Gopros and Autocrossing/Track Days, how do you mount your camera, etc?

Hi everyone,

So I have sufficient Christmas gift money burning a hole in my pocket right now to buy an "action camera" to record autocross runs, car cruises, etc. and I wanted to get some advice on those before I buy one. So if you own one, I'd love to see your responses.

What brand and model do you own?

If it's not a Gopro, what drew you to buying that brand/model instead?

Some of them like the Garmin Vrib Ultra 30 can record speed and other data and overlay that to the video. Do you have one that you can do that with, and do you use that on your videos? If so how hard is it to do?

Where do you mount your camera? Roof, hood, fender, passenger headrest mount, roll bar, dash, helmet?

Why do you mount it there?

Which viewpoint do you find to be the most useful to you in terms of learning from what you see on the video?

How do you start and stop your video on the camera?

The Gopro Hero 5 and Garmin Vrib Ultra 30 take voice commands, if you have one of these or similar do you use it to start the camera?

I use $40 genetic action cameras so I don't have to worry about breaking or losing them. They make decent video.

For mounting, I'm partial to driver's side fender, which makes turning it on and off a breeze at the starting line. Generally at our lots, driver's side is where I cut it closest to cones, and having a big part of the car for reference is nice.

This coming season I'm going to try to sync the video from my dash cam to my action cam video in a side by side for review. The dash cam alone is difficult because I can't really see anything of the car to know where I'm going in the video.

If my autocross car had obd2, I'd just use the track addict app honestly. Uses your phone on a horizontal mount, overlays the data and a track map, and it's less than 5 bucks. Less than 20 after a Bluetooth obd2 adapter.

whatever you do, don't do a helmet mount. seriously, nobody wants to watch those lol....

If no cage, just mount it on the side rear window, which gives a good view of the steering inputs, car, and course. Or front center of the roof (great course view). If you have a rollbar/cage, set it about head-high in the middle so it captures both the driver and the course through the windshield.

BTW, we use multiple gopros on the rally car, and have them wired to car power with 64 or 128 GB cards....so we don't run out of power or memory when we forget to turn it off. That's the most annoying part about cameras in general.

Here's a bunch of our vids from over the years with different views (same car). Decide for yourself what you like, then do it.

inside view (our standard for ALL events): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKEx_foymE0

rear fender side view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sgpTFMdwKQ

roof view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi7MAzSJkLE

bumper view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwvbuQfdjK0

front wheel view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy8Dh6stgjg

back corner of rear window: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHBKN0tRKhA

I like to see driver inputs. When I had stock seats in my Miata, I used a suction cup mount on the right rear corner of the cockpit and folded down the passenger seat for a good view. When I put a race seat in the passenger side, I had a dilemma that I couldn't do that same mount. Then I figured I could do a better mount using the seat and a few bucks in Home Depot hardware.

I worried that the seat would flex too much and the video be unusable but it's actually pretty solid and I've been using that as my primary camera for a few years now. Not only do I get a good view of the course and my hands, but under ideal conditions I can see my footwork as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djDAhMtTJNI

I have the original Go-Pro mounted on the roll cage offset to the passenger side in the open case so you can hear unmuffled goodness with 720p and a fisheye so you can see driver, sides, rear view mirror.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/yi4F8Rns4R4

On my 944 Turbo, I mounted it on the windshield on the inside using a suction mount and on the screw in tow hook mount on the nose.

The tow hook mount worked better than the inside windshield mount:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Thkr5R30_ok

I used a Chinese 1080p GoPro knock off. Works much better than the one I used on the 924.

On my 924, I mounted it to the harness bar (since its actually useless for harnesses).

Here's one from my 924, the camera was hung below the harness bar and it was a cheap ActionCam with fairly poor resolution:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/4XgLYJVX3gQ

I use one of the sticky mounts that comes with the GoPro and mounted it in front of the wind blocker on the S2000.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/sD_VV7UMPLs

Sometimes I'll use teh suction mount and stick it to my helmet. If I drive a car that is not mine, I'll use the suction mount on the top of the windshield or behind the drivers door on the 1/4 window or rear door (all depends on the car, really).

Helmet cam:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/n3LWjpSnnD0

Behind drivers door:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/1-0ivlImW6Q

The important thing to determine is if you're using the camera to make yourself a better driver or if you want to use it to produce interesting action videos.

If you're using it to make yourself a better driver, mount it where you can see the course and your steering inputs. I use it mounted to my helmet, but as irish44j pointed out, they are not the best action videos.

Action videos are filmed for angle and excitement. Look at the action segments of Roadkill, Top Gear, etc. to get ideas about mounting for those.

Obviously, multiple cameras is an advantage in itself, even if they are not all top quality. Being able to see multiple angles- driver view, rear corners and front corners can tell you how close you're getting to cones, and how your lines are looking elsewhere.

I use a GoPro and a remote control that is strapped to my wrist. That way I can start and stop recording no matter where the camera is mounted. I usually mount the camera on my rollbar (Cobra replica) so I can see the course and what I am doing in the cockpit. For a roll bar mount, check out Eye of Mine. They are very nice, but a few bucks. The actual GoPro roll bar mount....well... they should be embarrassed to sell it.

The other place I like to mount it is on the passenger door, the only flat spot on a Cobra, so I can see just how close I am getting to the cones on the right. For that I use a RAM mount. Also a very nice mount. The RAM is also great on the windshield.

I've heard people complain about the GoPro Hero 5 for some reason. Something about losing spot-metering settings when switching it on. That might not be a big deal in an open-top car, but spot-metering is really critical when the camera is tucked back in the (very dark) interior and you're trying to capture the (very bright) view outside the windshield.

Here's an example of what I mean:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKaPN0yR--Y

I've been using the old GoPro Hero 3 Black. I've got 2 or 3 of them. They're all connected with the WiFi remote. I can set each one up using the GoPro app on my iPhone, then sync them all up for one-button activation.

As for camera angles, you can try out a bunch of views with a simple suction mount. I'm still playing around with it:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-_fBXaZ61a8

From what I've seen, the Hero 4 seems to hit the sweet spot of cost vs. size vs. quality vs. ease-of-use. If I were buying now, I'd pick up a couple of used ones from ebay. With fresh batteries, they should be good as new.

I have an old Hero 2 that I bought used off eBay. On my RX-8, I mount it to the windshield with one of the adhesive mounts. On my Miata, I have it mounted to the harness bar with a knock-off roll bar mount.

I've tried a bunch of different angles. For cool videos, nothing seems to beat "squirrel cam". Especially if the air intake is right above the camera The camera's on the splitter. That's a GoPro, a 3 I think. I sometimes use a remote to start it, or my phone, or most often I push the button.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/CbKBsQku9QY?rel=0

I do 2, a squirrel cam and one that shows me and the road from behind me tied to the cage.

I'll offer opinions on two accessories.

Suction cup mount: Only buy the GoPro one. I bought a Chinese knock-off and, while it works, it doesn't have the super suction to reliably keep it on painted surfaces. Works fine on glass. Wish I'd spent the nominal difference on the better one.

Tethers: GoPro wants a small fortune for tether cables. I made my own from hardware store metal cable dipped in Plastidip. There are YouTube videos on how to make them. Surprisingly easy and costs only a buck or two vs what GoPro wants.

However you mount it, be sure to preserve and post your GoPro face - the image taken when you turned it on and looked at it to make sure ...

(Not me, but you get the idea.)

In reply to slantvaliant:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xq243uj26K8

RevRico wrote: If my autocross car had obd2, I'd just use the track addict app honestly. Uses your phone on a horizontal mount, overlays the data and a track map, and it's less than 5 bucks. Less than 20 after a Bluetooth obd2 adapter.

Unfortunately I don't have an OBD2 port since I'm going to be using it on my 84 Rabbit GTI. Good suggestion otherwise though!

LanEvo wrote: I've been using the old GoPro Hero 3 Black. I've got 2 or 3 of them. They're all connected with the WiFi remote. I can set each one up using the GoPro app on my iPhone, then sync them all up for one-button activation.

Here's a dumb question, but Would the remotes work with multiple generations of them from the same manufacturer?

The reason I ask is I could see buying a Hero 4 or 5 or a Virb Ultra 30 and maybe buy older used models for other views that are less important.

Keith Tanner wrote: I've tried a bunch of different angles. For cool videos, nothing seems to beat "squirrel cam". Especially if the air intake is right above the camera The camera's on the splitter. That's a GoPro, a 3 I think. I sometimes use a remote to start it, or my phone, or most often I push the button. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CbKBsQku9QY?rel=0

That's awesome Keith!! I'll definitely have to give that a try!

I also want to thank ALL OF YOU profusely for posting all of the examples of mounting locations! This definitely gives me a better idea of how I want to set it up and is a huge help!

So has anyone used a Garmin Virb XE or Ultra 30 for autocross and track days?

How good is the data collection and do you find it useful to you after?

Without an OBD II reader what data can I collect?

How does it calculate lap times? Is it from start of movement to end?

I'm wondering how I can determine the finish line of an autocross course. Could I "geotag" the location of the start and finish line to tell it where to record that?

I mainly want it to critique my runs and see how and where I've improved less then shooting a "cool video" of me driving.

Any other feedback on the Virbs in general is welcome too.

irish44j wrote: whatever you do, don't do a helmet mount. seriously, nobody wants to watch those lol....

Depends on what you want to see. Anything fixed to the car is going to be a poor representation of what you saw when driving unless you wear a fixed-neck Batman costume when driving. Which, while awesome, would also be really impractical.

In my videos, I want to see where I was looking. I also want to see steering inputs, the tach is mounted high and centered on the dash in the Mazda so it is visible on the in-car. Also key is getting the camera high enough that you can see the ground less than 100 yards away. Low mounted cameras are always useless, all you see is dashboard and horizon.

A decent compromise between "see driver inputs" and "not mounted to the helmet" is B-pillar mounting, which is how we set the camera on my car in 2011.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/zsooI_ahr0o

If you like squirrel cam, here are two more. This is for no reason other than they're fun. I've played with cams all over the car, but these are the ones I like to watch. For rally stages, we always make sure to either feed the intercom into the camera or record it separately.

Targa Newfoundland stage. Softer suspension means more action. It sounds slow, but we were the fastest Open Class car down this stage. See if you can spot the Porsche at 2:06. Audio is right out of the camera. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5ahPv7NJclE?rel=0

Following another car on the track.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/rnz_9C1Ps5s?rel=0

I switched from the old-style GoPro to the Hero Session last year and I LOVE it.

The camera itself is waterproof, so you never have to worry about the housing. It also inserts into it's cradle in any position, so you can use one suction cup and mount it to the hood, the fender, the door, the windshield, the roof or even upside-down from the sunroof for an interior shot...without needing a lot of awkward fittings. Bonus, if you mount it upside-down, it automatically flips the video, with my old GoPro you had to go into the settings to do this.

It has fewer features, but I really like that because I never find myself stuck in some setting that I don't want, missing a great shot. It also has one-touch power and record. Hit the button and it turns on and starts recording. Press it again and it stops recording and powers down. This saves battery life and gives you less to think about while getting ready to run.

I operate mine through the GoPro (Capture) App on my iPhone and iWatch. That way I can be in the car, focused and ready to run and I can start the camera once I get to the line without having to step out or reach out of the car.

The battery is not removable, but I can record a full day of autocross runs, with Wi-Fi on, and have some left over. With my old GoPro, I needed two batteries and still usually ran out before the last run.

The Session is also a lot smaller, so it's useful for clandestine stuff or use on drones. I haven't done either, but the option is there.

And at $199, if I destroy it I won't lose too much sleep.