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VAD17

GoPro for track days

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After few track days I decided to buy a second hand GoPro Hero 5.

 

Doing few track days, plus skiing in winter and rafting and biking in summer was good enough excuse to justify the expense .

 

The main purpose is mainly fun, but considering how inconsistent my laps are may be by filming couple full sessions I may see where it all goes wrong (and occasionally right) and improve a bit.

 

I'll have an extra battery and intend to use Harry LapTimer.

 

Can I ask good people advice on :

- best mounting option (was thinking just using flat mount on top of dash board and may be tether to the vents)?

- is getting a cheap odb reader worthwhile and if so which one?

- software, ideally free, or is Harry LapTimer good enough on its own;

- any other advice?

 

Many thanks

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

 

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Most would suggest a headrest mount (I would assume) as is usually the most secure and gives you visibility of the steering wheel.

What are you using HLT for? I've recently used Dashware to combine logs for video, Dashware is also owned by GoPro apparently so works direct with the device. I'm assuming the 5  has GPS so you only want ODB logging on the phone? In any case, whether via Torque, HLT or similar the quality of logging will be down to the ELM BT device, which on the cheap ones will not be particularly fast but probably good enough to make videos.

HLT is worth paying for if you want it to do everything, GPS/data/video etc, but if using a GP and phone to log you can then use free laptop software to do the video part. Out of the free options I found DW to be the most user friendly.

On a side note, if using the GP in mucky wet situations make sure you keep the case seal clean! We managed to kill ours snorkeling due to sand. I hear that the later models are notoriously bad in this regard, so much so I've gone to a different brand that doesn't use an external hard case.

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When i looked up on youtube comparison videos, sony's fdr-x3000 looked a bit better with it's optical image stabilization. Though of course even digital one of GP5 is a bit better then that of 3 or 4.

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Just now, Church said:

When i looked up on youtube comparison videos, sony's fdr-x3000 looked a bit better with it's optical image stabilization. Though of course even digital one of GP5 is a bit better then that of 3 or 4.

I got the Olympus. It's just a shame for all the logging it does it's not usable in anything other than the Olympus app.

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I already have HLT petrolhead edition. It does not use GPS data from GoPro 5, but can overlay GoPro video on phone gps and track position, acceleration, throtle.

I am looking at headrest mount now. I guess if it points towards instructor its ok from driver position, but it does not immediately strike me like a safest set up. Its also bloody expensive (nearly 1/2 of what i paid for 2nd hand go pro + extra battery and couple extra mounts).

But it does have a benefit of being able to see the wheel, gears, etc, so may be a better option... hmm

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I actually got a suction phone mount and stuck a GoPro mount on it and mounted to the top of the rear screen. It's not perfect and not sure if every TDO would be happy with it, but it works. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mpow-Windscreen-Universal-Windshield-Dashboard-Black/dp/B016MIBFES/ref=sr_1_7/262-5561999-9333837?ie=UTF8&qid=1518884040&sr=8-7&keywords=universal+car+phone+mount&dpID=41QgSc1jRwL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

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1 hour ago, knightryder said:

I actually got a suction phone mount and stuck a GoPro mount on it and mounted to the top of the rear screen. It's not perfect and not sure if every TDO would be happy with it, but it works. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mpow-Windscreen-Universal-Windshield-Dashboard-Black/dp/B016MIBFES/ref=sr_1_7/262-5561999-9333837?ie=UTF8&qid=1518884040&sr=8-7&keywords=universal+car+phone+mount&dpID=41QgSc1jRwL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

This is what I do, haven't yet had a problem with a trackday organiser. I normally tether it with a daisy chain of zip ties to the rear brake light legs.

I thought the same about the headrest mount, doesn't look very clever for the passenger in the event of an accident.

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Guest EB2429

Not sure the headrest mount is dangerous it only sits out a couple of inches from the drivers shoulder

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I’ve never had a GoPro suction mount fail, but used to use one mounted to the rear screen and tethered with daisy chained zip ties to the rear light legs. Was a Hero 4 and the wide view would cover everything fine, bright light could throw it off though...

For the none car side, my bro has the 5, said it’s awesome for everything you need but if you are going over 5m deep in water without a case (camera rated to 10m without the case apparently) the pressure means the fire button is pressed constantly, he ended up with 3000+ pics of nothing on a recent scuba trip...

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I’ve never had a GoPro suction mount fail, but used to use one mounted to the rear screen and tethered with daisy chained zip ties to the rear light legs. Was a Hero 4 and the wide view would cover everything fine, bright light could throw it off though...
For the none car side, my bro has the 5, said it’s awesome for everything you need but if you are going over 5m deep in water without a case (camera rated to 10m without the case apparently) the pressure means the fire button is pressed constantly, he ended up with 3000+ pics of nothing on a recent scuba trip...
Well, if I go scuba I will probably get a case for it anyway (although considering the nose bleed last time I may be calling a day on that pursuit o).

I didnt find rear window mounting appealing, both in term of view and how the camera seem to adjust the light to focus on the inside of the cabin.

Headrest mount seem like a good balance, but seem rather expensive for what it is...

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I use either the Hague headrest mount giving this sort of view:-

(Camera is a Sony A200 with external mic) 

Or I stuck a go Pro style mount on the front bumper which gives this sort of view:-

(Camera is an SJ Cam but I hadn't quite tightened the mount enough which is why it's a bit wonky) 

Both videos were at Bedford with Javelin and they were happy with both mounting options. 

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1 hour ago, VAD17 said:

Well, if I go scuba I will probably get a case for it anyway (although considering the nose bleed last time I may be calling a day on that pursuit oemoji856.png).

I didnt find rear window mounting appealing, both in term of view and how the camera seem to adjust the light to focus on the inside of the cabin.

Headrest mount seem like a good balance, but seem rather expensive for what it is...

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 

This is the view from rear mounting which I thought was good... but it doesn’t show any light shift because of the day it was, if turning into the sun it would whiteout for a second before it adjusted.

Squirrel%20Mash.mp4?w=160&h=160&fit=clip

its a short clip but the only one I have left after my laptop dying... the ‘clunk’ noise is me smashing through an unlucky squirrel that made it onto the track at Rockingham :huh:

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34 minutes ago, VAD17 said:

Happy to have helped 😁

I'm not quite sure what you mean by put it together - I used Harry's for the overlay? 

The mic is clipped to the bottom of the rear plate between the tailpipes. By reading from the phone do you mean the data? That's from Harry's if so. 

I've always preferred driving in gloves do definitely more comfortable for me but I know some people don't like it. The ones I use are some kart gloves I've had for years and fit like the proverbial glove so they're super comfy. 

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Happy to have helped
I'm not quite sure what you mean by put it together - I used Harry's for the overlay? 
The mic is clipped to the bottom of the rear plate between the tailpipes. By reading from the phone do you mean the data? That's from Harry's if so. 
I've always preferred driving in gloves do definitely more comfortable for me but I know some people don't like it. The ones I use are some kart gloves I've had for years and fit like the proverbial glove so they're super comfy. 
Great, thanks again . Good to know HLT can deal with it all.
Hague it is then...
Will see how it goes on 4th at Brands

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Suction mount on mine has failed twice. Both in the paddock and not on track though so not an issue. One of the times was expected as the suction mount was partially on the black bit around the mirror and so didn't have a proper seal. It'll be fine with a zip tie around the mirror though...

I've since switched to a head rest mount purely to get the steering wheel in so if you catch a slide, its visible :D 2 notes though, one is to make sure the camera is high enough so the road/track is visible and make sure the camera is decent as some of them can end up with the outside world being washed out due to the camera reacting to the limited light in the cabin.

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I've just got myself a GoPro Hero5 as well for track days and making small clips for youtube. I'm going to order one of the headrest mounts as they look without question one of the best a safest ways to mount the camera inside the car but I was also hoping to get a suction mount for the outside as well to record exhaust noise or to get different angles etc. Is there any certain one that people recommend? There seems to be that many options out there I don't know which to go for. the last thing I want is it to fall off going down the road...

(Sorry for hijacking the thread I hope you don't mind :) )

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You are welcome . I also ordered hague headrest mount over the weekend.

After some more googling I noticed that hague headrest mount also needs tripod adapter for go pro.

I will also probably get a suction mount as well with tether for rear window view as an extra option (can also twist it to show rear view).

I would not want to risk putting suction mount outside though. Even if tethered it can easily cause damage.

Small external mic is a different matter. I probably will consider it as an addition later, but want to see first how the rest of the goodies work together.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

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