Photo by Rupert and representative of the opposite of what I see through my windshield when it rains.
Midlands Honda applied a product called Crystal Fusion to my front and rear windshields (Standard application is only to the front windshield). It allows me to reduce my usage of the windshield wipers at speeds of around 25 miles per hour and higher. In the time I've used my car I've needed the wipers 3 times, once was because I was on a road where the speed limit was around 15mph. The other two times I needed the wipers I had a semi-truck cut me off and the spray was just a bit too fine for it to bead up and blow away in the reduced amount wind I was cutting through in the wake of such a large vehicle.
The safe reduction in the use of the wipers allows better fuel economy (FE) in a few ways. None of these improvements is terribly measurable, but in my quest for the ultimate practical fuel economy I'll take all the minor gains I can get because with FE all gains are cumulative. Fist with less use of the wipers comes less use of the electricity that would have gone into the wiper motor and in a car where every bit of electricity is potentially energy I can use the travel down the road I'd rather not use it flinging water around. Also there is the benefit that the wipers stay in the stowed position longer and have less of an impact on my aerodynamics. Last, I tend to find active wiper assemblies, visually and aurally distracting, the blades keep crossing my line of site. While the Civic has some of the of the quietest blades and motors I've ever heard, I prefer as little noise as possible from my tools and transportation, and zero noise is less than some noise.
It also seems like I get less exterior condensation and frost than my old car under similar conditions and compared to the Civics on the lot without the treatment.
Crystal Fusion seems well worth the money to me.
Kacey Green
for the Midlands Hybrid Club
"Promoting the spread of clean personal transportation technologies."
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