T H E R E S U LT S
CONTROL WIPER/58 dB
RAIN-X SILICONE ADVANTEDGE/58.4 dB
TRICO MAXX/64 dB
BOSCH ICON (NEW)/63.4 dB
BOSCH FOCUS/65 dB
MICHELIN ENDURANCE XT/74.4 dBBeam Design
Frame-style wipers
are limited to five or
six pressure points
where they meet the
windshield. Beam
wipers achieve
consistent pressure,
thanks to a metal
beam that runs the
length of the blade.
More contact means a
better clean.Beam-style wipers have been around for
several decades, cementing themselves as the
superior option over their traditional frame-
style relatives. Clever design and engineering
has allowed a steady increase in performance.
Aerofoil
Conventional wiper
blades can sometimes
be blown away from
the surface of the
glass, inhibiting their
performance. That’s
why you’ll see beam
blades use an aerofoil
outside the shell to
keep the wiper stuck
to the windshield at
any speed.Blade Material
Many modern wipers
have silicone blades,
which clear water
better due to the
material’s hydrophobic
properties. Plus, they
are more durable. But
this does make them
considerably more
expensive than their
older, rubber-based
counterparts.WHY BEAM WIPERS
ARE BETTER
BRINGING
THE NOISE
While most wipers on the market can clear
your windshield exceptionally well, they
tend to produce quite a lot of noise when the
glass isn’t completely soaked with water.
To see how distractingly loud (or not)
the wipers could be, we began this portion
of the test by wetting down the windshield
with plain water, before using a squeegee to
clear 80 percent of it away. However, instead
of wiping the glass dr y as we did in the paint
test, we left the remaining 20 percent of
water on the windshield. Using a calibrated
decibel meter set on the hood of the car, we
f lipped the wipers on once to get a reading.
Completing this process three times for each
model gave us an average volume.
Here, too, the Rain X Silicone Advant-
Edge was the best. Producing only 58.1
decibels, it came in just as quiet as the con-
trol wiper, which smeared the water instead
of fully clearing it. As wipers wear down,
they can do any number of things from
chattering or even, as in this case, smudg-
ing the water. While chattering produces
excess noise, smearing stays quiet but just
spreads the water on the windshield with-
out wiping it away.
72 January/February 2022
T h e
(^11) Test