[Vikram Arya]

Paying approx. 70 to 100% more for a beam blade as compared to a conventional blade is well worth it however if the difference in price is 300% as has been mentioned by one of the forum members earlier and then maybe not.

I change my wiper blades every 8 to 10 months as a best practice and I have been using the beam blades for the last 16 years on all my cars and here's what I have observed:

1. Beam blades hug the contours of the windshield far better as compared to the conventional blades especially if the windshield is curved.

2. Beam blades have a cleaner wipe because there is uniform pressure on the blade across the length of the blade, unlike the conventional wiper blade where the frame is cantilevered at 6 or 8 select points. Because of this reason, beam blades are less likely to cause "streaking".

3. Beam blades are more aerodynamic and unlikely to experience "lifting" at high speeds as compared to conventional blades that have a superstruction on top of the frame.

4. I believe the quality of rubber in most of the beam blades is superior and uses compounds like Teflon or Silicone as compared to conventional blades. This is based upon my personal conservation as an end-user.

5. Last but not least; the aesthetic aspect though this may not be important to a lot of users. Would you like to see a conventional blade on your 3/5 series BMW? There's a reason beam blades come as standard fitment on most of the premium automotive OEMs.

Out of sheer curiosity, I looked up Bosch wiper blades on Amazon India. A pair of 20-inch conventional blades were priced at Rs 375 and a pair of the same size beam blades were retailing at Rs 590 so basically a difference of 57%; well worth in my opinion in view of the advantages.

Think of it; you're probably spending Rs 5,000 on a tank of gas (@Rs 100/ltr for a 50 ltr tank); a good pair of wiper blades would last a year, therefore, spending a couple of hundred bucks extra would be well worth it.

[GeeTee TSI]

I remember our 2008 Skoda Fabia came with frameless wipers all around and I find the made-for-India Skoda Kushaq comes with frame type wipers all around. Now I wonder if this is progress or cost cutting!

I feel frameless wipers are just an evolution of design, materials and construction from erstwhile frame type wipers and as I found in my Polo, the former sport a cleaner look but not necessarily offer a cleaner wipe

[Indian2003]

I used to replace my wipers every year just before winter sets in. 2 years ago I fit framless wipers and I still have them on now. They are very quiet and wipes better without jumping.
The brand I use is Valeo. I have tried cheap ones for 5 euros/pair and they were useless and lifted off the windscreen at speed.

[carrerastrax]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

1. Beam blades hug the contours of the windshield far better as compared to the conventional blades especially if the windshield is curved.

2. Beam blades have a cleaner wipe because there is uniform pressure on the blade across the length of the blade, unlike the conventional wiper blade where the frame is cantilevered at 6 or 8 select points. Because of this reason, beam blades are less likely to cause "streaking".

3. Beam blades are more aerodynamic and unlikely to experience "lifting" at high speeds as compared to conventional blades that have a superstruction on top of the frame.

Nicely put together and these are what I know about their advantages. The Punto came with frameless blades and they do a fantastic job of cleaning the windscreen. The residual water film that they leave behind after the sweep is much lesser than the traditional ones. When lifted, they are curved and when on the glass, they are stretched to create a uniform pressure.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I have used both on a variety of cars. I have found that the frameless are next useless at high speed. You go anywhere over 120-130 km / h and they just stop working all together. Those sort of speeds are still possible here in Europe.

So I am sticking to good old proper old fashioned wipers only.

Jeroen

I was under the impression that frameless work better because of the above stated reasons. Can you kindly explain on why they are less effective at speed? Not sure if I ever witnessed those speeds in the wet, but I would've seen 80-90 kmph in heavy rains on a good highway and my experience is quite the opposite. And also, their design on the top and front of these wipers helps in adding downforce (or sorts) at speed. Intrigued and interested to know.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by carrerastrax

I was under the impression that frameless work better because of the above stated reasons. Can you kindly explain on why they are less effective at speed? Not sure if I ever witnessed those speeds in the wet, but I would've seen 80-90 kmph in heavy rains on a good highway and my experience is quite the opposite. And also, their design on the top and front of these wipers helps in adding downforce (or sorts) at speed. Intrigued and interested to know.

Difference between theory and (limited) experience. The ones I tried on my Jaguar were useless at high speed. Don’t know why, they just were.

Jeroen

[peterjim13]

I learned this lesson the hardway and it took me around 4-5 years to realize this.

I am not sure on the number of prefacelift Ford Ecosport owners here, but my experience with cars wipers helped me learn this lesson.

Back in 2014 the new to the market Ecosport came in the standard company OEM traditional wipers which was around 800 rupees for a piece. The wipers started giving me that squeaky noise from the first monsoon and my wiper hunt started there. Following the forum, I replaced my OEM with Hella Dyna Edge - replaced it in around 8 months, with the same Hella Dyna Edge, then to Curvo and then to Unipoint from Taiwan. Pair costed around 1200 for me and none of them were satisfactory and actually had repeat purchases of Hella wipers assuming they are superior and attributing the unclean and squeaky wipes to the Car. On my next attempt I even got my Wiper arms replaced - with the help of Ford MASS.

Hella stopped supplying blades, and it was a pain getting one from the stores here, then I found out about the Bosch frameless ones which I could buy from a local vendor. They were apparently the cheapest and on top the most terrible wipers I have used and it stopped giving me clean wipes within less than a week of use. Then I choose to leave with and had some terrible driving days with the car especially in Kerala rains and then lockdown hit. Car was not munching any miles and I started my own personal research on alternatives.

While I had this hardship with my EcoSport I was a great fan of the OEM wiper blades on my 2012 XUV5OO. All the wipers ran for more than an year and may be even more. XUV drives almost 20K per year and never had to think of an alternative Wiper Blade (touchwood).

During lockdown and on my lazy browsing day I somehow landed upon PowerX framed wiperblades which looked like the ones of the XUV5OO. They were basic not premium and for less than 500-600 (do not recollect the actual cost) I could get a pair. Ordered them via Amazon and they had some quality issues with the clip - one of them still jumps out while wiping, and I have to take some extra care to ensure that the locks are in place before every drive - but must admit - for now rains are no longer a challenge. Nothing goes well with the EcoSport arms than PowerX wipers.

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Owing to this experience, I blindly replaced the wipers of my preworshipped A-star with the standard traditional wiper blades from PowerX and had the same story.

Aesthetics matters, but it is important to consider our peace of mind.

[viXit]

So a funny thing happened.

I bought frameless wiper blades for our Storme on boodmo. This was the first time I was buying blades, keep in mind my dad maintained the car till now. So I was unaware of the costs.

I've heard great things about bosch. So ordered compatible(claimed by boodmo to be) blades for 2700 rupees. I thought this is just how much they cost and it's okay since they're long lasting. Poor me was so stupid. They were not compatible, were some clip on type, and not the normal J hook type. They were for BMWs and Audis.

I returned them and went to Ranigunj (auto parts hub for HYD) and got me a pair of Bosch eco blades for 400 rupees. I had a hearty laugh at myself for how expensive I thought the wipers were. Almost wasted so much money.

The cheaper blades are just the best upgrade ever. Super VFM, they wipe so well.

Earlier, the wipers would spread the water from my sprayers all over the windshield and then wipe it off on the second or third wipe while leaving behind a thin white film of water that would dry off in a second. These new blades can't spread like that. They just wipe everything off in the first go. Been dying to take the car out in the rain. Just so beautiful.

I'm never buying that frameless nonsense again. The looks aren't worth it.

Here's a pic of the blades I'm running.


They work so well, I scrutinize the windshield for dust just to find an excuse to wash and wipe.

[Dr.AD]

I feel that like most other similar questions, there is no definitive answer to this too. Whether traditional or frameless, both designs can do a good job as long as the wiper blades are designed properly.

I have experienced both and can not say one is better than the other. Maybe if I have to make a choice, I would say stick with the OEM design as the OEM knows what wiper designs is best for that particular windshield.

My Maruti SX4 has the traditional wipers. In my 10+ years of ownership, I tried the frameless wipers a few times (all well known and expensive brands). However, for some unknown reasons, they just failed to do the job well. I never liked them and every time after trying an expensive frameless wiper, I went back to OEM traditional wipers and liked those much better.

On the other hand, My BMW 3 series has frameless wipers and they do a great job. I have zero complaints from these frameless wipers. They are designed very well to go with the specific windshield design.

So in short, both types work well if well designed, and can work poorly if chosen ad-hoc. So my choice would be to stick with the OEM design.

P.S. The poll should have a third option "it depends on the specific design". I would have voted for that option if it existed. Currently, I could not vote for either of the two options for the reasons given above.

[Miel]

Voted for Frameless Wipers solely for the premium looks and the clean aesthetics. The only added advantage is that when wiping the car clean, it is easier to clean a frameless wiper than one with a frame, as with the latter the fibers of the cleaning cloth often get caught in the frame and leave unsightly threads hanging off it.

Besides, it is easier to get frameless wipers of all sizes in accessory shops and gas stations than frame-type ones.

From a performance perspective, both kinds of wipers have served me the same!

[rpunwani]

Voted for Frameless

I have replaced traditional wipers on my Ford Ecosport & Honda Jazz to frameless. They give a better wipe, last longer due to the graphite coating (Bosch Clear Advantage & Blaupunkt Velocity), provide a clear wipe without streaks and are good at high speeds due to their aerodynamic profile which creates downforce on the windshield.

The flip side is that they are expensive (a set is between 1100 - 1300). The OEM frameless wipers are 3500+ as in the case of the Passat that I had. Managed to do jugaad and change the rubber element only - see my thread VW Passat DIY: Replacing the Wiper blade element.

Have to figure out a way to do jugaad with BMW wiper blades now.

[northstar*]

Voted for Frameless.

My Scross came with traditional wipers and it started streaking from the first monsoon. Tried replacing them with Bosch Clear Advantage and voila! It looks good and works too.

But I cannot comment on the extended life of frameless over traditional as I am forced to replace the wipers every year. My car doesn't get covered parking, so the sun takes a toll on the rubber quality. I have the OCD to keep the windshield clear, so wipers are used every other day.

Coming to the cost part, I found traditional wiper blades for Scross at ~400 and frameless at ~700. So I think that is a negligible cost for a product that looks and works better.

[VeluM]

I voted for traditional, because the one time I tried the frameless ones from Bosch, they were worse. The traditional ones wiped cleanly and quietly, while the frameless ones were juddery and therefore left marks.

Now I just have them replaced at the A.S.S at the annual service or at a local shop if I feel the need. This is a “function over form” item IMHO.

[gk1234]

Slightly off topic here, but when exactly is it a good time to change your wipers?

When the wipers start screeching against the windshield? When it’s 2 years since you last changed, even if you don’t use the wiper function often? Or is it just when you think the wipers aren’t doing a good enough job?

I’m just curious to know the optimum timeline to be followed.

I live in Kerala, and you all know what the monsoons are like in my state. But even to this day, I haven’t felt the need to change the wipers in my car. My car is 3.5 years old, has done 34,000 kms so far, and has had its share of being driven under mad rains. The stock wipers work fine, sometimes they shudder a bit, usually because of debris which is easily cleaned. They do their job fine otherwise. Which brings me to my question - when is a good time to change your wipers?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by gk1234

The stock wipers work fine, sometimes they shudder a bit, usually because of debris that is easily cleaned. They do their job fine otherwise. Which brings me to my question - when is a good time to change your wipers?

I change the wipers especially the ones on the front windshield every year irrespective of how they are performing. I change the rear ones whenever they go bad.

Also, it depends on how one takes care of the wipers and the windshield in general - like using the wipers when there is dust on the glass or not using water to wipe the glass etc contribute to the life of the wiper blades. Another reason that I can think of is parking space, most cars are parked in the open which again deteriorates the quality of the rubber.

[S2K]

I just have one question in terms of their durability and overall build.
Since my car is dusted/washed every morning by a paid person, is there an issue that if he doesn't handle the frameless wipers with care, they might be damaged?

PS. These people seem to be familiar with the traditional ones and haven't come across an incident where wipers were damaged. My decision to go with frameless or traditional will purely be affect by this.