I still don’t quite understand why they make the driver side & passenger side with different wiper size. To change both, one has to buy 2 pairs of different length. But I decided to buy just one pair. The shorter length works as good as the longer one.
I guess that you are buying blades rather than arms that come one to a package. What is the big deal? Wipers last about six months on the car depending on your local weather. They don’t age if stored reasonably well (no ozone exposure) and they don’t take up much space.
The smaller one will sweep a smaller portion of the windshield. That is the difference.
…agreed. Having to only make one trip for two sets of windshield wipers isn’t what I would call a hardship.
Every parts store I’ve been in lately sells wiper blades packed ONE per package, in various lengths. I buy two different lengths for each of my cars, but I only buy two blades, not four. You must be buying the least expensive blades in the store.
I suggest that fitting a shorter-than-recommended wiper blade could compromise visibility and be a serious safety hazard. Is it really worth it to save a few dollars?
MC–You said exactly what I was thinking. I don’t know where the OP is shopping, but I have not seen “two-packs” of wiper blades for quite a few years, simply because so many cars take wipers of different lengths nowadays. But, as you also said, maybe the OP is buying the absolute cheapest wipers in the store–which is also an example of “false economy”, due to the poor quality of those cheap wipers.
And, as you stated:
Why would someone install a wiper blade that is too short, just to save a couple of bucks? Isn’t the concept behind wiper blades that one is supposed to get improved vision through the windshield? Jeez!
I think you guys mis-understood. Most cars have one long & one short wiper. To change both, I have to buy 2 kinds (long & short). This is what I am talking about. I didn’t say “2 PACKS”. Aside from the driver side being longer obviously to cover a bigger wipe, the short one does the same thing to the part of the windshield you need most. The top side of the windshield doesn’t need to be wiped, & you still have a good sight/vision because the most important area is the wiped area (that part of the windshield you need it most to see). Instead of buying 2 kinds, I bought one kind, the shorter one, for both sides & I have no trouble seeing. So going back to my question, Why? It’s revenue generating, that’s why. It’s not to cover a wider wipe. The shorter works as well as the longer one.
Actually, you said:
one has to buy 2 pairs of different length.
In my book that’s 4 wiper blades. As far as a shorter blade working equally well as the intended longer blade, well, that seems impossible since it can’t sweep the same width. It may be OK for you but to claim it works equally well is a stretch.
Yup. A pair is two, therefore the original post indicated that you had purchased 4 blades.
I also agree with TT that a shorter blade could not do the same job of completely clearing the area in front of the driver, as compared to the original design blade.
Because of the complex curves in the windsheild, two different sizes can eb set up to clear more than two of the same size.
I use shorter blades. I use the rubber booted wiper blades in the winter, and the full size tends to skip up off the windsheild at highway speeds due to the high pressure laminar flow on the windscreen. I use a 22" in place of the 24" and a 16" in place of the 18". They don’t fly up at as low a speed. Works great.
Maybe you should drive an entry level model of a low priced car from the 1930’s and early 1940’s. These cars came equipped with only one windshield wiper–a passenger side wiper was an option. If my memory serves me corectly, a passenger side wiper was even an option for Ford pick-up trucks built as late as 1949. I believe that certain models of the Mercedes Benz today have only one wiper that covers the entire windshield. I thought about the Mercedes Benz, but finally decided that it would take a long time to pay for this car with the savings of only having to buy one wiper blade.
;-))
True that the long wiper covers wider & clear more including the topmost part of windshield which you don’t actually need unless you are looking up to the sky while driving, the shorter wiper blade wipe most of the windshield area you need most to see, if you know what I mean. The area you need most is the windshield in front of you , not the top looking at the sky or the lower part looking at the hood. And the other wiper takes care of the passenger side. What else do you need? The last time I changed my wiper, it was in pairs. Maybe packaging has changed since. Hence, I mentioned 2 pairs (had to buy 2 long & 2 short) but only used one long & one short. By time I need the other long & short, it doesn’t have the the same soft & tender rubber. So I decided then to just buy the short since it suits my purpose for the wiped area.
Sometimes using the whole windshield is necessary to see a traffic light or a street sign high above.
assuming that you can see the worn spot on you glass from the old (big and small) wipers, can’t you SEE the larger area which gets cleared by the larger blade on the drivers side? isn’t that a good thing, to have more (clear) visibility?
but you mentioned extra blades. I guess you are buying the sets of refills, and NOT the whole replacement blade? you can get the whole blade and rubber for about the cost of two sets of refills. to me it is better to have the small articulated arms of the blade free and flexing to keep the whole window clear.
i have found that by just replacing the refills, the blades in relatively short time get stiff, bound up and don’t work well.
I agree, but you can still see the red, amber & green lights even with rain pelting the windshield. If you are lost, or in a different neighborhood, & looking for someone’s house/street address, etc…, then that’s a different story. You adjust & improvise.
I don’t understand the point of this post? What is so difficult about purchasing two different items vs 2 of the same?
Perhaps you can if the rain is moderate. If it is a heavy downpour, you will want the larger wiper.
Unless the packaging has been changed, wiper arm comes one to a pack & wiper blades or refills come 2 in a pack, right? We ara talking about blades/refills. So buying 2 separate packs of blades/refills (for the long & short) but only using one long & short, that’s what. It’s true the long wiper blade wipe a bigger area (driver side) but most of the area wiped, like the topmost part or the lower part, of the windshield isn’t as needed as the area in front of your vision. So instead of buying 2 of each which is revenue generating for the vendor, but using only one of each, just buy the short one. It covers the area of the windshield you need most which is infront of your vision & the passenger side blade takes care of the passenger side. So what can’t you see? That’s my observation & thinking.
The larger area includes the topmost & lower part of the windshield which you do &/or don’t need. What you actually need is the area in front of your vision on the driver side, while the area on the passenger side is taken care of by the passenger wiper. Light rain or heavy rain, you have the option of switching from slow to fast & faster wiping motion, not due to a longer blade. Anyway, unless the packaging has changed, I just buy 1 pack (2 blades/refills) of short blades as opposed to buying 1 pack of each but using only one long & one short.