Spoilers on windscreen wipers

Snickers Man

Do these things perform any usefull function whatsoever?

Just replaced the wiper on my driver's side (badly needed). The silence as opposed to the rasping noise that used to accompany any operation is blissfull but the older one had a dirty great spoiler attached to it and this one doesn't. I noticed, for the first time, that the passenger side wiper has no such attachment.

Will I be losing out at all by not having one on the driver's side now.

Prenderb

I think they help to push the wiper down onto the windscreen for better contact and better wiping. You might find that at higher speed the blade doesn't quite push down as well onto the glass so your wiping is a little less effective.

miller50841

When on the Motorway the wiper will skip across the windscreen leaving water behind as other poster said it helps push wiper to make better contact.

OldmanMondeo

The spoilers are usually on the older metal bridge blades. You can now upgrade these to the newer flat blades. The idea is to push the wiper onto the windscreen and help clear the water properly. It is normal for some make to put a spoiler on the drivers side and not the passengers.

dgt

Available on older cars, to keep the wiper pressed against the screen at high speeds.

Example...