Z'n In The Rain

[Guest silverbullet]

OK guys I know this is not a very exciting question but I need to know if anyone knows if there are any other cars that have windshield wiper arms(not the blade holders, but the arms that mount at the pivot point and have the springs in them) that will fit my 77-280, I know a lot of you guys in the drier states could care less but here in Oregon it gets a wee bit wet in the winter and I am trying to get my car ready for the elements and I found out that only the drivers side arm is still avalible new.

[TomoHawk]

Do you wipers go at a decent speed? Mine seems to go a little slow, compared to modern cars, which might mean the motor is a little weak. I think I would have to use high speed to clear the windscreen the way I'm used to, and if it's raining hard, I would probably get off the road.

[Guest zfan]

Use Rain-Ex, end of story. Best stuff, hands down. Screw ugly wipers. I only put them on for yearly inspection then take the ugly things off.

 

Mike

[Kevin Shasteen]

I agree w/Mike.

 

In the mid 90's when I couldnt afford to change my mind I had a 4x4 truck whose wiper motor failed. A new one costs $100 and would have to wait till my next month's check.

 

This was the rainy season in the Dallas area. I put so much RainX on my windshield before each trip (100 mile commute to work) that rain was never a problem.

 

Seriously; RainX is a worthwhile investment. I used the stuff for a full month and went thru three heavy rain cells w/out an incident-yes I drove in the slow lane-but RainX was my answer to a limited budget at the time.

 

Kevin,

(Yes,Still an Inliner)

[riverz]

I have a complete pair that are used. They are in good shape if you want them. They are even off a 77

[Guest Anonymous]

I agree with Matt on this one, I used RainX for awhile then became lazy and havent had any on for months. It fogs constanly, once time in my eclipse (long time ago) the fog was so bad I had to pull off the road. Good stuff, only as long as you use it.

[fl327]

i used rainx before its good stuff, but what i found even more effective was replacing the wipers with the bosch wipers vs. the cheapos, and they work even better, but thhis is on a 280, which has a little faster wipers i think, 240s have real slow ones and i used both rain x and new wipers, and it was OK.

[Guest Anonymous]

My wipers run slow too, but gee I thought this was going to be how much fun a hybrid is in the rain. !

Theres something pretty scary about rolling into the gas in 4th gear and having it slowly go sideways.

Seriously, if you run a v8 or a turbo motor, careful in the rain guys, these guys will come around on you in a heartbeat on majorly crowned roads.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

[fl327]

the best one i do in the wet is this. i get rolling in first, then floor it, when boost hits, the car gets sideways into the next lane, just like my v8 car would, its bad ass. you do have to watch out around corners, especially on some 15x6.5 wheels liek me that are bald all the time in the rear my car washes out the front tires if i try to drift a turn with these 205/60/15s im runing, i like it it goes wide around corners, i dont think i dog the turbo car hard enough to figure out handling yet, but once i go IC, oh buddy.

[CruxGNZ]

Sure RainX is good and all, but once you start using it, you can't stop using it. If you do stop using the stuff, then the winshield starts to haze up and it won't clear very well with the wipers. Just my $.02

 

!M!

[pparaska]

I'd not used Rain-X in years, but Mike kZ put some on my windsheild before our drive from Atlanta to Montgomery. Great stuff, just have to keep putting it on.

[zero]

ive never seen this rain x stuff, but wouldnt it work to rig it up in a windshield squirter system. I duno just a thought.

[RPMS]

On the subject of Rain-X, I've never had good results. It seemed to leave a greasy haze on the window that took months to go away. Maybe I applied it too thick, I don't know. My suggestion is to buy good wiper blades (Len's right - Bosch blades work well) and run a rag over your wiper blades every time you stop to fill up with gas. Dirty blades seem to take forever to get cleaned off in the rain.

 

On the subject of slow wipers, yeah, they're pretty pokey. When I had mine out to repaint the car I disassembled the entire motor and transmission, dug out all the crusty, 27 year old grease and repacked it with new. I timed them, and they ran around 12% faster than before. It's not a difficult job, but it did make a difference and doing it myself saved me a bunch of money.

[BLKMGK]

After the Rain-X dries buff it with a clean paper towel that's lightly damp. It will be crystal clear if you do it right.

 

Anyone tried the PIAA silicone blades? I'm SERIOUSLY considering a set on my daily driver:coollook:

[Guest BadKarmaCreepin]

is there a way to put in a faster windshield wiper motor? that might be the easiest solution if it just drops in....like something from a 80's z? or even something with multiple speeds from a more modern car? thanks.

[Lockjaw]

Rainx has some windshield wiper solution that works pretty good and seems to kind of aid the beeding action of regular rainx.

 

I have the silicon wipers on my silverado and they work well. Of course nothing works as well or lasts as long as the first pair that comes on your new vehicle. It is all down hill after that.

 

Cleaning the wiper motor and greasing all that stuff with some good grease like synthetic makes a huge difference. They do tend to go kind of slow, but I guess when you are dealing with an old antique, well it just goes a little slower.

 

I have found that my electric buffer and a clean lambs wool pad will do a nice job of getting rid of the haze on my windhield. Why scrub yourelf when you can let a machine do it for you.

[Lockjaw]

Oh and I almost forgot, my turbo car will get sideways in 5th gear on certain sections of interstate around my house. Nothing quite as disconcerting as passing someone and giving it a little boost to move it along, and have your car want to do a 180.

 

1st, 2nd, and 3rd are absolutely useless on any kind of pavement if it is even damp. They say those Nitto drag radials get really good traction in the rain. May have to give them a shot one of these days.

 

My truck is not much better. I can put it is tow haul mode, and when it shifts into second with the pumped up line pressure, man talk about spinning. I hate trucks in the rain.

[CruxGNZ]

Aww, come on! You have to admit that it's fun to drive a truck when it's raining, snowing, damp out, or whatever. It's just so much fun to get it sideways then bring it back under control, when the people next to you or behind you think you're loosing it and freak out. My personal favorite is when it snows out, man you just can't beat kick'n the @ss end out of a 2 ton truck at speeds over 45 mph and keep it going and going and going... I always tell people that you have to do it, because if you ever did loose control of your vehicle, then you would know what to do in that situation .

 

!M!

[Guest silverbullet]

Thanks for all the info guys but I guess I should have been a little more thorough in my original post. The main problem is not wiper speed it is that the drivers side arm does not hold the blade down fully on the windshield because the spring is broken, now I can still get the drivers side arm new but I was just wondering if anyone had ever come across another car that fits 1st gen. Z's so we will know from now on where to look should one of us need to replace our arms, maybe we can all keep our eyes open on this one?

[Guest silverbullet]

Oh by the way, for those of you that have never heard of or used Rain-X there are also other brands of basically the same stuff, Permatex used to make a very good one called glass glaze I believe, much easier to use, each coating was only a one step process but they quit making it maybe bad sales? But I do know that there are others out there that are easier to apply than Rain-X I have nothing against Rain-X but the best product that is comparibly priced usually gets my money .