Hi Scotty - Thanks for all the information you so graciously provide.
I have two 2012 Toyota Rav 4s. The driver's side windshield wiper is *much* longer than the one on the passenger's side. I am average height (5'11") and it seems to me that they clear off far more of the windshield than I need to see pretty well. My question is, can I use shorter wipers, say and inch or two shorter, since it seems like shorter wipers would apply greater pressure per linear inch and thus better clean off the rain, snow, and ice that we get here in Central NY.
Am I missing something? Or would this be an ok (or dumb) thing to do.
Thanks again and have a nice holiday season,
Karl
I don't understand why you would want to clear off less. Don't you want to see out of your entire windshield, you know for visibility?
I actually bought wipers that were longer than OEM for my car.
The driver's side windshield wiper is *much* longer than the one on the passenger's side.
completely normal
Thanks MMJ - I see your point, but as I wrote in the original post, it seems to me that shorter wipers might actually work better since more pressure would be applied to clearing the windshield. Furthermore, here in the NE, with the snow, ice, and slush, having shorter wipers would let the motor not have to work so hard, since there would be less material to keep off my main field of vision so a failure might be less likely.
I probably would not worry about this if I lived somewhere down South where it would normally be just water to remove and not all the junk we get up here.
more pressure would be applied to clearing the windshield.
if the ones you have aren't wiping sufficiently, then you just need better wipers. They should wipe snow/rain completely.
, having shorter wipers would let the motor not have to work so hard
I suppose so, though I haven't had an issues wiping thick layers of wet snow off my windshield. Never had to replace a wiper motor in my life. Also the motor is protected by a thermal breaker if it does work too hard.
Look at this bad boy on the Cybertruck! 😆
Holy Cow!!!!
Gotta love the wipers on a Panhard! Leave it to the French...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxU3KbSHH3o
If you must have more blade pressure on the windshield, it would be better to modify the spring that holds the wiper arm - a stronger or shorter spring would provide extra pressure.
Scotty uses Nu Finish on his windshield. You also might want to try Rain-X, it works great on my motorcycle and helmet face shield- though I haven't tried it on snow.
you can buy aftermarket helper springs too.
