RE: [ihc] Wiper motor rate control, engine question

[Steven Stegmann <steve.stegmann@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Interesting that Ryan should have noted that it works
better the faster you go.  Maybe the problem is part
Rain-X and partly how the wind hits the windshield. 
It is possible on some cars that the windshield is in
some sort of a semi-dead zone and doesn't get as much
airflow as you might expect.

Steve
--- Tom Harais <THarais@domain.elided> wrote:

> John:
> 
> I used Rain-X years ago on a Dodge Omni I had.  My
> neighbor's son, who was
> driving trucks at the time, used it extensively and
> swore by it.  Since I
> had heard about it before and been curious as to
> what all the excited buzz
> was about, his prompting convinced me to try it.
> 
> I was fascinated by the results because as Ryan
> said, the raindrops would
> just roll off the windshield without my even
> thinking about using the
> wipers.  At freeway speeds the air flow just wisked
> beads of water away.
> Watching the water beads streak away like that was
> kind of like watching
> fish in an aquarium, sort of hypnotic.  And it was
> dangerous because you're
> field of view was focused on the windshield instead
> of the road beyond.
> Friends of mine that rode in that car with me during
> rainstorms would become
> perplexed by the patterns with no indulgence in mind
> altering chemicals
> involved. ;-)
> 
> I took that car on a Memorial Day trip to Oregon and
> it rained so hard that
> while climbing a long grade on I5 in southern Oregon
> my tires were breaking
> loose (front wheel drive) at 55 MPH or better.  (My
> Prelude has done this
> going up I80 to Reno during hard rainfall since
> then.  I believe that FWD
> has shortcomings in this situation.)  I'd see the
> speedometer (no tach) head
> up towards 80 mph but the car was slowing down. 
> And, the water just kept
> rolling off the windshield without my ever resorting
> to using the wipers.
> 
> What I found even more interesting is that bugs
> didn't stick as bad as they
> normally do.  And, I was washing the windshield at
> every fill up on that
> Oregon trip and even the soapy water didn't seem to
> remove the Rain-X or
> deter it's effect.  I think I put some on the front
> of the hood to make it
> easier to wash the bugs off!  I found that it took a
> few weeks and then you
> had to renew it to keep the good effect.  I was sold
> on this stuff!
> 
> I've used it since on other cars of mine and, like
> you, I've been
> disappointed.  It made the windshield "slicker" so
> the water did roll off
> smoother than without it, but not like it did in
> that first car, and I still
> had to resort to wiper use.  For a while, I thought
> I must be applying it
> wrong or something.  So, I reread the instructions
> and tried some different
> application techniques to no avail.  Sadly, I've
> never been able to achieve
> the result I had with that first car I used it on.
> 
> Of course, they claim it's "the standard" for
> airplanes and such.
> 
> Tom H., '76 Traveler