You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Car needs new wiper blades and I am in danger of disappearing into a research hole for a part that will cost me £30 quid to buy and hours of time to research.
So save me STW and tell me there's no difference between Bosch and Lucas, and that I don't need aero blades for a small city car.
Thanks!
I would always buy aero blades as if you go anything above about 50mph 'standard' just dont cut it.
The more you spend the longer they last within reason
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/88427/lucas-clearvision-review
I would always buy aero blades as if you go anything above about 50mph ‘standard’ just dont cut it.
The more you spend the longer they last within reason
+1
Just buy the decent bosh ones wherever they're cheapest. There's not much else you can buy for a car for £30 that actually makes a real world difference.
And while you're at it. Give the glass a proper clean inside (to get rid of the layer of plasticizer that accumulates from the dash) and out with proper degreaser, then treat it with rain-x. The rain on the outside will just bead off even without the wipers and the crap on the inside makes condensation 100x worse on cold mornings so getting rid of it makes a big difference.
PIAA Silicone are the elite choice of Wiper blades and no one will ever convince me otherwise. No Bosch Aerotwin, Michelin or OE fitment blade from a dealer comes close.
Somethings are worth paying for - they are one of them.
The quality of Bosche wiper blades has gone downhill recently, used to get 2-3 years out of a set but the last two have given in within a year. Trying some Wiperblades.com own brand ones currently and impressed so far after a winter's use. Considering they were £11 for the pair they're a bargain if they last as long as the Bosche did.
I justdefault to Bosch aerotwin having dabbled around with Valeo, Vistapro etc etc... They work well and last well.
I find Amazon as cheap and convenient to buy them from as anywhere really.
EDIT - the best way to make wipers last longer is to not use them to clear frozen windscreens in winter and de-ice them before trying to use them - then you don't cause the wiping edge to get roughed up
Go to Halfords, put in your reg plate into the wiper picker thing, buy the ones that come up. Done.
Unless you have a current model Volvo V60 in which case the Halfords picker thing will give you blades that are the right length but completely unsuitable.
Just buy whatever is the OEM type for the car: standard, spoiler, flat, whatever
I've always used Bosch, but a pair of Michelin are sitting in the garage waiting for the call to action
Are these 27.5 or 29 cm wiper blades?
Aerotwin off Amazon. Cheap enough, work well
I've not tried those PIAA ones but have tried various recommendations over the years and end up back with Bosch
Bosch were price matched last week at halfords, much cheaper than euro car parts.
My mind is blown that people worry about the wiper blades of their car. I walked to the local car supplier, bought the ones he said were for my car, fitted them and never lost any sleep over worrying if they were wrong.
I'm more worried about the rain on my walk to the shop to get them, than if the wipers clean my window in high enough definition for my vision.
My mind is blown that people worry about the wiper blades of their car.
This is entirely normal for me, I go into a research hole and emerge 4 days later still no closer to making a decision than I was when I started. I currently have 8 tabs open on running shorts as I can't decide which ones are right. If anyone saw John Robins stand-up tour recently, his piece on slotted spoons is me (well, it would be if you take the alcoholism away).
Anyway, I've gone with some aero Bosch ones. I'm sure they'll be fine...
Bish, bash, Bosch.
This is one of those areas where if you don't already know the difference, you're probably not going to notice the difference, so don't worry about it. Like televisions, speaker cable, pens, bike tyres...
PIAA Silicone are the elite choice of Wiper blades and no one will ever convince me otherwise. No Bosch Aerotwin, Michelin or OE fitment blade from a dealer comes close.
+1 for this. They are brilliant. You think windscreen wiper blades don't really matter till you're on the motorway in a storm and your wipers are struggling to clear the windscreen.
you’re on the motorway in a storm and your wipers are struggling to clear the windscreen.
This has never happened to me, the only difference between old, worn blades and brand new ones is their performance/lack of juddering when there's a small amount of water around
£24 incl delivery (they came next day) for the Bosch for a Fabia from these guys https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/usr/autosounds_direct
I currently have 8 tabs open on running shorts as I can’t decide which ones are right.
Let me help you, the ones which fit you the best are the ones you should go for.
This has never happened to me, the only difference between old, worn blades and brand new ones is their performance/lack of juddering when there’s a small amount of water around
Well, it's happened to me. I guess it depends on how old and useless your wiper blades are. In a T5 btw. Admittedly my missus isn't the best when it comes to vehicle consumables upkeep. My point anyway, is that wiper blades are a safety item and worth replacing once they stop working reliably.
Came here to say PIAA sci-tech too, but ended up with the much cheaper bosch icons this time as I didn't want to spend the extra on blades that would last longer than I'll have this car for... it'll probably die inside 4 years.
lunge
This is entirely normal for me, I go into a research hole and emerge 4 days later still no closer to making a decision than I was when I started. I currently have 8 tabs open on running shorts as I can’t decide which ones are right.,
I'm pleased I'm not the only one.
I do this all the time......struggle to make a decision about whether to buy the £1.99 USB cable or the £2.69 one. 3 days later, still trying to decide 😆
At the Dirty Reiver last April I left my only pair of clear sunglasses on a large boulder while taking a picture & only realised when I was ~10km down the road.
I still haven't replaced them, although I have about 3 or 4 tabs open on my tablet with potential replacement options. I just can't decide, so I do nothing.......I hate myself for it, but don't know how to break the cycle of indecision.
Pleased you made a decision, Lunge
https://www.wiperblades.co.uk/ been quick for delivery for me. Bosch buyer for both cars
Just put your reg in ebay car parts section. Saves it for next time too. And any other parts you need.
struggle to make a decision about whether to buy the £1.99 USB cable or the £2.69 one. 3 days later, still trying to decide 😆
That's easy, this twin pack fo a tenner, each one 6ft long so great for routing behind a desk or whatever..
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09LCJPZ1P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Added bonus, nice braided cable, and the plugs seem to be more precision made so fit better than the really cheap ones.
As for wiper blades I bought some a few weeks back.. as above, go to halfords, enter reg, buy. I think mine were bosh as they were slightly cheaper than halfords own brand for whatever reason.
Go to Halfords, put in your reg plate into the wiper picker thing, buy the ones that come up. Done.
I tried that for my Ford, after using the Halfords flat blades for years on my Skoda. While Halfords sell blades they allege will fit the Ford arms, the reality is that the fitting on the blade is subtly different to the arm, and there’s nothing that would make them fit. As the Ford blades are twice the price, I’m certain Ford have made them so that aftermarket blades won’t fit, thus ripping off the owners. 😖
Do not buy the Halfords own wipers. Shite. Buy cheap, buy twice.
Also don't buy anything other than motor branded wipers in a supermarket. I bought some cheap no name rubber wipers (the type without the metal arms) from a large supermarket a few years back. They were so bad the old ones came out of the bin for a couple of days until I could get a branded replacement.
Never rated Halfords own either.
I will have to remember to look at those PIAA ones next time, having just replaced all the blades on 2 cars with Bosch
As to where to buy, get your part code and google. Just like everywhere these days sometimes places are cheap, sometimes they are expensive . Amazon and wiperblades.com were stupidly expensive when I replaced mine a couple of weeks back
Also I can understand why people don’t see windscreen wipers as one of the most important bits of safety equipment on their car
Always used to use Bosch aerotwins on my cars, never had any issues with them. Bought a new set of Bosch for my new car a month ago.
Could not believe how much the quality has went downhill! Wipers smear and judder, plus the connection to the wiper arm has a lot of play in them.
Lasted a few weeks and replaced them with OEM Denso wiper blades. No issues since.
Stay away from Bosch.
Valeo and Denso tend to make decent wiper blades if you're looking for recommendations.
I will have to remember to look at those PIAA ones next time, having just replaced all the blades on 2 cars with Bosch
What's neat about the PIAA silicone blades is that they leave a deposit on the windscreen, which in turn makes water bead and run off, a lot of the time you don't need to use the wipers at all, it's like a sort of self-refreshing Rain-X treatment. They also last ages: if they get dirty, wipe the blade down with some IPA on a cloth and they're pretty much back to normal. And they're very quiet in use.
All this will make sense to some people and not to others. Er next door seems happy to peer through a layer of standing water for months before grudgingly accepting that it's actually quite dangerous not being able to see where you're going. But obviously any half-decent replacement blade should work fine when new. As with most things, it probably depends on how finnicky you are about stuff.
After picking up our new Ducato, as in 6km on the clock new, the first thing I did after driving in the rain for the first time was replace the OEM wiper blades. Smeary shite things.
Replaced with Bosch something or others and after 27,000km no complaints.
chainbreakerFree Member
Always used to use Bosch aerotwins on my cars, never had any issues with them. Bought a new set of Bosch for my new car a month ago.Could not believe how much the quality has went downhill! Wipers smear and judder, plus the connection to the wiper arm has a lot of play in them.
Lasted a few weeks and replaced them with OEM Denso wiper blades. No issues since.
Stay away from Bosch.
Valeo and Denso tend to make decent wiper blades if you’re looking for recommendations.
Where did you get them from? there are a lot of fake Bosch wipers on ebay and Amazon.
I've had the same set of Bosch Aerotwin on my car for over 4 years and over 25000 miles without any degradation in performance so I'd recommend them to anyone. They were about £22 the set iirc and can still be found at about the same price. I used to change them habitually for the annual service and MOT but there's been no need.
Of course, their longevity means that if the quality has dropped recently I'd be unaware of it but they still place well in group tests afaik.
Where did you get them from? there are a lot of fake Bosch wipers on ebay and Amazon
Agreed - a year ago a bought some Bosch ones off Amazon. They came in a Bosch box etc, but didnt have a Bosch logo on the end of the blade. From day 1 they were ever so slightly noisy on the return of the wipe and not whisper quiet. I assumed that was the difference between Merc OEM and Bosch.
Only on buying the new Bosch ones from GSF Car Parts did I realise that these are genuine and quite clearly the older Bosch ones from Amazon were fake.
I got my Bosch blades from ECP, they'll be sourced by a corporate buyer for the group so are very unlikely to be fake. I'd expect sold by and delivered by Amazon to be similar. As above though, I'd be more suspicious of anything from a random Amazon seller or on eBay.
I got them from Euro Car Parts @FunkyDunc, definitely not fake.
Just poor quality now. Must admit the same applies to most Bosch stuff these days.
Amazon has turned into a higher priced AliExpress without the choice
Do not buy the Halfords own wipers. Shite. Buy cheap, buy twice.
Can confirm. My wife destroyed our bosch wipers by turning them on when they were stuck frozen to the screen. Halfords own brand was all they had, they smear and judder rather than actually clearing the water.