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GoPro Mount for Track Day

boB

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I looked for something like this but found nothing so here is mine.


I want a GoPro mount for a track day, one that will record from close to my point of view. A headrest mount seemed like the best way to go but they are either $$$, look flimsy, not available, or had too many bad reviews. I didn't want to spend a lot since the track day will probably be a one time thing. It's DIY time!

Measuring the Mustang headrest posts: 13 mm diameter, 149.72 mm centers (probably 150). Plastic seems like a better choice than metal (for something right behind my head) just in case something goes wrong. PVC is one of the stiffest plastics readily available and is inexpensive. A 1" bar 4' long was about $15. ***After making this I saw a DIY on a BMW page with a similar mount made of PVC tubing. Probably works ok but mine looks better. ;)

Milling two slots 1/2" diameter, 13 mm deep, 149.72 mm apart made it fit nicely on the posts. To secure the bar I drilled four 1/4" holes 19.05 mm from the 1/2" cutouts and used four 1/4-20 nylon screws backed up with 3/4 square PVC bar. Total cost less than $20, never mind the cost of the milling machine!

*The backing plates did not look as good as I wanted and took too much machining time so I redesigned them for 3D printing in PETG.

The setup is not completely rigid but the GoPro Hero 8 filters out vibration from my mountain bike on a rough dirt road so it should give a smooth video in my Mustang.


On to road testing!

mustang_gopro_1.jpg


mustang_gopro_2.jpg


mustang_gopro_bar.jpg


mustang_gopro_bar_1.jpg


mustang_gopro_clamp.jpg
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danpass

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Nicely done!

I went with 3/4" square tubing and u-clamps lol.

C3BBBF38-4155-477E-89F2-2E320C9C09CC.jpeg
 
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strengthrehab

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Nicely done!

I went with 3/4" square tubing and u-clamps lol.

C3BBBF38-4155-477E-89F2-2E320C9C09CC.jpeg
Mine is very similar, it just comes from the passenger seat.
 

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Dana Pants

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The two headrest posts are one piece of metal, so the products that clamp to one post work pretty well. I use this one and my GoPro hero5 with stabilization off produces clear videos.

Example:

(I mount the GoPro externally if no rain)

171FDC8A-3FE0-4DAC-92BB-994310C94CCB.png
 

kz

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I have the same one as Danapants above - haven't really used as I don't like that point of view but it wasn't really difficult to find two years ago...
 

Norm Peterson

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I looked for something like this but found nothing so here is mine.

I want a GoPro mount for a track day, one that will record from close to my point of view. A headrest mount seemed like the best way to go but they are either $$$, look flimsy, not available, or had too many bad reviews. I didn't want to spend a lot since the track day will probably be a one time thing. It's DIY time!
I like your effort, but I think you should have mounted it to the driver seat instead. Having a rigid-ish bar aimed at my helmet doesn't sound like a good thing, and I suspect there will be track tech inspectors who feel the same way. There's no telling where your head is going to bounce around to in a track day "incident" of any seriousness, but with a driver seat mount you're not nearly as likely to get speared by it.


Norm
 
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boB

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Nicely done!

I went with 3/4" square tubing and u-clamps lol.

C3BBBF38-4155-477E-89F2-2E320C9C09CC.jpeg
Looks good! But when you have a mill and a 3D printer everything looks like it should be milled and 3D printed. ;)
 

Norm Peterson

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Less hassle, but no view of what the driver's hands and feet are doing.


Side note - headrest mounting tends to end up showing the interior in focus and the track view out the windshield washed out to the point of near-uselessness. Using the spot metering setting as opposed to either center-weighted or average may help.


Norm
 

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boB

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Less hassle, but no view of what the driver's hands and feet are doing.


Side note - headrest mounting tends to end up showing the interior in focus and the track view out the windshield washed out to the point of near-uselessness. Using the spot metering setting as opposed to either center-weighted or average may help.


Norm
Thanks for the tip! I plan to test the setup if it ever stops raining.
 

danpass

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Looks good! But when you have a mill and a 3D printer everything looks like it should be milled and 3D printed. ;)
oh, absolutely agree :D

Very nice, clean design you got there.

-
 

danpass

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Less hassle, but no view of what the driver's hands and feet are doing.


Side note - headrest mounting tends to end up showing the interior in focus and the track view out the windshield washed out to the point of near-uselessness. Using the spot metering setting as opposed to either center-weighted or average may help.


Norm
spot metering is an absolute must when using a camera in this interior position.
 
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boB

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I like your effort, but I think you should have mounted it to the driver seat instead. Having a rigid-ish bar aimed at my helmet doesn't sound like a good thing, and I suspect there will be track tech inspectors who feel the same way. There's no telling where your head is going to bounce around to in a track day "incident" of any seriousness, but with a driver seat mount you're not nearly as likely to get speared by it.


Norm
Sounds like a good idea and easy enough to move it to the driver's seat.
 

NoXiDe

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If anyone is interested, I do have this available for purchase. I paid a little over $200.
https://www.headrestmount.co.uk/

Yes other products are available but I wanted reassurance it wasn't going to fail and that it didn't shake. Otherwise, I would have opted for a $60 option. Here's it in action. PS: I disable all GoPro stabilization settings.

1625757682003.png
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