Texas_Ace

EDIT: I have now been running them for just under 4 years! See third page for more details!

Recommended even 4 years later!

Ok, I just got my Silblade flexblade silicone wipers (http://www.silblade.com/) in to replace all of mine. And here is the write up I promised:

I got them in a nice box via UPS



and opened it to find



Which is going to replace these rain-x blade that were about 6 months old



Side by side comparisons:








So I just popped the old blade off the wiper handle



And popped the new one on



And badda bing, badda booom! It is done!



Here is the new one on the left with the old one on the right



The other side went on just as easy and the same way.

Now where it got interesting, the rear wiper:

This is the junky stock one that is ALL messed up, it would only get about 4 inches by 10 inches clean at all, the rest would not get anything. (it is cleaner in a bigger area in the picture because I had messed with it a few days earlier to try to find out what the problem was and made it clean more)




And this is the new blade:



Well the first problem was that the stock blade mounts in a funny way that nothing can just snap onto. The good news is that these blades had the extra holes and stuff I needed to be able to make it work. So I first removed the plastic covers the mounting bracket per the instructions.



(it is wet because I had already finished the modding but took it back apart to show how I did it)



Here you can see the stock bracket on the old blade, I had just unscrewed the 2 screws holing it on to get this far.




Ok, now I forgot to take a picture of this part but what I did was quite simple. I just took a grander and ground off the rivet that was holding the pivot pin in place on the stock blade. On this pic you can see the hole and the pin after I did it



If you do this grind off the rivet part and not the head part, I tired the head but it just would not come off without cutting more than I wanted. The rivet was also a lot easier. Then just use a nail to pound out the pin. Took all of 3 mins to do.

So there are the parts separated and ready to mount to the new blade.



the bracket on the new blade





I then just found a bolt that was just perfect size for the hole on the blade, 3/16th is what I think it was but don’t quote me on that.



And the bracket bolted to the blade





And that was all there was to it, not that hard at all really. Took me 15 mins to do it, and most of that time was looking at it trying to figure out how to do it. So here it is on the truck:






And here you can see the nice big sweep that it now makes, the spots that you see are not things that it left behind. They are something with the picture because it was clean as a whistle in real life.






So now the big question, how do they work? Do I like them?

YES! The fronts work GREAT! I think they need to “ware” into the shape of the window some, it almost wants to lift up in the middle of the sides if that makes sense. Still cleans the window nice and clean with the water I threw on it to test them. Didn’t squeak and works 10X better than the rain-x I had.

As for the back, it works 100X better than the stock one! It gets a wider sweep and cleans it much better! Only problem I see with it is that it is a tad longer and this makes it hit the bottom of the window and makes the blade come off the window for the last inch or 2 not totally but just enough to leave a little behind. Still works tons better than the stock one though and the little it misses at the bottom is not even noticeable from the front seat.

Overall the fronts get a 9/10 rating and the rear a 8/10. Best blades I have ever got so far. I would get them again and would mod the rear again as well. No regrets at this point. We will see once we get some rain and I give them a real test. Then we will see how they stand up over time, I will update this thread when we get some rain and I try them.

Oh, what happened to my old blades you ask?



TA

kcebes

I just replaced my front wipers with the Michelin Radius. They are flex wipers too. I need to do the rear now. They look sweet...i hope they work alot better. Just need some rain now to test them.

Texas_Ace

Yeah i have the same problem, no rain to test them with.

pitpatt

come to Tennessee it has rained out here for about 3 days straight! lol

Nuthuts96

iTrader: (1)

some people just don't know when to show praise for a lack of rain...

Texas_Ace

LOL, well here is Texas rain is one of things that you either don't have near enough OR you have WAY WAY TOO much. There is no happy middle ground here at all. A few years ago we were out of power for 2 weeks because of a big rain storm (if you are not from Texas you have no idea what a big storm is!)

Texas_Ace

Ok, quick update on these.

That little problem I mentioned above about the blade not touching the windshield everywhere turned out to indeed be a problem. Anywhere the blade touched it worked GREAT but it just missed a few places.

So I called Silblade to see what they said. Well within 5 mins they had sent out a complete set of replacement blades. It appears that there is a known issue with the flexblades not working on the flatter style windshields (which is exactly what I was thinking). So this time around they sent me the normal blades (BTW, for anyone that wants to know, the only difference between the ultra and the normal blades is that the ultra has colored blades and not just colored frame for it.).

I got them in a few days later and today went out to install them. They went on just as easy as the other ones. In fact I found a great benefit to modding the rear blade like I did above, I can now use any blade I want with that same frame. So it will make later blades easier to install. But supposedly I won’t have to replace these for 5 years so only time will tell.

I can say that these blades are by far the best I have ever used! They leave the window literally DRY after they wipe. And works great. I HIGHLY recommend them for all of our trucks! Just get the good ol normal blades and not eh flex blades. They are meant for windshields with more curve then our trucks.

2000t4rAKS

TA,

Thanks for the update. I was wondering when you were going to put the new ones on. Have you tested them out in the rain?

Texas_Ace

Not in the "rain" per se but i did have them running while spraying down the window with the hose. Worked VERY nice.

2000t4rAKS

Nice, very nice. Looks like I will be the first to be complaining about the PIAA's Silicone Wipers then. It could also be the rain-x that I used, but the wipers still streak for some reason. I even used regular glass cleaner to see if i could get all the rain-x off and I think I did. Still the streaks continued so I will be switiching over to Sil Blade very soon.

Texas_Ace

I can say that at least with new blades there is not a streak in sight. I would not use rain-x with these either, the silicone is supposed to make a rain-x type coating on the window and i am going to see if this is right.

I will update in a little while after some real rain and further testing but at this point WELL worth the extra $$ for them.

mkgarrison5

i recently bought some trico blades with a strip of silicone or something like that and i have to say they work great! plus a little rainx on the windows never hurt

BajaRunner

I was going to say, those blades look awfully curved!

Glad they sent out a flatter set.

dirtoyboy

I thought this thread was a joke when I first saw it!



wiper blade tech! I didnt even know it existed! haha

INFINITY

i have this style of blades on my crv and they work amazing. hands down the best wiper i have ever had.

gpcollen1

A test of a blade is not how it works when new - it is really how it works in 3 months or more. Every new blade I have purchases has worked well new. NOw I use rain-x windshield washer fluid and do not even have to use my wipers 1/2 the time. And I just buy new blades when mine degrade.

toyminator2000

Cool. I've been wondering how to change wiper blades.


Next, could do a thread on changing your oil?

Texas_Ace

Yep, i just wanted to try those flexblade out but really these work just as well but better since they tuch everywhere. I have to say that there service is second to none. They even paid for both shipping the new blades to me and the old blades back to them.

LOL, nope real thread. When i went looking for some new blades i relized that a review thread would not be a bad idea.

X2

Agreed. As i said i am going to try them and see what they do over the next few months. During the symmer here you are usually lucky to get a blade that will last through the summer. So time will tell....


Please tell me that you are joking. LOL

Really the front blades are a piece of cake, the rear one just take a few very simple mins of work to convert into a uinversal blade holder.

As for the oil, you unscrew the drain. Drain the oil, put the plug back in. then take off the old filiter and then put on the new one. Filler up and you are done. If you really don't know how to do that then you really should not be messing with you truck.

YotaNewbie

So is there no way to change out the rear wiper blade that doesn't require the use of a grinder? I bought winter blades for both the front and read of my 4Runner, but I couldn't figure out how to even get the rear blade off...I guess now I know why.

I thought this was a worthwhile post, thanks for taking the time to put it up here.

Texas_Ace

Well reading the above will show you how to switch out the rear blade.

The only thing that the grinder is needed for is to take the head of the rivet off. If you didn't have a grinder you could use a file, or even sand paper if you have a lot of time. Just use your imanation, all you have to do is get that rivet head off. "There is more than one way to skin a cat" comes to mind.

Once you get that rivet out the hard work is done, it is just a matter of putting it back together after that.