I was recently at the AutoZone here in town, and I remembered that my Honda’s windshield wipers are getting a little bit on the old side (they’re chattering on the upstroke), so I went browsing through the store and I saw a rack full of nifty looking dual-wiper blades that actually weren’t that expensive (they were all $10 apiece, including the carbon fibre versions).
I called my father and asked for his opinion, and he said that he’s heard that they tend to shorten the lifespan of the motor that runs the blades because it takes more pressure to move four wipers across the window instead of just two.
So here is the question I ask: would dual-wiper blades be any improvement over the standard single-wiper units that my car currently has, and why? What kind of impact would they have on the motor, and why?
I’d like to know why for both questions because I am aspiring to eventually put my car through some fairly extensive customizing and performance modification, and I wanna know why dual-wiper blades are a good/bad idea so I don’t screw up. I want to mod my car the right way and not the wrong way the first time through so I am not beating myself up about being stupid and na?ve later on when something breaks that shouldn’t.
If it helps any, my car is a 1990 Honda Civic sedan with 20" wiper blades.
I suspect he may have a valid point. I’d be reluctant to put them on a motor that’s already 19 years old. Why stress an old motor.
Besides, a good regular blade for $3 from WalMart works just as well, it just probably needs changing more frequently. It sounds like you should do that anyway.
I have not seen any evidence that the dual blade wipers are even as good as standard. Three are some better quality blades out there that do not cost all that much or you can buy the standard blades which will be almost as good as the ones that came on the car. I pay for the better ones and I replace them about once a year. I like to see well when I am driving.
I have no information suggesting that the dual blade wiper would harm the motor. After all in snow land, it has to push a lot more than an extra blade.
I called my father and asked for his opinion, and he said that he’s heard that they tend to shorten the lifespan of the motor that runs the blades because it takes more pressure to move four wipers across the window instead of just two.
Your dad is a smart man…listen to him.
I’ve always found the OEM type blades work best. The brand I’ve been using for the past year or so is Michelin. You can find them at WallMart. Anco makes good blades too. I tried the Bosch and never liked them (maybe I had a bad batch).
I, personally, am not a big fan of Wal-Mart, but I’m not gonna start any rows against the place. I’d rather go to a place that specializes in replacement car parts like AutoZone or O’Reiley’s or Napa. Places like that are more likely to carry good-quality wipers.
But at any rate, by the sounds of it, I should probably stick to the standard wipers. It’d look “cool” to have dual-wiper blades on my car, but for the most part from what I’ve heard thus far, they’re probably more along the lines of a novelty item than anything.
I still have a few months, though, to really make up my mind. After all, it’s not the best idea in the world to replace my wipers in the dead of winter, and my area gets freezing rain often during January and February.
O’Reilly sells the Anco 31-series blades, and Consumer Reports recently rated them as a best buy. Check today – at one time in the past two weeks or so, they are buy one get one free. Don’t know if that sale has expired or not. The regular price is pretty good, too.
Anco sells decent wipers at Walmart for $5-10. They work very well and bet thing to do on wipers is spend less money and replace them every 6 months or sooner. I have found a huge help is using Rain X(orange) wiper fluid. Eventually this makes the windshield quite slick so water, rain, ice does stick easily and mostly flies off and the excess gets wiped off. Rain X wiper fluid really works.
Yeah, dual wipers = 2 x the friction. Gimmick IMO.
I like Anco winter blades but they’re always sold out of the size I need. Imagine my surprise last week when I found them for my truck. Unfortunately, they didn’t have both of them for my Camry so I resorted to the high end, single element jobs. $15 a piece!
These are like one piece carbon fiber, arced holder with a microfine blade. Better work good for $15 I thought to myself. To make a long story short, I almost got killed when driving down the expressway in heavy traffic and needed the wipers. They stunk!! Actually, only the driver’s side stunk, the passenger side was perfect. Figures. It was so bad, having no blade would have been better. I struggled all the way home and discovered the problem the next day. The dang blade had a plastic protector on it! Never seen that before and the pass side didn’t have one on it. I put them on after dusk and didn’t notice the protector had a warning printed on it in like 2 pt font- remove before use.
I normally test everything at the time of install but for some reason, I didn’t this time. Never make that mistake again (until the next time).
In the end, they work fantastic and I’m satisfied with their performance for the price.
Forget the dual wipers. You don’t need two blades to wipe rain from the windshield, just one really good one. Besides, who wants all that extra junk swishing back and forth in your field of vision. With windshield wipers, less is better.
The best wiper blades I’ve found are the Bosch Icon blades. They are expensive, but they work extremely well and are very sleek looking. Some new cars are adopting this sort of blade, and now that I’ve installed them on my cars I understand why.
If you live where there is snow and ice the Icons even work well as winger blades because there is no framework to trap snow and ice.
Don’t worry about bling. Go with what really works.
Yeah, I saw those Bosch Icons, and I really like the idea behind 'em, but the thing is that I’m on a budget. $10 per blade is likely the most my father would be willing to spend for any set of wiper blades, and he won’t want to spend $15+ for a pair of blades that I’m likely to want to replace after six months. So economy-priced blades with higher-priced quality is what I’m looking for (I.E. getting the biggest bang per the buck), especially since father is one to get the cheapest item available without realizing that cheaper ain’t always better.
However, I just thought of a compromise between bling and functional. My car has a hook-style blade mount that makes replacement unbelievably easy. What I could do for the time being is get a proper set of blades for the car to use every day, and when I have enough money of my own, I can get a secondary set of “bling” blades that would be more used on occasions for just plain show (such as to impress friends). The “show” blades can still be used in the off chance the weather turns foul while showing off, and I can easily swap them out for the functional blades when my car goes back to the grind of being a daily driver.
The eye-catchy blades wouldn’t have a much longer functional life than a pair of blades actually built for use, so just showing off every once in a while will have no impact on the car’s wiper system and can also greatly extend the usability of the blades that are meant for show.
I’ve been wondering about those newfangled blades. The rubber booted ones don’t ice up so there’s no avantage there, but I’m wondering if the slimline blades stay down better at high speeds. And if they last.
I saw those Bosch Icons, and I really like the idea behind 'em, but the thing is that I’m on a budget.
They are not all that expensive in my experience. The last me longer than regular blades so that makes them about the same price. Also this is about time for the annual rebate and discount offers on them. Watch the adds and you even be able to get them for less than standard blades.
Even if they would cost me more, I would stick with them. they keep the window cleaner, in my experience.But then again, though, if I can get a less expensive (say, a Bosch Micro Edge Excel) blade that still does an almost-as-good job, I’d be saving a good bit of money and not sacrificing too much quality to the point that it’s not worth the dollars saved. It’s not just a matter of paying extra for good quality, but also knowing where you can draw the line between high quality and high affordability. 
Plus, the more money I can save the father without sacrificing too much quality, the happier HE is all around because he saved money.
I like the metal frame blades that are the cheapest. Rain-x blades that are all plastic will come apart easily. Dual blads are just silly.
Frankly I rate both of those Bosch blades about the same.
Here is a hint to safely save a few $$$. I used it back in the old days before I became rich. 
Buy one really good blade and put that on the driver’s side, when it just starts to loose it’s ability, replace it and move it to the passenger side. Of course this will not work with cars have two different size blades. For most cars it keeps top quality rubber on the glass that counts at no additional cost.
I tired those dual blades. They suck. The frames are all plastic, way too flexible, and don’t get good tension between the blades and the glass, so they streak a lot. They also chatter like crazy.
Get a good single blade wiper with a metal frame, similer to the original as possible. You’ll be happier.
I bought Bosch Micro Edge blades for my Accord. They work better than anything else I’ve used in years.
I do not see the point in dual blades. The first blade wipes off the water and the second blade drags across a dry glass and it puts too much stress on the motor. This time of year you would be wise to buy winter blades if you get snow and ice in your area. The entire super structure is rubber covered and built up ice snaps right off so the wipers wook well in snow.
I see people recommending the BOSCH and while they are the most expensive ($25 EACH!), I have tried the Bosch ICON blades and frankly - they suck. The passenger one streaked from day one and the end cap on the driver side one actually fell off. They chatter when they’re cold, load up with ice and snow as bad as summer blades and smear in cold weather. A much better choice that is the same in principle (no external springs for snow/ice to clog) are the Michelins ($15). I feel bad that I recommended the BOSCH to my daughter before trying them myself. I’ll buy her dinner to make up for it. Seriously - Bosch may make some decent ignition parts but their wipers are crap.
I’d rather go to a place that specializes in replacement car parts like AutoZone or O’Reiley’s or Napa. Places like that are more likely to carry good-quality wipers.
The ONLY thing I go to AutoZone for is things like Oil and Wax. Their car parts are SECOND tier. I’ve used them in the past and I won’t again. Wiper’s are NOT considered a complicated car part. Michelin wipers are EXCELLENT quality wipers…far better then Anco or Bosch (sold at AutoZone).