Dash cams

[maw444]

I have had my Audi A3 for around 18 months.

I am now thinking about having a Dash Cam fitted. I was wondering if anyone had feedback on models which have worked well or not with the Audi.
When I had my Golf I had issues with the battery draining with the dashcam - I know the electronics on the A3 are more complicated so I would be keen to know if there are any issues.

 

[Ninetales]

I use "70mai Smart Dash Cam 1S" on my old Audi TT for 2 years now and it worked perfect, even under the summers that reach +50°C (+120°F). So I bought another one for my new Audi A3. Plugged in inside one of the USB-C spots, but 95% of the wire is hidden within the trims of the car. Cheap, works well, and only negatives that it isn't very High Quality, but good enough to record car plates. However, it does not record if car is shut off. But I live in a safe small country so I didn't bother.

I previously had another one, also Chinese-made but lesser quality, on my TT that was wired to the plug box (not sure which plug #), it worked OK recording any movements infront of the car. Barely noticed a battery difference, though I forgot the name of the model (and it had a very low quality of video).

 

[Sparks43]

I have had my Audi A3 for around 18 months.

I am now thinking about having a Dash Cam fitted. I was wondering if anyone had feedback on models which have worked well or not with the Audi.
When I had my Golf I had issues with the battery draining with the dashcam - I know the electronics on the A3 are more complicated so I would be keen to know if there are any issues.

I've had the Audi ones fitted at PDI and they are ok but the APP is very clunky a bit like My Audi APP if I'm honest

I've had a Nextbase GW522 fitted to my Cupra Leon and that seems ok

 

[AlS3BE]

I’ve had my think ware f770 for 5 years hardwired in by @DJAlix. Never had a problem.
it switches itself off when battery voltage gets too low and generally never missed a beat.
highly recommend it.

 

[KXL]

I bought a Nextbase 322GW (bought for £89) the same week I received the car. Wired it myself into the headlining (took 15 mins) and ran cable down the A pillar (passenger side) into the footwell behind the front mats and up to the side towards the middle armrest area and into 12V. It had worked flawlessly, and when you turn the ignition off, it still has about 15 mins of battery life to cover if anyone bumps the car (parking mode). Although I've noticed that even loud motorbike engines starting also set it off, but I guess better to record than to not record. The footage had 'saved' me couple of PCNs (private of course!) as it was my 'video proof with time stamp and GPS location stamp vs theirs. Long story short, one PCN company had their cameras reversed on a slip road before the parking gate, so 'entry' is rear number plate, and 'exit' is front. The cheeky PPC issued me a PCN for the 6 hours that i was driving around London as i used the slip road to pick up a friend, left within 'grace period' then 6 hours later dropped of the same friend at the same location. The PPC didn't even put up a fight as I said I had dashcam footage as proof.
As I used the suction mount, roughly every 6 months it would lose suction and fall off, setting the car alarm off, haha! But now I turn off interior monitoring.
Advise paring any dashcam with 'high endurance' microSD cards. The regular 'high performance' cards would probably fail (like mine did) after 9 months. No such issues with the former.

 

[DJAlix]

Any Dashcam is worth its weight in gold, no matter how much it cost!

I have been an approved installer and supplier for Thinkware, Blackvue and Road Angel for a number of years now and have also tested many of the cameras on the market including nextbase. Thinkware never miss a beat and are worth every penny. While people report nextbase and blackvue being good that’s not my experience. I will fit anything a customer brings me and when it’s a nextbase I know that it’s only a matter of time before the vehicle comes back due to something failing, and with a blackvue I will get a message saying “you must have damaged my DAB Ariel as my radio is crap now” but really it’s the front to back camera cable that’s poor quality amongst other issues.

while many people can install a Dashcam with no issues vehicle electrics are very sensitive these days and issues can happen. Those not very experienced with removing trims may find they have issues also. I cannot speak for other installers but I myself keep a full range of trim clips for many brands in stock.

as long as connections are made correctly and the Dashcam is configured correctly, ie the voltage cut-off, then there should be no issues, ie don’t tap wires, connect to the fuse box and use a chassis earth and not some screw that’s more convenient in order to save a couple of mins.

 

[monkeyhanger]

Any Dashcam is worth its weight in gold, no matter how much it cost!

I have been an approved installer and supplier for Thinkware, Blackvue and Road Angel for a number of years now and have also tested many of the cameras on the market including nextbase. Thinkware never miss a beat and are worth every penny. While people report nextbase and blackvue being good that’s not my experience. I will fit anything a customer brings me and when it’s a nextbase I know that it’s only a matter of time before the vehicle comes back due to something failing, and with a blackvue I will get a message saying “you must have damaged my DAB Ariel as my radio is crap now” but really it’s the front to back camera cable that’s poor quality amongst other issues.

while many people can install a Dashcam with no issues vehicle electrics are very sensitive these days and issues can happen. Those not very experienced with removing trims may find they have issues also. I cannot speak for other installers but I myself keep a full range of trim clips for many brands in stock.

as long as connections are made correctly and the Dashcam is configured correctly, ie the voltage cut-off, then there should be no issues, ie don’t tap wires, connect to the fuse box and use a chassis earth and not some screw that’s more convenient in order to save a couple of mins.

Plus 1 for the Thinkware. My wife and I each have an F770 front and rear set up, they've been fitted to multiple cars and never missed a beat. Had 2 Black ups that both overheated in relatively cool weather, never again. Worth paying decent money than buying some £40 Aliexpress crap that won't capture a number outside the best sunny conditions.

 

[AlS3BE]

Here’s a clip from my F770 that I saved a while ago
Quality is good and clear.

 

[NevMan]

Here’s a clip from my F770 that I saved a while ago
Quality is good and clear.

Hmm, undertaking by any chance?
Agree the F770 is a great setup I currently have the F800 Pro

 

[8YARWY]

And here’s a screen shot from the wife’s F770

And footage




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AlS3BE]

Hmm, undertaking by any chance?
Agree the F770 is a great setup I currently have the F800 Pro

Road forks. Right lane to Edinburgh and left up north. Surprised you didn’t pick up the fat seagull suicide on my windscreen