Monday, February 18, 2013

Another Modern Upgrade.... Wiper Blades

Well with this recent cold weather, I'm not too inclined to go out and work on the car. However, last time I washed my car (after the visit to Midori Seibi and Do-Luck) I noticed that the wiper blades on my car, were a bit dodgy in that the metal ribs that run along the sides of the rubber blade itself were working themselves loose. This would then cause the blade itself to come loose from the frame. Like this:
 So even though I don't drive much, if at all, in the rain (basically unless I get caught on the way home), I was worried that, if for some reason I had to use the wipers, then Murphy's law would mean that the rubber blade would slip, and then then metal frame would scratch the glass (and numerous attempts to fix this problem by forcing the metal rib back into the rubber had not been successful). So I had to figure out a way to fix this problem.

Solution:

There seem to be several brands of these new one piece wipers that replace the frame and fit the car. But (at least here in Japan) Bosch seemed to be the only one that had a specific listing for my car, and had items that reflected the different sizes left and right, for their top of the line Aerotwin wipers. Plus of course the aerodynamic nature of these wipers was cool, especially as the OEM driver's side blade frame has a small built in spoiler just for that purpose (to prevent the wiper from lifting off at speed). The design also promises more evenly spread out wiping ability, and the rubber blade itself is easy to replace.

These are an easy install, they come with an adaptor (Bosch calls it "Quick-Clip") that allows retrofitting to most cars by attachment to the U-shaped wiper arm end. However, here is a tip for our cars - the instructions state that the cover can be opened up to let the U arm fit over the internal clip - this is not true on our cars. Due to the curved nature of the wiper arm, the covers have to be gently forced off (after insertion of the arm), then the U hooks over the clip, then the cover can be snapped back into place. Like so:

I was also going to take this opportunity to re-paint the wiper arms, as the original flat black paint had been rubbed off in some spots - except it's just too cold and I wasn't about to start spraying black paint in an enclosed garage... so that small project will have to wait for warm weather.

Anyway - here is a before picture with the OEM blades (excuse the mess in the garage...):

And here it is, after fitment of the BOSCH wipers:

So what do people think of how they look on the car... a bit too modern perhaps? OR subtle enough that it works? I'm sure their superior performance alone justifies them, but in my opinion they just look a bit weird...the OEM mini spoiler was actually kind of cool.  Also, I wish there was a way to keep them half hidden under the hood.

Oh, and what should I do with the rear wiper? Same thing? The question here is, does it need to be aerodynamic in nature as well?

9 comments:

マット said...

This is a nice modern update for the car. I've been planning to do this too, but my current wipers don't need replacing yet. I'd definitely replace the rear wipers too.

I'm also interested in finding out if there are any upgrades for the windscreen washing fluid nozzles. The OEM ones shoot a stream of fluid, whereas new cars (ie. BMW) spread the fluid evenly across the windscreen!

As for painting the wiper arms, I guess that works too. When the paint flaked off on my wiper arms, I went for brand new arms instead of painting them. They definitely made the car look smarter!

Aki said...

Brand new arms.... hmm. I wonder how much Nissan will charge me for those. Good idea, will look into that.

Windshield washing fluid nozzles? That's a good idea too. Or heck, why not get those wiper arms with the nozzles built in?

Thanks as always Matt for the feedback!

Aki

Unknown said...

Hi Aki, this is a great upgrade and the wiper arms look good. They aren't too modern that they don't suit the car. I will try this upgrade on my car, and painting the wipers is a good idea too. I have seen people just set a bunch of paper/poly over the car and spray the wiper arms. That way you don't need to take them off.

Cheers!

Aki said...

Hi Stefan,

Thanks for the comment! Yes, I could do the paint thing (which I may have actually done before, LOL).

Except now Matt has me thinking about new ones! Time will tell, I've been too busy to even visit the dealership lately...

Let us know how it works out on your car!

Aki

Eu Jin said...

This may sound weird but I've yet to change my wiper blades since I got my ER34 way back in 2006.

It's not perfect but it still works and over here is rains like every other day. LOL

Aki said...

EJ, that's probably because using them frequently probably is good for the rubber? Interesting though...

Wardiz said...

Thanks for sharing the info and references. I'll soon have to replace them on my BNR34.
Great blog by the way it's nice to follow your cars' life !

Anonymous said...

For me I think it's a bit modern for the BCNR33 and the BNR32 GT-R. The old style wipers look better on them and suits them better. But this ain't that bad looking. By the way, isn't it the one of the GT-R's front wiper has a small wiper wing on them?

Aki said...

Wardiz, thanks for the comment.

Anonymous - I know, I felt the same the moment I finished the swap. Now I don't even notice. And yes, the drive side one had a mini spoiler on it so the wind pressure would keep the blade firmly on the windshield at speed!