Choosing The Best Windshield Wiper Blades: A Comprehensive Guide
Replacing windshield wiper blades regularly helps keep vehicles in tip-top shape. It also helps improve visibility and safety while driving. With their steel frame and quality rubber, premium wiper blades withstand harsh winter conditions. They are designed to reduce chattering and squeaking, and they last longer than conventional blades.
Better Visibility
Windshield wiper blades offer a vital safety function by ensuring drivers can see the road, so they can make split-second decisions to prevent accidents. This means that the windshield wipers must be high-quality, durable and in excellent condition at all times.
Conventional wiper blades snap into several contact points on a metal frame to create pressure against the glass. These blades don’t distribute pressure evenly across the windshield, which can cause streaking and hinder visibility. Premium wiper blades use a more advanced design that creates an infinite number of contact points for even, consistent pressure.
The rubber element that makes contact with the windshield is surface treated with graphite and a precision-formed profile to reduce friction and improve performance. They’re also made from materials that can stand up to harsh weather conditions, including galvanized steel and high-strength rubber. This gives blades the durability and resistance to ice, snow, and UV rays to ensure optimal performance year-round.
More Durable
If you live in a harsh environment where your windshield is constantly bombarded with rain, snow, and ice, high quality wiper blades are your best bet to maintain optimal visibility. Premium wiper blades will have a spoiler to ensure the rubber elements stay snug against your windshield and withstand harsh weather conditions without becoming damaged or worn out over time.
Conventional or traditional wiper blades feature an exposed metal frame, which tends to get rusty over time due to constant exposure to water and sun. However, beam-style blades, like the Assurance, feature a concealed frame and tensioned strip that is adaptable to curved windshields. They’re also less likely to shutter at high speeds and have fewer areas where ice can build up. Beam-style blades can also resist cracking and are more durable than hybrid or traditional metal frame blades.
Better Performance In All Weather Conditions
Windy weather isn’t always a problem, but it can cause your windshield wiper blades to lose their flexibility. This leads to squeaking and skipping, and it can also leave streaks on your glass. Premium wiper blades, such as TRICO Silicone Ceramic, counter this effect by converting the resistance from wind into pressure on your windshield. The spring flexors in these blades are shaped to match the curve of your windshield for optimal contact.
In addition, silicone blades resist the wear and tear from fluctuating temperatures better than rubber blades do. This can save you money on replacements in cold weather.
Less Wind Lift
The windshield wiper blade consists of a metal arm, pivoting on one end and having a long rubber blade attached to it. When powered by an electric or pneumatic motor, the blade is swung back and forth across the glass to push water, other precipitation, and any impediments to visibility from the windshield.
Wind can create additional resistance to conventional wiper blades, known as drag, lifting the blade away from the windshield at high speeds. This can seriously impact the ability to clear a windshield, especially in heavy rain or snow.
Premium beam blades counter this issue by turning wind resistance into pressure, hugging the windshield tightly to clean the glass. Changing windshield wiper blades on a regular basis helps drivers maintain better visibility in all weather conditions. Whether you’re a confident do-it-yourselfer or someone who has very little mechanical aptitude, replacing the wiper blades on your vehicle is a simple and affordable safety measure that can be completed with ease.
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Windshield wiper blades are a critical component that, when worn out, can cause a lot of frustration during a drive. It’s best to get a good set early in the season. Check your car’s manual or ask at an auto parts store for the right sized wiper blades. Most blades are easy to install by snapping into a tab or lever on the wiper arm.