The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → To wipe or not to wipe?
Windshield wipers? Keep them? Sell them and the motors and just run RainX?
I do that on my daily Rx7, but I ask in case I'm missing some big picture stuff when it comes to enduro racing..
Keep them. It will rain and they really help, even if you heavily rain-x.
Keep them. It will rain and they really help, even if you heavily rain-x.
This x1000
Former 'Rain-x will be fine' guy. Keep them.
Keep the spray as well. Nothing beats pushing a button and having a clean windscreen after getting 4-6 hours of rubber and oil on it.
Keep them and the defogger too
Keep them and the defogger too
Even better, keep the windshield wipers, defroster AND bi-lev to dry your boots out while driving!
The first time it rains you'll be glad the wipers are still there.
Stuff on the inside of the car is hotly debated. There are a bunch of options with pros and cons
Stock defroster/blower:
Pros- Good airflow source that's evenly spread over the windshield. Better than anything you'll rig on your own
cons - less effective when the AC is gone, takes up a lot of space.
Electric defroster kit (https://www.frostfighter.com/clear-view … -about.htm)
Pros - Hands down the best universal solution for keeping the inside of your glass from fogging. It works on any car so long as you follow the install instructions correctly (most need a controller, not a straight 12V source).
Cons - finicky to install.
Chemical solutions (barbasol, anti-fog, etc)
pros - cheap, easy enough to apply
cons - effectiveness is hugely dependent on your car. It works well on some, and not at all on others. Depends on a bunch of factors such as how turbulent the air is inside your car with the windows down, how much water sucks in while driving, etc. It also doesn't last forever and many people notice it won't last the full day in heavy rain.
Rag on a stick
pros - Cheap?
cons - literally the worst solution. Seriously, why are you relying on a solution that forces you to take a hand off the wheel and take your focus off what's around you?
Keep them. It will rain and they really help, even if you heavily rain-x.
/agree
Rag on a stick
pros - Cheap?
cons - literally the worst solution. Seriously, why are you relying on a solution that forces you to take a hand off the wheel and take your focus off what's around you?
Incorrect. The worst solution is loosening the shoulder belts through the esses at Sears Point every lap and glove-wiping the inside of the windshield after a North wind blows your own tire spray onto it while also soaking the left side of your helmet and neck.
Unless you run some place like Daytona where ours sat about 3" off of the windshield dancing in the air nowhere close to the windshield.
Pitch the car 90* sideways- the air coming through the window will almost instantly clear it.
Pitch the car 90* sideways- your team can clean the screen while you explain yourself in the penalty box.
"add lightness":
I cut my assembly in half and removed the passenger side arm/mechanism and half the plastic assembly.
The motor still moves one wiper in front of the driver and I bought the longest wiper that I could fit (24" i think).
FWIW, sometimes I wish I had wired in a bilge fan as a defroster. Most of the time though, we just plan for races which don't rain (probably not this year).
Because Jaguar windshields are basically unobtainium and we are forced to use poly-carbonate (still not cheap). I am developing an airblade-type wiper that runs off a compressor. Sight is more important than weight.
"add lightness":
I cut my assembly in half and removed the passenger side arm/mechanism and half the plastic assembly.
The motor still moves one wiper in front of the driver.FWIW, sometimes I wish I had wired in a bilge fan as a defroster. Most of the time though, we just plan for races which don't rain (probably not this year).
We've done both of these mods.
You can attach the bilge fan to the defroster duct for factory-level air distribution.
It's no worse than my '65 Mustang was.
Unless you run some place like Daytona where ours sat about 3" off of the windshield dancing in the air nowhere close to the windshield.
If you're driving that fast Rain-X will do the job.
With wipers. The rain and splash can be too much.
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