield.

I always get the All Weather Package on my Subaru's. Heated windshield bottom for the wipers and heated mirrors.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Hmm. I wonder why car manufacturers don't offer an OEM winter wiper blade?

I don't usually like modifying my vehicles. The only change I make is snow tires.

I wouldn't exactly consider different brand/type wiper blades as "modifying" the vehicle

 

[ummduh]

GM offered heated wiper fluid systems as standard equipment. IIRC, they were a flop.

Heating the parking area of the wipers seems to be the much better idea. You will see that on many cars these days. A defroster grid at the base of the windshield.

From what I remember, the GM system was fire-prone and was plauged by failures.. I don't remember it being a problem with breaking the windshield as was suggested below your post.

 

[Vetterin]

GM offered heated wiper fluid systems as standard equipment. IIRC, they were a flop.

Heating the parking area of the wipers seems to be the much better idea. You will see that on many cars these days. A defroster grid at the base of the windshield.

My dad had a 1988 Crown Vic with a heated windshield which worked pretty good but Ford only kept it for a few years. You could tell them by the gold tint of the windshield.

 

[LTC8K6]

My dad had a 1988 Crown Vic with a heated windshield which worked pretty good but Ford only kept it for a few years. You could tell them by the gold tint of the windshield.

IIRC, they were not all that popular.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quickclear

 

[marvdmartian]

Call me old fashioned, but on my sister's car (she's in NY, and has "real" winter, versus what I get in TX), I've tried both regular "winter" blades (with the cover over the wiper mechanism) and a couple various silicone type "moonbeam" or boomerang shaped blades, that are supposedly better.....and I like the old technology. Seems that if you're dealing with a not perfectly scraped windshield, that the newer blades tend to get chewed up easier.....and are more expensive to replace.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I buy cheap winter blades, but honestly, its the spray liquid that makes the most difference, the stuff that freezes in the lines sucks, since the windshield gets completely blocked and opaque with salt after 10 seconds on the road.... i buy some pink or green one at menards for like $3 a gallon, and it never freezes. Of course over by IL/WI border it doesnt ever really get too cold, lowwest it hits is maybe -15 or so F during normal winter.

 

[ummduh]

Of course over by IL/WI border it doesnt ever really get too cold, lowwest it hits is maybe -15 or so F during normal winter.

LOL, if -15*F isn't "too cold", I don't think I'd ever want to experience what too cold is for you!!

Even at -15, it hurts to breathe!

I moved out to CA in 2007, though my whole family still lives in the Milwaukee area so I get plenty of updates. I've missed a lot of the "worst" winters in decades. But it looks like I'm moving back in a year or so.