Windshield wipers

[Whitetoy]

These things really catch the air on my 91 Civic HB.
Anyone thought of a way to avoid this?
Perhaps remove them altogether for long drives in good weather?

[theclencher]

I'd wager they don't make any difference at all in fe and maybe no difference at all for aero either.

That said, I keep my wipers in the car or cab somewhere now, simply because I rarely drive in rain, or get caught in rain, and I've gotten tired of replacing wiper blades that have never been used simply because they went bad due to age. I can stick em on quickly should the need arise.

[Jay2TheRescue]

THere are some on the forum that rig their wipers so they park in a vertical position, but I don't think there's much to be gained by it.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by theclencher

I keep my wipers in the car or cab somewhere now, simply because I rarely drive in rain, or get caught in rain, and I've gotten tired of replacing wiper blades that have never been used simply because they went bad due to age. I can stick em on quickly should the need arise.

that's a great idea!

reminds me of my shaving routine. i shave only when needed(twice per week). i will get more than a year out of a mach 5 four pack by cleaning and drying the blades after each shave.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

Out of curiosity, what are the aerodynamics of a wiper in use versus one at rest?

[theholycow]

I think some people have added a wiper cowl. I remember a discussion where someone made some convincing arguments that it would not help, though.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

aero of wipers in use usually suck just because it is raining. if you actually need the wipers, your mileage is usually bad anyway because of the weather.

I would say not to worry about the wipers unless you have done everything else to your car that you can or you just think it looks cool.

kind of like doing the smoothe hub caps or disabling DRLs. if it is something you want to do then cool but if you expect killer gains from it, don't bother with it.

[R.I.D.E.]

RainX.

I never use the wipers, well at least almost never.

regards
gary

[Jay2TheRescue]

I like the Rain-X washer fluid. I never use any setting on my wipers but delay. I never use low or high.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

I use Rain-X as well. Great for the rear window that has no wiper.