The Science Behind Windshield Wiper Failure

the left makes the right do more work.buy a Mercedes with a single wiper

Just install new rubber inserts. They don't last forever.

Could it be just that you notice it more when it's the part of the screen you want to see through?

where is all the torque being transmitted? is it even or concentrated on the side that keeps wearing out?the answer lies with motor location

Don't blame just the English! The USA is a "crock-pot" mix of races.

Wiki defines it as:-

All the best for the future!!!

I, for one, am glad we got that mix of cultures and people.

It can be a little crazy at times, but we are a better nation for it.

Also, Europe tends to be a little more nationalistic than some other countries.

No country that I have ever visited are more nationalistic than the USA.......but you probably won't "see it" living there.....(a sort of "can't see the wood for trees!").

Germany can get close, they also hang their flag on poles in the garden......the rest of the countries of Europe mainly do it just for international games in the "season".....

By the way, Europe is NOT a country......just in case you are really thinking that!!!

The "country" with the loudest public address system is the most nationalistic.

I don't know of any westernised country with such a system as you appear to describe. I have also been in many not westernised countries, even Russia in 1961, I never ever heard such a system....

What am I missing from your post? Or what was missing from your post?

Please explain!!

Check the history of amplified public address systems. The ability to motivate or stimulate large crowds, wether by speech/propaganda or even music, evolved from a single location, first for political and later entertainment. I saw speakers 20ft in length and massive tube amplifiers gathering dust in the WWII air raid tunnels beneath a NATO base in Italy. I was informed the systems once carried the voices of Mussolini and Hitler to the masses. The systems were manufactured in Germany. A friend who served in the Airforce in Vietnam maintained aircraft fitted with speaker arrays, each speaker fed from a dedicated 400 watt solid state amplifier. I was walking towards the Woodstock festival on the last day and heard Jimmy Hendrix at a distance of about 1.5 miles.

...and what has any of that to do with us in the 21st century?????????

Or even more than half of the 20th century?????

You wrote in your previous post said:-

"The "country" with the loudest public address system is the most nationalistic."

I was under the impression we were talking about now......WRONGLY it would seem!!!!

That some countries in WW2 had such systems is well known......it is called a "Dictatorship".....I personally have only heard of such systems under such people.....but if you know better, please inform us.

Thanks in advance as I am always willing to learn something new.....if the IS anything new of course......which I doubt!!

Nationalism is not the same as patriotic displays of flags.

In my travels I always found the people of Europe were more grounded in tradition than in the USA. I still remember going to a pub in Sweden where a band was playing pop music, then the next song was a traditional song from long ago. Suddenly, everyone in the place, young and old, was singing to that song.

You don't see that in the USA to nearly that extent, even on Karaoke night.

Nationalism can also be a problem when it goes too far. Your country is well aware of those dangers and there is even a resurgence of that happening, in part, due to the large influx of muslim immigrants. I am thinking of Germany's Pegida movement as an example.

Europe, which is not a country, is seeing a rise of nationalism, particularly after two events in France. On the 7th of January a fiction book authored by Michel Houellebecq presented a France where France has become an Islamic nation and polygamy is legal.

That same day two Islamist jihadists assassinated 12 people at the headquarters of the magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The resulting backlash from the public was intense. While there really wasn't a lot of riots or violence, the sheer numbers of people that poured out to the streets in support of France all through Europe was telling.

This event outlines a deeper rooted issue for Europe where a growing and prevailing feeling of the national identities an prosperity of its people are perceived to be threatened by interloping cultures that fail to assimilate into the regional culture.

Europe has a growing fear of the influx of foreigners and this is driving an increase in nationalism in a region that historically has always had a high degree of nationalism.

Part of the reason for the creation of the European Union was to tame nationalism by binding its members into the same ship of fate. However, there are limits to the Union's ability to contain this and you can easily see how the Union is under great strain now just trying to keep its members together.

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No religion has been without subversion at some point in history.

It seems that Islam is simply more ripe for it right now.

As far as the scores of the Roper report, I was disappointed that I did not see any questions on twerking, which I think the US would score highest.

LOL!!!!

It does seem to be something that many are trying nowadays.

Did you ever get to see the 3 Lawyers in "Suburgatory" trying to do it!!!!

Look here:-

TWERKING FUNNY!!

That would rather hit the nail on the head, at last something that lawyers can do without offending anyone!!

Now I know why I like CR4 - NO F*****G LAWYERS!!!! I sort of knew it, but did not pay any attention to it!!!

What are all our opinions on lawyers?

"What are all our opinions on lawyers?"

What? Do you want me to write a fat book?

Do you know why you never hear of a snake, or shark attacking a lawyer?

Professional courtesy!

Good one!!!

Lets see, if I remember correctly, Shakespeare said it best; Henry (V?) First thing we do, lats hang all the lawyers.

Very True!!

Now a certain well known wiper maker moved to South Wales UK, many years ago, and they had a test area for blades.

A large wet room with various windscreens from many makes of cars, and they were set up with water continously being sprayed onto said screens, with the wipers working at various speeds.

To see how they were affected, they would add a small amount of dirt, dust, sand into the water being sprayed and see how long the blade lasted.

The blade lifetime was related to the amount of dirt it had to shift of the screen and the the ratio of water to dirt.

However, dry wiping did not wear the blade as much, as ALL blade edges are impregnated with silicon to easy movement over glass. This process is done after the extrusion of the blade shape and cutting to length.

Also they used different quality and compounds of rubber, these higher grade compounds lasted longer and were designed for Rolls Royce, Aston Martin and other high priced cars that I will never own!!

So if you have a dirty screen, lots of water helps.

Or steal the wipers from a Rolls or Aston Martin.

Don't you mean "borrow", permanently?

Its Murphy's Law. Everything that can break will break.

Where there is rain there is streaks.

If you don't want it, you get it. If you get it you don't want it.

Rubber is some material that made many kids cry, it also most conveniently fails when you need it the least.

The easiest way to extend the life of your wiper blades is to take a piece of 300 to 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper and draw it down the length of the blade two or three times. It cleans them and evens out the wiping edge without damaging anything. Just use a clean paper towel afterward to ensure that there is no residual grit. I've used this method for about 40 years with no damage to windshields.

Sounds interesting. But don't you have to use a very light touch so the blade doesn't flop over and make a beveled edge? You need to get a square edge.

Squaring the edge has never been a consideration when I do this. Yes it needs a fairly light touch otherwise you get varying thicknesses because of the design ofthe wiper backing.

Perhaps lay the abrasive paper on the screen, slipped under the blade, then draw the paper along the length of the blade.

Great idea as long as you get it the right way round!!

Don't try it after a few beers for example!!!

Exactly! A better explanation than I gave.

Drive backwards.

Seriously lyn? I would if I got a rare or rear load like this

And you'd have a nice, clean set of headlights.

I did it.

Odds are you were either parked or drove some place in some idiotic way that pissed me off just a tiny bit so I went over to your vehicle, like I have done to countless others, and ran my special little tool (I call it a my wiper Effer upper) across the blade of your drivers side wiper out of spite.

Pull your head out of your backside and learn to drive right and I bet your drivers side wiper blades will last far longer. If not at least you will be a better driver by the time you need to replace your wiper again.

I rented parking when I lived in NJ and there were a few people who didn't mind stealing the use of other people's space. I'd take my girlfriends obsolete lipsticks (you know, the ones that were out of fashion by a half shade) and write an essay on why this was a bad idea on the offenders windshield. It does clean off --- until it rains. Never had anyone do it twice.

I don't drive at night or in the rain. My wipers and headlights are in perfect condition.

There is also planned obsolescence. If a company developed a wiper blade that lasted 10 years, they would be out of business within a year or two.

That's why I always drive in the middle of the road. It annoys the other drivers who end up in the bushes but my windscreen is spotless.

Oh, that was you. When I turned in my rental at Heathrow I had to convince them the hotel manager caused the damage.

Drive faster, the slipstream will lift 99% of the water over the vehicle.

You should replace your wiper blades at least once every year....

....and keep an extra set in the car for backup.....

In that case it is simpler to bum a few cigarettes from someone and smash them on the window and rub it into the glass.

The effect is like RainX. I tried that in an emergency and it really works. Certainly a lot better than the guy in your picture. ;-)

How do you light them after they're all wet?

That would be bad for your health.

I've heard a potato works too....

....no really....

I've had good luck with spit or raw potato rubbed across the windshield.

Just don't use wet wipes to clean the glass. The chemicals take forever to go away. (As bad as lipstick )

Have the windshield nano treated .... and forget the wipèrs!

http://www.5starshine.com/info-nanotechnology-auto-glass-windshield-treatment.html

Heed Anonymous Hero's advice. Wipers have to be soft to work. They have to be flexible, too.

There are companies who sell long life wiper blades, but trash, bird poop, any particle that compromises contact between wiper and glass leaves a streak.

I run the wet squeegee over my wipers every time I clean my windshield.

Also, if I get a streak, I pull over and clean the wiper. It's easy to leave the wipers on and turn the key off when the wiper is at the end of a stroke and clean it.

Auto houses sell a wiper cleaning solution (IPA and water) but cleaning with anything is better than cursing the streaks.

Theory #1;

The wipers wear out on the driver's side before the passenger side because the Chinese govt. is forcing the major auto companies to use the quality blades on the passenger side. That is because they drive on that wrong side, and demand the better blades.

Theory #2;

Some rectum is gong around scratching up perfectly good wiper blades.

Theory #3;

Windshield wipers are designed to have the largest area that can be cleared by one wiper centered in front of the driver. The wiper system usually changes for a vehicle that is driven from the other side. Check with the vehicles that are sold in the US, and Australia. When the steering wheel is moved, the wiper linkage changes. So then the driver's side wiper would clear a larger area, and wear out faster.

BTW, never use a rubber more than once. Not good to turn them inside out at all.

The voice of experience? ;-)

Wipers are used during rains and wet roads. The impact to dirt to the windscreen - driving both right handed and left handed drive cars in the respective countries - comes from the passing cars on the driver side. They will spray sand, dirt and salt up into the air with the tail winds caused due to their velocity and you drive your car directly into this mist. So the main penetration is always on the driver side. And as the speed of the penetrating objects is the sum of both car speeds, the the effect is rather strong. As pedestrians walking on the pavements on your passenger side do not caused such a tail wind mist, the passenger side is not so strongly penetrated by dirt, dust and salt. In more crowded situations - if pedestrians move in both directions - the tail wind will even compensate to zero.

If you overtake a car the relative speed is relative low, so is also the dust / salt penetration.

Another evidence for this is is that in countries which use salt as a defrost material, the side of the car directed to the road center is in most cases more heavily "salted" - covered with white material than the side directed to the pavement.

So much to the scientific back ground of your wiper blade problem. You can easily verify this by moving to a country where the people still drive on the "wrong" side of the road - but keep in mind to watch out for identical climatic conditions. So in Singapore you might be unable to verify the salt remains on both sides of your car. They have no need to defrost streets with salt.

"The impact to dirt to the windscreen - driving both right handed and left handed drive cars in the respective countries - comes from the passing cars on the driver side."

The opposite is true if, like me, most of your driving time is spent on narrow country roads. Then most of the dirt & debris is thrown up from verge on the passenger side &, although that side occasionally gets scraped clean by the bushes, it is markedly dirtier than the drivers side.

Try this scientific test. Every week swap the driver and passenger wipers to equalize wear. If the driver's side still fails first you have eliminated the wipers. That only leaves the screen. Park your car in a rough area where some scumbag will put a sledge hammer through your windscreen. Claim on the insurance for a new screen. Problem solved.

On many cars (including mine) the RH & LH blades are different.

Many cars (at least here in Europe) have different wipers on either side. Often not even the rubber is the same length, let alone the "shape" of the holder.....my car for example.

Even if they are the same, I do not recommend to swap as you simply end up with changing both at the same time in the end. I see the passenger side wiper on such cars having the same size for both, as being an emergency reserve when under way. I also like having the new one on the driver's side each and every time, and when I want to change it, and its still better than the passenger side, then it goes there.

One other thing I do is I have winter and summer wiper blades. The summer ones are the normal blades from a good manufacturer. The winter ones are silicone rubber blades, which mostly do NOT stick to ice as the normal ones always do, and then they get damaged, or even completely ripped off. Silicone is far better, but not 100% perfect, in this respect. But they survive such happenings.

I buy silicone blades "loose" and cut them to length to fit spare arms. Done it for many years. Cut well over length the first time and fit to car, as the curvature of the screen needs a far longer blade than you might at first think! (been there, done that!!). I still leave at least an inch more when fitted, and always at the "top" of the blade (when in use!). Clip at the bottom where it works best.

This does of course extend the life of the normal rubber blades quite dramatically simply by NOT using them....but exact lifetimes I have never noted, sorry.

Sadly the silicone ones are to my mind very loud in use, but do seem to get rid of snow and ice better than the normal rubber ones, but are to my mind not as good on just water. in warmer times.

They are also far less prone to ice damage as I mentioned before, so I accept the loudness for the winter period.

Silicone blades are very cheap here, around US$12 for two very long ones (my car has HUGE wipers!) with "clips". You may need to gently prise apart the "fingers" that hold the blade as the silicone ones are generally thicker. The blade must slide freely in these fingers, except for the bottom one that can be left "tight" if wished, as this holds it better.

Make sure that the fingers are not too wide apart as this can allow the rubber to spring out in use and a metal part of the wiper arm might scratch the windscreen!!

For anyone wanting to try the same, I do not know if the silicone rubber blades are available everywhere, but perhaps ebay can also help! Just a thought!!

I've been using the flat 'aero' style blades for a few years & find them much better than the conventional type but you can't re-fill them.

As far as which side wears out faster goes...

Let's take a quantum approach to the problem. Prevailing theory says:

On the passenger side there is no one observing that wiper much. if at all. That means the rain water and wiper are a wave function and thus provides plenty of lubrication.

On the driver's there is an observer, so the rain water wave function collapses and forms abrasive water spots.

Actually, I think the theorists are just wet behind the ears.

The reason the driver's side appears to wear faster is simply because that's the side that gets the most critical view and the passenger side, being less viewed, is just along for the ride and you don't really care nor notice.

Just like quantum physics - it's all in your head.

Not always - I had one car with different length wiper blades on the driver side versus the passenger side, and on that one the passenger side went bad first every time. I still remember my wife nagging me to change the wiper on her side.(I've had too many cars to figure out what model it was) I can't remember which side was longer either.

A sausage has two ends but neither of them can be longer. What are you talking about?

Don't give us what she said, because this will have to sides to it!

So was it the short one giving up first or the long one???

Speak!

(I've had too many cars to figure out what model it was)

That was in my original post - implied is mind failure - don't remember man - it was - like - so long ago.

In the 1980's I was oilfield service and worked 100+ hour weeks - my only hope of having a hot rod was to buy factory hot rods. In the 80's, hot this year was passe the next. Between that and company cars I have to try to remember 25 or so cars. How well do you think I can remember the actual layout of the controls/wipers on any of those? The wife nagging - that sticks in there for a LONG time - and that was because her side had a bad wiper. I do know that particular car had 2 different size wipers. Google different wiper lengths and see what cars have had that arrangement, then see which I owned, then look for pix of them, then...Forget it.

They're made that way to fail on purpose, otherwise the companies couldn't continue to sell them year after year!

Then all you have to do is invent one that doesn't fail and at least you should be rich for life.

Actually, if you find a way to cheat entropy, then you and your offspring will probably be rich for many, many generations.