Considering removing the windshield wipers...

California law requires the vehicle have two. Inspection doesn't necessarily mean going through a special inspection process, any law enforcement officer can implement one.

 

^^ Thanks, found the above at V C Section 26706 Windshield Wipers.

 

There are many threads where the JPL labs were used (all done off-hours, and not at anyone's expense). It may not all make sense to the average 'chatter', but there is nothing to debunk fact.

Putting mud-flaps on your car will increase mileage. As will (somewhat significantly) adding the shark-fin antenna.

It was shown not long ago (I cannot find the post), that removing wipers actually lowers your mileage.

Facts are facts...

 

Removing the windshield wipers from an automobile, regardless of where you live, is about the dumbest suggestion I have heard this year.
:shocked: :der:

 

Maybe the proper question here is - which wipers create the least drag, and increase mileage the most? If removing them makes the car lose mileage, there must be certain wipers that give true mileage increases.

If you can even find one that gives a 1.2% increase, it easily pays for itself after a few months!

 

How about taking out the spare tire? That's weight reduction right there

 

Weight reduction does not = mileage (ref - many tests done and reported here).

 

The fact is...there is a reason that operational windshield wipers are required for automobiles by law. If you have to ask why removing them is stupid, then you'll probably never understand the answer.

However (comma) I'm a sucker for a challenge, so I'll give you one quick gezample.
Let's say for example, some (other) idiot decides that they do not want their frost-blue 64-oz mega Slurpee, and they pitch the contents out their window in front of your wiperless car?
In a just and fair world, your lunacy would only endanger your own life, but unfortunately we all have to share the roads together. This means that sometimes the government has to enact a dizzying array of laws that make it illegal for morons to discard unwanted safety equipment from their vehicles.

I don't much like it either. The government has lots of other stuff that we could be paying them to do like border protection, and busting down the doors of meth labs.

I guess Einstein was right. The difference between genius and stupidity: Genius has limits.

 

No matter what MPG gain, I wouldn't remove my windshield wipers. But if I did, I sure as hell would coat my windshield with RainX, but then I suppose that cost may offset the saved MPG; maybe, since I want to recoat the windshield every other day in case that slurpee dude throws his on my windshield. How would you clean bug splats off the windshield while travelling at 70MPH on the So. Cal freeway?

Yikes, maybe OP posted this thread just for fun!

 

Isn't that what the sunroof is for? You just put on the cruise control, open the sun roof, keep one knee on the steering wheel and get your stuff out of the glove box and proceed to lean over the top and clean the windshield of bug juice. Very easy to do and obviously very green (but only if you save the bug stuff.)

 

Of course there's bird poop. Around here they dive bomb newly washed cars. "Little birdie in the sky, I'm so glad that cows don't fly ..."

 

LOL...I like your style!

 

Of course you are free to do whatever you wish...

But I do live in the Pacific NW...and my Dad lives in San Diego. Most of the time he's telling me about the sunshine...but once in a while he tells me of the "freak rainstorm" and how all the Californians slow to a crawl mesmorized.

IMO wipers are wipers. I don't think they look good or bad...they just are....and IMO the potential "benefit" of removing them is so minimal vs The Risk one would be taking if you suddenly need them for whatever reason.

Basically a windshield wiper is one of the most basic pieces of safety equipment on a vehicle. Because the ability to maintain visibility while driving is fundamental to safety.

Something thrown out a window on the freeway? Any substance landing in your line of vision? You want wipers.

My opinon but I'd keep em....

 

Okay, sorry Rolff, but I cry BS on all this.

Yes it does (depending on how the test was done). This is well-known fact of automotive engineering. If you going at a static speed, weight doesn't matter, but whenever you change your velocity (start/stop) weight matters. (But it's minor when only a few pounds, when it gets up to a few hundred pounds, then it's noticeable).

If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd like to see it, but I'm not going to spend my time looking for something I don't believe exists.

Then later....

And I read that 68.5% of all statistics are made up on the spot, and I think your wiper statistic at least falls into that category. 3.14% (Any relation to the date of the post, or pi?) is a pretty significant effect for such a small item. Engineers spend a lot of time looking for a few percent improvement in aerodynamics.

 

You sir are the one who needs BS called on. I'm only stating facts that have backing based on scientific data.

Just because you "read that 68.5% of stats are made up" - do you really believe everything you read?

If you are looking for increased mileage, add mud flaps, shark fin antenna, remove your hub caps - these alone gain almost you almost 10%. Add to that ECO wheels, and increases to your tire pressure, and you easily increase mileage 20%+.

Even the use of window tint was shown to increase mileage (though not as much as the basic mods like adding mud flaps).

Get a clue (or a higher education)...

 

If you want to improve your mpg, consider that one gallon of fuel weighs 6 lb. Hence, if you allow your fuel tank to never have more than 3 gallons in it, you'll save around 50 lb. That probably has more impact than removing windshield wipers.

 

There has been much lab work done (both at JPL and in a wind tunnel built in my backyard). If you are too lazy to search, then you are not speaking on the facts posted in many threads here on PriusChat - all related to the Gen III.

Facts are Facts - just because you think something is correct - doesn't mean it is correct.

As for higher education, I was not stating grade level - I was referencing the numerous experiments that have been reported and analyzed here on PriusChat. No need to get so defensive....