Do you replace the rubber inserts, or just buy a new blade w/insert?

Are 'silicone' wipers better? Is iridium better than platinum?

I used to just replace them every 6 months or so, nevermind that brand, but now some brands have a 3yr or 5yr warranty. Do they really last that long?

The Datsun 1200 original nickel-finish blades are strong and seem to be still good after 38 years. On the other hand, my other 1200 has aftermarket black metal blades which don't seem to conform to the glass curve very well.

What are your thoughts/experiences with wiper blades?

Well here in Vegas they last 5 years............about every five years it rains, you turn the wipers on and the rubber is stuck to the window.

My best results have been to just use Rain-X, I had always used the inserts on the standard Datsun blades. I may get a chance to do some research on this as we've got more rain in the last 2 weeks then we did all of 2009.

Tom

I tend just to use inserts, but I clean my blades with a soapy mix about every other week in the rainy season. It does no good to clean a window when all of the crud is still on your blade, plus they last much longer when cared for in this fashion.

I've found that the replacement blades are bulkier that the stock blades. They tend to lift off the glass at highway speeds and I think they pretty much look like crap.
I use replacement inserts in the stock blades. Even though the stock blades have loosened up a bit in 38yrs, they seem to work fine.

i prefer silicon blades myself

I replaced the rusty springs in my arms (bit fiddly) and kept my standard blades, aftermarket were not that good. I found the best inserts to be the ones with the metal strips on either side of the rubber insert. Plastic backed ones dont last long but are cheap and silicone can be noisy on the glass.

Thanks guy for the good ideas. I didn't know that the rubber ever needed cleaning, but it makes sense.

You could try these, they are modern design and should manage the large curved windscreen well

My personal favorite wiper blade is the Bosh microedge. Been using them for years.

I've been a trico neoform guy for a while now but this last time I tried the 'Trico Tech Beam Blades' that just came out in late 2009. They are super beefy and they have a new off-set mounting that lets the wiper arms sit ever so slightly lower. They look and work great. Cost less than the neoforms. Easy install. Got them online.