The next time you're in a parking lot, or when you're walking on the sidewalk along a street with lots of parked cars, take a look at the windshield wipers. On some cars, the wiper arms are mounted fairly close to each other and are designed to move in unison. On others, the arms are mounted at opposite sides of the car and face each other in the center of the windshield. Some wiper arms are short and some are long. Some are straight, and some, especially on newer cars, are curved or bent.
Like so many things we take for granted, wiper design turns out to be a surprisingly nuanced rabbit hole once you take a moment to notice it, with no two cars seeming to have the same configuration. It's fun to imagine an army of industrious wiper elves coming up with just the right design to provide the proper visual accent for each vehicle.
But the reality is that wiper design is driven primarily by practicalities, not aesthetics. "The wiper system is usually designed pretty late in the process," said Doug Patton, executive vice president of engineering for Denso International America, which makes wiper systems and other automotive components for many car brands. "That's why you see these variations from car to car. The wiper system is usually designed to work within the rest of the vehicle design."
[...] "As you're designing and styling the car, there are people who'll check it for engineering feasibility, including those wipe percentages," said Gausden. "If they can't meet those federal requirements, they may have to change the windshield angle and curvature, or even the hood placement. So the wiper system isn't always the red-headed stepchild. It can drive and impact styling regarding hood height and windshield angle."
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 19 2017, @08:18PM
Like so many things we take for granted, wiper design turns out to be a surprisingly nuanced rabbit hole once you take a moment to notice it, with no two cars seeming to have the same configuration. It's fun to imagine an army of industrious wiper elves coming up with just the right design to provide the proper visual accent for each vehicle.
Uhh... no?
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Sunday February 19 2017, @08:21PM
I don't even have to imagine it. I've got those little elf slaves doing all of my chores. Tax robots as much as you want!
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Monday February 20 2017, @02:10AM
I'm from Michigan, and had friends working for Valeo designing wiper blades. Just about every part in your car has this level of design, particularly if safety is a factor.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @05:47PM
I drive a Trabant, you insensitive clod!
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Sunday February 19 2017, @09:55PM
On others, the arms are mounted at opposite sides of the car and face each other in the center of the windshield.
Why would they do that? it doesn't seem to offer any advantage - in fact it means less clearing of the windshield in the center, for the driver.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 4, Interesting) by subs on Monday February 20 2017, @12:07AM
I thought this too until I owned a Citroen C4 with exactly this design. And TBH, I prefer it. The center gap is usually occupied by your rear view mirror, so you can't see through it anyway. However, one-sided designs routinely leave a huge unswept triangle on the passenger's side. It's not too bad for the driver, but the passenger basically has a line going almost straight through their vision. By comparison, the opposing system actually wipes the bit which people look through and ignores the bit they don't (behind the rear view mirror).
http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/wiper-coverage.gif [hswstatic.com]
(Score: 3, Funny) by inertnet on Sunday February 19 2017, @10:30PM
Don't get hypnotized by your wipers, keep your eyes on the road!
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Sunday February 19 2017, @11:53PM
I have owned a car with 3 wipers on the front windshield.
Also, from TFA, how is a Lancia Stratos the other end of the spectrum from a Reliant Scimitar? Now if it were a Reliant Robin, that might be accurate.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @12:31AM
Once the basic configuration is done, there are plenty of details left. Trico (original wiper maker) had a room full of windshields set up with wipers going day and night. Some had grit sprayers on them, others salt water, others dry--all to see how the rubber blade wore. A family friend (she's now in her mid-90s) worked there after getting her chem degree, compounding rubber, extruding test batches and testing the blades for durability and clear wiping.
Other parts of the plant included stamping & die casting for the arms and a plating operation for the different metal finishes ordered by the car companies (many used to be chromed).
(Score: 1) by Guppy on Monday February 20 2017, @02:09AM
My Hyundai Elantra has an example of markedly asymmetrical wiper arm design. One is 28", one 14", which is the biggest size discrepancy between the two arms I've seen in a car. Not sure what the mechanical reason for this design is, but it seems to work pretty well. Only problem is that the short blade is so short that I have to use replacements made for rear windshield wipers, and for some reason a lot of online wiper catalogs have the sizes for my model set to incorrect values.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Monday February 20 2017, @02:32AM
Have an 05 car, replaced the wipers for the first time 2 years ago. I'm used to wiper blades costing maybe $5. These cost me $40. Those were the cheap blades, the good ones were like $60. Bought the cheap ones, they lasted less than a year.
Seriously, wiper blades, that need to be replaced every 2-3 years, costing $40 for stuff that won't last 2 years.
/ Original blades lasted 8 years
// think I'll spend the extra $20 for blades that last 8 years, instead of 2
/// $40 for wiper blades? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
Relationship status: Available for curbside pickup.
(Score: 2) by dry on Monday February 20 2017, @03:13AM
Wipers are supposed to be changed every 6 months and in my experience, they're in pretty crappy shape after a year. Doesn't matter so much in the summer but every year, when the rainy season starts here, usually some point in October, I have to change my wipers as I like to see the road and get irritated with the streaking, especially at night on the rural roads I use.
I've tried the cheap ones and the expensive ones, they all seem to wear out the same. It's hard to believe that you got 8 years of use out of them as they deteriorate just being exposed to the Sun.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @04:04AM
> deteriorate just being exposed to the Sun.
My cheap blades last for several years until the ends start to tear. The car is garaged except when actually going somewhere, so no regular sun on the rubber. They start to streak due to contamination well before they are worn out--not sure of the source, possibly diesel fuel from following trucks? Anyway, a quick wiping with 91% isopropyl alcohol and paper towel can extend the useful life somewhat.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @07:57AM
why the hell do you expose them to the sun?
aren't they detachable?
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday February 20 2017, @02:39PM
A lot of engineering goes into making them fall apart that fast. I've noticed the same effect, I think I drove a 80s Horizon in the 90s for like half a decade on the same set of blades, but extensive engineering work makes it impossible for modern blades to last six months.
See also disposable razors that used to last for a month of shaves now fall apart after a week but the good news is they boosted the price from $1 each to $32 and they're under lock and key at the pharmacy
Also see recent work in the mattress industry where prices and quality used to be "fair ish" but now its like hundreds of dollars for a sponge and under a kilobuck for a real one designed to fall apart rapidly.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bradley13 on Monday February 20 2017, @11:36AM
The wipers and wipe-regions are part of a larger battle over visibility in a car. Visibility in modern cars is actually pretty horrible, compared to past decades.
Consider this picture of a car from the 1950s [pinimg.com]. Note, in particular, the huge amount of glass, and the comparatively small obstructions by the columns supporting the roof. Compare that to a modern car. [chevrolet.com] Note the huge columns, blocking your view on all four diagonals. Also the comparatively tiny back window. Visibility in older cars is massively better.
Part of this is rollover protection: the roof pillars have to be strong enough to support the weight of the car. But that doesn't account for all of it - the pillars are much, much larger than required simply for structure (interior view) [automobilemag.com]. Subjectively, this seems to be getting worse and worse. Frankly, in some cars, it's to the point of feeling (subjectively) dangerous.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.