Windshield Wiper performance
 

Hi-

Is the reason that windshield wipers are altered to park on the passenger side to keep them stowed flat against the glass so the drivers side blade actually contacts the glass when it swipes? Or for something else?

My drivers side has never worked well due to the "set" it takes when parked. I have tried different brands of rubber, not much help. Suggestions?

I think the windshield wiper flip is just to provide less junk in your field of vision.

You might get a better swipe with the reversal, though; sounds very reasonable. Driver's side wiper would be sitting flat against the glass when parked.

I've used PIAA's silicons for 4 years, they seem to work well.

I switched mine to have a better vision from the driver's seat ...
Don't drive my car much in the rain,it's just too much of a PITA to keep
a black car clean afterwards !

Cheers !
Phil

I've read about this switch before as well. Look at some pictures of British 911s sometime. The wipers are parked in front of the driver, so Porsche reversed them to again be in front of the steering wheel. Go figure.

When you don't use the car in the rain the wiper blade in front of the driver gets what they call a memory and retains the bend. When you need to use the wipers you have a spot right at eye level that does not get wiped. Many people choose to reverse thier wipers to stop this from happening.
An easy rectification is to simply change the blades from one wiper arm to the other it takes all of 2 minutes the first time and is quicker after that.

anyone try the new skinny all in one blades (blade refill and holder), like the new rain-x ones; DD uses the ones by bosch, but cant find them smaller than 17" here. just saw some others in 14" (regular 13" are hard to find sometimes) so those are almost short enough. i hear you can cut some to size and just stick the ends back on.

scooter reversed his and only uses one long one and it worked for him

I think you can cut or trim down the ends of the blades with a sharp knife.

I put Silblade silicone blades on 5 or 6 years ago and have never had to replace them again. The rubber ones break down so fast and after a summer of ozoning to death they are dead by the time we need them again.

Cheapest $22 dollars I ever put into the wipers.

i reversed mine and the driver's side does wipe better in your field of vision. it misses the lower corner at it stock rest position. living in Oregon, i am happier when the wipers are needed.
i trimmed a newer blade shorter and tried it on the driver's side. it worked about the same as the stock blades. it seemed to me that the effective spring set of the blade was stiffer once it was shortened.
i have kept the reversed position because it is the best solution for my use and local conditions.

I've often wondered about this area of unwiped surface that shows right in the drivers' view.

New blades seem to remedy it, but only for a short while. It looks, to me, that one would change the actual ARMS (not just the blades) to addres this......no reversal needed...

NO?


Doyle

Thanks for all the replies. As I understand it I am sitting on the wrong side of the car.

I'll try out one of the alternate blade refills, and maybe shortening the blade a bit. They are 13" refills from Bosch but they didnt last too long. Just another 911 quirk.

I still plan on driving it frequently, Seattles weather isn't the best but it doesnt leak and the dirt washes off. Just not in front of my face. With the wipers.