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I finally went out & did an A-B-A test with and without wiper blades on. My standard testing course and speed (50 mph). 3 sets of 2-way averages (northbound & southbound) for the "control", and then 3 more with the blades off. Finally, one more "control" set;
"A" stock - wiper blades on.
N.B. - S.B. - AVG
27.5 - 28.2 - 27.85
27.6 - 27.9 - 27.75
27.6 - 28.2 - 27.9 - - - 27.869
"B" wiper blades off
27.6 - 28.2 - 27.9
27.6 - 27.9 - 27.75
27.4 - 27.9 - 27.65 - - - 27.767
"A" wiper blades back on
27.3 - 28.0 - 27.65
From this, there certainly doesn't appear to be any benefit to removing the wiper blades. In fact, this tends to suggest taking the blades off makes mileage WORSE. However, since the last "control" set was the worst yet, maybe things were "trending down" for some reason. I don't know why that would be - the outside temp wasn't changing much (29 at the start, and 27 at the end), and I didn't detect any change in the wind. So, I don't know... ???
If I'd had time, I would have done another one or two "A" tests, and then maybe even another "B" test. Of course, if it's not enough to show in the way I do the tests, maybe it's not enough to consider anyway?
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