Windshield wiper comparo

[Silver_04]

I've tested two brands of wipers; Valeo SmartBlades and Bosch Micro Edge Excels. I performed the comparison on my Focus because it sits outside all the time and it is my daily driver. Prices for each brand was in the 10 to 13 dollar range depending on size.

The Valeos
From the beginning they offered super silent operation and provided excellent clearing of the windshield whether clearing just rain water or the dirty slush spray provided by ol' man winter. The blades never chattered in cold weather or at highway speeds. The nifty wear indicator on the blades started showing a blade change was needed at about 6 months but I'm cheap and wanted to see just how long the blades would last. At about 12 months the blades were still as quiet as they could be and still cleared the windshield well but the actual blade material started smearing on my windshield. Definately time for a change.

The Boschs
These darn things chatter like crazy, especially in cold weather and at highway speeds. They do a reasonable job clearing the windshield and make little noise if I get lucky and don't have them jump across the window. A bit disappointed with the quality because the rear wiper would never conform to the shape of rear hatch window and would wipe across the top 1/3 of the window. Eventually the rear blade just came out of the wiper mounting frame. I attributed most of this to just being a bad set of blades and still bought a set for the Marauder. However, the ones on the MM chatter as well.

I've just about given up on the Boschs and I'm not interested in seeing how long they last because they chatter so much. I'll be using the Valeos in the future. Anyone want a set of mildly used MM Bosch blades? I'll give them to you at MMII.

[dwasson]

Thanks, I'll have to look for the Valeos. The stock, high speed blades were a problem. They smeared rubber all over the windshield.

[teamrope]

Thanks, I'll have to look for the Valeos. The stock, high speed blades were a problem. They smeared rubber all over the windshield.
Ditto. I've only had mine sence the end of November. The blades were about shot when I bought her. With a build date of 08/02 it's hard saying how long she sat on the lot.

[MERCMAN]

Hmm, my build date was 06-02, but my Black Beauty has never been out in unclement weather,. Guess I should check those wipers before I get caught in an unexpected downpour. :rock:

[purelux]

you can't always compare wipers on different cars as the shape of the window and size of the wipers can cause a wiper do work good on one car while bad on another. I put anco teflon winter blades on my das 97 continental and my brothers 2000 moutaineer they work fine on the moutaineer but on the continental and my moms 99 sable they don't work for anything i replaced them with bosch micro excel due to the spring in the blade and they work great

[Silver_04]

True, but considering I've got a set of Bosch's best chattering away on my Focus (and one fell apart) and another set chattering on the Marauder (which the stock ones didn't do), my conclusion is they are inferior to the Valeos.

[AndyB]

I've tested two brands of wipers; Valeo SmartBlades and Bosch Micro Edge Excels. I performed the comparison on my Focus because it sits outside all the time and it is my daily driver. Prices for each brand was in the 10 to 13 dollar range depending on size.

The Valeos
From the beginning they offered super silent operation and provided excellent clearing of the windshield whether clearing just rain water or the dirty slush spray provided by ol' man winter. The blades never chattered in cold weather or at highway speeds. The nifty wear indicator on the blades started showing a blade change was needed at about 6 months but I'm cheap and wanted to see just how long the blades would last. At about 12 months the blades were still as quiet as they could be and still cleared the windshield well but the actual blade material started smearing on my windshield. Definately time for a change.

The Boschs
These darn things chatter like crazy, especially in cold weather and at highway speeds. They do a reasonable job clearing the windshield and make little noise if I get lucky and don't have them jump across the window. A bit disappointed with the quality because the rear wiper would never conform to the shape of rear hatch window and would wipe across the top 1/3 of the window. Eventually the rear blade just came out of the wiper mounting frame. I attributed most of this to just being a bad set of blades and still bought a set for the Marauder. However, the ones on the MM chatter as well.

I've just about given up on the Boschs and I'm not interested in seeing how long they last because they chatter so much. I'll be using the Valeos in the future. Anyone want a set of mildly used MM Bosch blades? I'll give them to you at MMII.

Where can I get these Valeo blades?

[RF Overlord]

The Bosch Micro-Edge XL is the only blade that doesn't chatter on mine...the factory blades sucked from day 1, and the NAPA silicone blades, which seemed to work well in the beginning, only lasted a few months...

I also found that periodically cleaning the windscreen with undiluted white vinegar seems to help a lot...(thanks to SergntMac for that tip... :coolman: )

[ahess77]

All you wanted to know about wiper blades:
The chatter you describe is probably caused by the attack angle of the blade onto the windshield. The OEM blade is specifically designed to have the correct attack angle to prevent chatter, the aftermarket blade is the generic “solution” for all vehicles that have blades of that length and therefore may not work on your particular vehicle.

The manufacturer can make trade-offs to allow a wider tolerance of attack angle such as rubber durometer (softness), and profile geometry. Generally the taller the blade the better variation to attack angle, but the shorter the useful life since the blade will “lay-over” sooner. Different manufacturers have various rubber formulations to give them the best durometer and trade-off in other factors such as wear, low-stain, UV stability, creep, and of course cost.

I don’t believe our Marauders have frown, but on other vehicles if you lift the wiper off the glass and it isn’t mostly straight then it was designed that way. If the windshield is significantly curved then the arm is probably designed with vertebra bow of 3000 to 6000mm. All aftermarket arm and blades are straight and therefore if you replace an OEM arm with vertebra bow with an aftermarket it will lift, usually at the top. The early Marauders have a “uni-blade” or beam blade. This is a piece of spring steel with the rubber overmolded onto it with significant vertebra bow, probably 1000mm. These are crap because there’s not enough spring force to hold the blade to the windshield above about 45 mph wind velocity. I would definitely replace those with an aftermarket arm.

I have been trying to find a source for European blades. I have had problems in my Crown Vic and Marauder above about 75mph wind velocity with lift. If you bend the spring in the J-hook to shorten it you can get the blade not to lift, but it has a much, much shorter life and it squeaks. European OEM specifications usually require the blade to perform at 120mph. To get the blades to perform at that speed they usually add a plastic fin to the blade to cause downforce at higher wind velocities. There is a Jaguar 22” J-hook arm and blade with fin that would probably work on our Marauders, but the US dealers can’t order European service parts because of legal reasons. Anybody in Europe on this board?

I personally use Trico blade replacements. I have found them to have the best trade-offs for performance.

Blade: The rubber part that touches the windshield.
Arm: The metal part that usually has 6 to 10 “claws” that hold the blade in position.
J-Hook: The metal piece that has the spring that goes from the pivot to the hook, the arm snaps onto this.

Hope this helps.

[Silver_04]

Where can I get these Valeo blades?

Believe it or not, I found them at Target of all places. You can also order them from www.smartblade.com.

[RF Overlord]

ahess77:

Holy Crap! Where did you learn so much about wiper blade construction?!

Thanks for the tutorial...it explains a lot of things I always wondered about...

:rock: :up:

[Paul T. Casey]

Mr ahess, wow! great info. Personally, I liked the look of the originals, they just didn't work very well. I still have them in a box, may re-install for FFW.

[CRUZTAKER]

ahess77:

Holy Crap! Where did you learn so much about wiper blade construction?!

Thanks for the tutorial...it explains a lot of things I always wondered about...

:rock: :up:ahess77:

Now that's an informative post! Thanks, and welcome!:D

[Donny Carlson]

I replaced my original blades with new ones ordered for me by my dealer's parts department. (They didn't have any blades in stock that were "pin" type.)

What I got are, indeed, motorcraft blades (they have "motorcraft" on each blade). But, these are Valeo blades, even down to the wear indicator.

It was about $20 with tax, I think. You can probably get them cheaper at Auto Zone or Target, but I rather like looking out my windshield and seeing "Motorcraft" on each blade.

[CRUZTAKER]

BTW: My Bosch wipers have officially died. They are making black marks and skipping on the windshield. No winter use, stored, but on the car since Feb. 03 and 12k miles.

I believe the actual death occurred sometime during the 15th hour of the return trip from Ennis MV-I last fall. It rained for 17 straight hours and even with multiple coats of rain-x....it was a rough drive on everything!

I guess I'll replace them with the same, tonight...or I could just put the virgin never used OEM ones back on....naw...

[AndyB]

I replaced my original blades with new ones ordered for me by my dealer's parts department. (They didn't have any blades in stock that were "pin" type.)

What I got are, indeed, motorcraft blades (they have "motorcraft" on each blade). But, these are Valeo blades, even down to the wear indicator.

It was about $20 with tax, I think. You can probably get them cheaper at Auto Zone or Target, but I rather like looking out my windshield and seeing "Motorcraft" on each blade.

Do you have a motorcraft/ford part number? It is nice to go into a dealer and tell them what you want, rather than them telling you what they think you need.

Andy

[Donny Carlson]

Do you have a motorcraft/ford part number? It is nice to go into a dealer and tell them what you want, rather than them telling you what they think you need.

Andy
If I'm not mistaken, they are WW-2224

Look at this site, which describes these blades:

http://www.motorcraft.com/standard.asp?T=2&M=19&PageID=38