Streaking Wipers??? Wiper Upgrade Ideas

[carljwnc]

I got quite a bit of interest on this in another thread, so I thought I'd give it a thread of it's own.

Subarus (Foresters in particular) suffered from streaking wiper blades, no mater what kind you tried, for along time, until the 2009 Foresters came out with a newly designed wiper blade. It quickly became the rage to upgrade your older Foresters wiper blades with the new ones. Of course we jumped on the bandwagon and, OH what a difference. Noticing that the passenger side wiper blade was a 17", like many of the Toyota trucks, ordered two passenger side blades for my 4Runner. I have been perfectly happy with them since I put them on almost a year ago. :) I know of a few others who have put them on their Yotas too with similar success.

So...if you want to give them a try, Subaru part # is 86542SC160 for the Blade Assembly (blade and carrier) Blade refill # is 86548SC150
Of course, they are available at any Subaru dealer but I've got to plug my buddy Ben at www.hodgessubaru.com in beautiful Ferndale MI. Coolest guy behind a Subaru parts counter, he'll give you a great price and the best service ever!!! :smokin:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/terrapondus/YotaRu/43sm.jpg

[slosurfer]

Awesome! :thumbup: It rained here yesterday, and I was thinking about your posts about this. I may have to give this a shot. I'll have to get ahold Ben. :D Any idea on what these cost?

[carljwnc]

Awesome! :thumbup: It rained here yesterday, and I was thinking about your posts about this. I may have to give this a shot. I'll have to get ahold Ben. :D Any idea on what these cost?


My advance apologies if prices have changed, but the blade assembly suggested retail is $19.02, I paid $12.41ea. Refill suggested retail is $13.95, I paid $9.00ea., + shipping of course. :hillbill:

[4x4mike]

We've never had a problem with our Foresters' blades. I've got some Bosch ones on it and they rock. In fact they're 2 years old now and have done fine in the sun, rain and snow. I have the same ones on my 4runner and have been very happy with them. They even have a little fin on them that catches the air when you're driving creating more pressure on the blade therefore making it wipe better.

It's the Bosch Icon.
Link (http://images.solidcactus.com/autobarn/icon-wiper-bblade.jpg)

[Seanz0rz]

Been using the bosch icon for 2 years now, never go back to the old style ever again!

Are these significantly different than the Bosch blades?

[carljwnc]

Are these significantly different than the Bosch blades?


Honestly, I couldn't answer that. I have not tries the Bosch Icons. I was checking them out and they look pretty sweet. :thumbup: I have tried the standard Bosch OE replacement blades on the Subie and they were not any better than anything else.

Can you change just the blade insert on the Icons? You might be able to save a little bit of money over the long haul with the Subie ones if you can't.

[4x4mike]

Our Forester had brand new factory blades on it when we bought it. We bought the car 2 years used but the paint they put on the windshield got on the wipers and the kid that detailed it before we left popped on some new blades. Actually they were Subaru inserts from the parts department. First year up to the snow I was not impressed so I bought the icons.

[DHC6twinotter]

How do these compare to the new Rain-X blades that are supposed to be streak free? Are they the same type of design that doesn't have the pressure points?

I need new blades soon, so I may have to try this out.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Also interested in this thread, as my '84 trail rig is ALWAYS in needs of wiper blade help. One of my main problems though is that the wiper mounts at the end of the arms are gone off of my 4runner, and need to be replaced. This means I have my wipers hose clamped to the wiper arm. this creates odd pressure points, and all sorts of trickery. Anyone have any replacement/upgrade ideas for these mounts? (the little things at the end of the metal wiper arms that actually holds the Wiper/Carrier assembly)

[carljwnc]

Sounds like we need a guinea pig, someone get one of the Subie blades and one of the Icon's and try them side by side. :hillbill:

DHC6twinotter, The Subie ones are more like a standard carrier with the pressure points, the Icon's look more similar to the Rain-X ones without the pressure points.



This means I have my wipers hose clamped to the wiper arm. this creates odd pressure points, and all sorts of trickery.

Upgrade to duct tape??? (Sorry, had to ;))

[Seanz0rz]

The Bosch and rainx are identical for all intents and purposes. Also identical to 8th gen civics(06+)