Wiper blades

[Guyver1]

I bought some Bosch flat blade wipers when I first bought the car in May this year.

Coming home from work on Saturday, the vision was terrible as the old blades were wiping the screen but not cleaning it properly.

I fitted the new flat blades on Sunday, took all of about 60 seconds. The difference is amazing and anyone wondering if it's a worthwhile mod, the answer is a definite yes.

[philmots]

I replaced mine with some Valeo ones.

Standard size is 22.5" I got the 23's and the NS over hangs the screen by about 3mm in park position. Annoying!!

I'm going to use Bosch in future as the clip to retrofit to my standard hook arm is a lot easier on the eye.

The Valeo wipers are VERY good, though.

[Max Headroom]

Thanks for sharing that Guyver. I was helping my father wash & wax his BMW this weeek and was looking at the flat blades he has on his car.

I had no idea that there was a conversion.

The conventional Bosch blades fitted at the moment are virtually new and dont give me any problems, but I will certainly look into replacing them with the flat type which I think look a lot better too

[Audax]

When I got the current 9-5 it had conventional Bosch blades fitted, they were utter rubbish imo when you compare them to the performance of a flat wiper blade. This time around I went for wipersblades.co.uk cheap branded and they've been fine, I did have Valeo on one car and they had the replacement indicators that went yellow telling me to replace the blades far too early before they needed replacing and I've had Bosch flat blades too which were good but pricey.

[Guyver1]

For some strange reason, Bosch list 22" blades for the 9-3ss

The actual code is AR22U Aerotwin

There's a guy on eBay that sells them for a decent price

[Baxlin]

I've used flat blades for several years, and find that paying Bosch prices is a waste of money, they seem to last no longer than £8 Ebay ones. 

Probably made in the same factory anyway!

[Finbo]

Not sure that I'd agree on that one. I currently have some cheap aero blades from wipers.co.uk on my 9-5 at present. They've only been on a month or two but they're already squeeking which is really, really annoying. Previously I had genuine Saab (GM) aero blades and they lasted nearly two years and were excellent. Only changed them because winter was coming and thought the new ones would be better. I now wish I'd left the old ones on! I bought the genuine ones on ebay but can't find them anymore, so I'm considering the Bosch ones.

[Max Headroom]

Probably made in the same factory anyway!

Actually Bosch are very secretive about what their blade compound is made from, and how it is made, so I imagine that is probably not the case

[philg]

I have tried the Bosch ones and they do last longer but not 3-4 times longer that you need to make financial sense (ie Bosch ones seem to cost £25-30 a set and may last two years, but you can get a cheap set for £8 and if they last a year great, you can buy enough for 3 years and still be cheaper than the Bosch)

[Guyver1]

I'm all for saving money, I'm so tight I can peel an orange in my pocket

But 1 thing I learnt a while ago is... "buy cheap, buy twice"

[Richard_C]

Eurocarparts (dot com) seem to have good prices on blades and do specify brand.  A few years ago my local SAAB dealer was cheaper than Halfords for blades.

Beware the Halfords cut to length inserts: last time I looked, admittedly a while back, you could  - according to their fitting guide - buy a 22 inch insert for a SAAB 9-5 and cut it to 23 inches to fit.  Not sure how that works.

I did get 2 pairs of Tesco cheapest for the ageing 9-5. just to try them out.  1 pair 22 inch, one pair 23 inch mix and match.  They lasted a year or so, so my total expense of £6 (3 per set) gave me 2 years worth.  Decent option if on a real tight budget.  The rubber was better than the metal - that went a bit rusty before the wipey-bit needed changing.

My new-to-me Citroen C5, one year old, has Bosch flat blades as standard and only fit.  They do look expensive, £40+ a set, so I hope they last a while.

[Baxlin]

Probably made in the same factory anyway!

Actually Bosch are very secretive about what their blade compound is made from, and how it is made, so I imagine that is probably not the case

Being mischievous, could it be because they DO use the same factory, and don't want anyone to know?

My hedge cutters for instance carry the Bosch logo but are Qualcast.......

[Max Headroom]

Probably made in the same factory anyway!

Actually Bosch are very secretive about what their blade compound is made from, and how it is made, so I imagine that is probably not the case

Being mischievous, could it be because they DO use the same factory, and don't want anyone to know?

My hedge cutters for instance carry the Bosch logo but are Qualcast.......

I know what youre saying, and there could be a lot of truth in it. It's just that I was watching a programme on the way they were made and the compound 'ingredients' were not allowed to be shown because of strict secrecy - to stop industrial espionage I guess.

I have a Qualcast mower (It's next to useless but I need an electric one and there is scant choice). I looked at the Bosch offering thinking it might be a lot better and was horrified to find it ws the same machine re-badged,

[Alan]

I'm puzzled wherever I look it recommends a different wiper for my 07 vert. 22" 23" and 24" so what should I get.
Wiperblades.co.uk say Bosch  AM23U. Guyver1 says AR22U ( are the vert and saloon the same ) I've been looking on ebay and the other sites for wipers and found that the AR22U are what some reccommend for the Rover 75 and Audi cabrio but others list the AR550S for the same Rover and Audi.
Are the AR22U and AR550S the same ?
I was going to try some Tesco ones but I don't know what size to get and my Saab is not mentioned on any of the packs. If it says it fits the Rover 75 will it fit mine ?
             Thanks  Alan

[Norfolk Jim]

Try strapping one of these Poles from the hand car washes onto your bonnet and sit up a little higher to see over him. He'll get it spotless for you