Are beam windshield wipers just a marketing ploy?

Whoa. Went to autozone to swap out my windshield wipes, for the first time in 5+ years (cleaning them and waxing windshield makes them last forever). It was on a used car I just bought. Was expecting $8 each. Cashier rings me up for $43. Asked him for just the rubber refills and they don't sell them. So I go online and sure as E36 M3 I can't find any rubber refills for the Bosch blades on my 2013 Fiat 500. So then I read about how beam wipers are so much better, they seem nice and all but $40 for a set!?

I don't miss hinged wipers. At all.

Don't buy them at PepZone for starters, you can get Goodyear ones at Costco for a lot less...

They seem to work pretty well on most of my vehicles apart from the MR2 and the F150.

Yeah they are better, only because its one pressure point instead of a dozen..I guess theres a slight aerodynamic difference? Either still lifts on my miata with enough speed.

But your right about them being expensive, get bosch for 20 a piece or autoparts store brand that lasts a week before it streaks for 8 a set.

You mentioned waxing them have you ever bothered sanding them? Run a piece of sandpaper down the length of the blade to make it all even

Last thing, anyone here ever used true silicone blades? Supposedly they last years instead of months and I believe they are about what a set of nice bosch blades run.

It's not just the beam ones. You can't buy just refills ANYWHERE except maybe the dealer. You have to buy the whole stupid head for whatever reason, at great expense to the management.

That being said, I prefer the beam ones and use them on all my cars.

I'm very happy with the Bosch units. For the first time, I have wipers on a Miata that really do what they're supposed to. A bit spendy compared to the old style units, but hey, its a safety item.

Yea I felt like an old man carrying around hinged wipers in Walmart. I'll just buy some Bosch online. I actually love my girlfriends windshield wipers, I always comment on how nice they are. Just went outside and checked, they are indeed beams.

I'm still using Honda wipers and refills on m Kia's. They're about $5 each and last longer than any other wiper I've had to date.

chiodos wrote: Last thing, anyone here ever used true silicone blades? Supposedly they last years instead of months and I believe they are about what a set of nice bosch blades run.

These the ones?

http://www.tirerack.com/wipers/detail.jsp?ID=1043&autoMake=Fiat&autoModel=500&autoYear=2013&autoModClar=Turbo

In reply to Coldsnap:

I guess those are the same? I remember a clear blade like that "California water blade" they used to sell on infomercials for drying your car. Next time I get new blade ill get one piaa super silicone and one regular and see which lasts longer haha

chiodos wrote: In reply to Coldsnap: I remember a clear blade like that "California water blade" they used to sell on infomercials for drying your car.

Still have one. Still use it. Still works.

However, I don't wash my cars as often as I should so YMMV.

What are beam wipers? Is that a brand name or a type of wiper?

Only thing I use my water blade for is cleaning windows of condensation in the morning. Works great.

chiodos wrote: In reply to Coldsnap: I guess those are the same? I remember a clear blade like that "California water blade" they used to sell on infomercials for drying your car. Next time I get new blade ill get one piaa super silicone and one regular and see which lasts longer haha

keep in mind that the drivers side wiper always wears out first

They work beautifully on my E150, I won't use anything else. They suck on my F350, the windshield has too much curve for them to bend and I had to go back to the old fashion blades.

I was amazed at how quiet the beam type of blade are Vs the traditional type.
Shop around and you can get beams for the price of traditional. I bought some recently on Rock Auto and they were & 2.22 each before shipping ( but I had a large order anyway.)

Coldsnap wrote: I actually love my girlfriends windshield wipers, I always comment on how nice they are.

Quoting for archival purposes

I've used beam type wipers on pretty much every vehicle since 2002 or so. Back then I was in Nebraska and the weather extremes would destroy the old hinged style in no time. They work much better in winter because they don't get clogged with ice. Yeah, some of them are stupid expensive ($25 PER WIPER!!!) but they beam style is a much better design.

I've been using beam style for almost ten years now. They do work better especially with snow. Awhile back I got a set of Trico's at Meijer. They were something like $12 apiece and lasted twice as long as any of the other brands I've tried.

http://www.tricoproducts.com/Drivers/UnderstandingWipers/Wipers101

Just in case I wasn't the only one wondering what everybody was talking about.

I thought they were silly, untill I tried them. During the summer its about the same, but in winter they don't get jammed full of ice and snow. I'm sold on them.

I like the beam style on the Sedona, and look for them when shopping for replacement,

I tried them once and won't put them on the Elantra again.

The drivers side blade on the Elantra is 28", and the beam style act like a wet noodle when they get that long. The passengers side is only 13" and it's tough enough finding a blade to fit without being specific about brand or style.

You can still get refills on amazon, look for 'trico refill'.

I actually refill my beam type wiper arms (valeo) with the trico 8mm break to fit refills. It's a little fiddly getting them back together.

Adrift wrote:

chiodos wrote: In reply to Coldsnap: I remember a clear blade like that "California water blade" they used to sell on infomercials for drying your car.

Still have one. Still use it. Still works. However, I don't wash my cars as often as I should so YMMV.

I use mine on both cars every week, still works like new.

NAPA has refills.

i love the beam style wipers, except they wouldn't stay on the windshield of any of my Cavaliers at over 70mph.. they'd just kind of bounce along and not clear the window... slowing down to 60 or so solved that problem..