Where to fit a dashcam in my car?

[cyrix2000]

Hi,

I'm looking for a camera which can be installed quite hidden. Unfortunately has my car (Seat Leon MK3) a huge mirror assembly (see picture, not my car but same type).

I'm thinking about going for the Mini 0903 and stick it below the assembly or the street guardian sg9665gc on the passenger side. But I'm not sure if that wouldn't be too intrusive and obvious...

Does anyone has a better idea how to place the cam?

 

[niko]

Welcome to DCT forum !

Does your MK3 has black colour RVmirror and rain sensor plastic cover ?

 

[cyrix2000]

Thank you reading already quite a while here but now coming closer to buying a cam...

It's the same mirror as in the picture above (light grey). The sensor assembly contains the camera for lane departure warning and the rain sensor. Wouldn't it be great just to get access to the camera which is already there lol...

 

[niko]

Can you make few closup photos of RVmirror area from inside of the car, so we can see more details to suggest you possible mounting solutions.
Photos something like this one, but more closer to RVmirror:

 

[cyrix2000]

This picture is more or less my car.

Here some more...

 

[niko]

This is how SG9665GC looks like installed in other cars which have huge rain-sensor cover.





Below is my quick Photoshop tuning



For your car ( prefer. from driver side )

 

[cyrix2000]

Thanks I'm wondering if in this position the mirror assembly wouldn't be visible on the video

 

[niko]

Thanks I'm wondering if in this position the mirror assembly wouldn't be visible on the video

You mean if lens field of view will "catch" part of RVmirror rain sensor ?
My samples are quickly photoshopped just to show principle, so yeah, you might see dashcam is maybe a little bit high, but in real life you mount dashcam slightly lower down,the way there will be no obstruction from RVmirror rain sensor.

 

[cyrix2000]

Unfortunately that means it would be fully in the area of the windscreen which needs to stay clear under UK regulations

 

[skippyjasper]

Are the UK regs so picky as to preclude any attachment on the windshield? I have a mini 903 mounted adjacent to the RV mirror on the passenger side. It is virtually invisible from the drivers position.
I live in the States where there are no annual inspections.

Do folks in the UK not have ID sensors for tolls and such? Those usually need to be mounted on the windshield to function.

Skippy

 

[niko]

Unfortunately that means it would be fully in the area of the windscreen which needs to stay clear under UK regulations

If you going to mount on passenger side, it should be fully hidden from drivers side view.

 

[russ331]

I'm wondering if in this position the mirror assembly wouldn't be visible on the video

Consider the SGZC12RC...



It's lens is so close to the windscreen, it can be mounted very near the sensor housing without the housing intruding into the recorded video.

The optimum mounting location is also affected by wiper sweep, & extent of the black dotted zone on the windscreen adjacent to the sensor housing. In your case the dotted area looks minimal, so SGZC12RC could be mounted right at the top of the windscreen, on the driver side (RHD car) & immediately next to the sensor housing.

In my case, I mounted it passenger side, as it meant a shorter cable run to the main unit housed in the glovebox.

 

[cyrix2000]

Are the UK regs so picky as to preclude any attachment on the windshield? (...) Do folks in the UK not have ID sensors for tolls and such? Those usually need to be mounted on the windshield to function.
Skippy

The UK regulations state that the "swept" area of the windscreen has to be kept clear of any obstructions larger than 40mm diameter (immediately in front of the driver it is even reduced to 10mm diameter). There are some exceptions, if the obstruction is a legal requirement (e.g. the old tax discs) or if it isn't obstructing the view of the driver on the road (just obstructing the view to the sky or bonnet). But this depends again on the size of the driver I guess.

So mounting something behind the mirror (out of sight), or on the passenger side of it (so that it isn't visible by the driver), or high enough, so it is only obstructing the view to the sky, may be the only legal way to mount a dashcam in the UK. Especially the bit "swept area" is quite annoying for dashcams, as you wouldn't want to mount it behind a bit of the windscreen which isn't swept by the window wipers.

 

[niko]

How far your wipers will reach ?

 

[cyrix2000]

Consider the SGZC12RC...

I need a cam which supports GPS... Otherwise I would go for it. The Blackvue cams are another alternative, but they are really expensive for what they offer.

I guess I'll give the 0903 a try. It is so small that there must be a way to hide it out of view. If it's quality is too bad it will go to the back of the car and I'll have start to think again...

 

[cyrix2000]

How far your wipers will reach ?

Quite high up, as they need to clear the rain sensor and the lane departure camera.

 

[niko]

The UK regulations state that the "swept" area of the windscreen has to be kept clear of any obstructions larger than 40mm diameter (immediately in front of the driver it is even reduced to 10mm diameter). There are some exceptions, if the obstruction is a legal requirement (e.g. the old tax discs) or if it isn't obstructing the view of the driver on the road (just obstructing the view to the sky or bonnet). But this depends again on the size of the driver I guess.

So mounting something behind the mirror (out of sight), or on the passenger side of it (so that it isn't visible by the driver), or high enough, so it is only obstructing the view to the sky, may be the only legal way to mount a dashcam in the UK. Especially the bit "swept area" is quite annoying for dashcams, as you wouldn't want to mount it behind a bit of the windscreen which isn't swept by the window wipers.

Not sure how Halfords sells and officially installs NextBase ( Dod ) series dashcams. Same is with many others ( mostly suction mount type ) well selling dashcam which are backed up by some insarance companies. In comparison to SG9665GC their "footprint" is few times bigger. There must be some "read between the lines" in that law.

 

[cyrix2000]

To be honest, these guidelines are MOT rules, so should be checked during MOT tests. If it is a suction mount cam/gps system/etc. you just remove it before MOT. But fixed installed cams could be tricky, especially as the ministry of transport has emphasised on these rules a few months back and that they have to be followed...

 

[russ331]

I need a cam which supports GPS... Otherwise I would go for it.

Some people want GPS, but nobody needs it. I wanted Wi-Fi so, when I whittled my shortlist down to Thinkware F750 & SGZC12RC, the F750 was the obvious choice. But I bought SGZC12RC, as it's discreetness / stealthiness were more important to me than bells & whistles.

 

[sludgeguts]

If our laws were really so picky, half the vehicles out there would be off the road.
I could easily make a daily compilation of at least a couple of dozen vehicles falling foul of the 'don't mount on the windscreen' regs.
The worst case I've ever seen was in a small sports car (MG, mazda or similar) where the windscreen was miniscule & the driver had a satnav mounted directly in front of their face and a mobile phone mounted alongside.