Recording advice for first trackday in my GT350

[brokenblinker]

Hi All! I found some great prior information here, but much of it is old and things change so fast with technology, I'm not sure its still my best option.

I have my first track day scheduled at Thunderhill in a couple of weeks. I've done a number of autocrosses, but its been a few years. I'd like to spend most of my time just enjoying the experience, but I would like to spend some time in advance prepping a setup I am familiar with so that I can record the experience and share it with others. I also would like to occasionally record some aspects of driving in the beautiful mountain roads near me. I'm already spending quite a bit when considering all aspects of track experience, so trying to keep things on the cheaper end. I think I'll want to do more days in the future, but don't want to overinvest for the first day.

Must haves if I'm spending any time on this

• Record a forward facing view that includes wheel + shifter

Nice to haves in order of interest:

• Decent sound
• Correlated car info (speed, RPM, gear, etc.)
• Foot camera

Based on these criteria, I'm thinking of the following gear:

• My android phone in some sort of (suction?) mount that lets me point at feet.
• A cheap action camera (one of the many sold on Amazon or BestBuy that is like ~50 bucks) on a suction mount (Delkin fat gecko?) inside rear window
• External Mic in trunk to pick up exhaust sound? (https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-ME-51S-Stereo-Microphone-145037/dp/B000BTAH62)
• An OBDII bluetooth device that can sync up with trackaddict on my phone (feel free to make recommendations).

Any advice on this setup? I'm worried about a couple of things. Not sure a phone will fit regarding foot cam. Thought about putting phone on rear window and action cam in footwell, but then I can't see or interface with phone when getting ready for session. I'm also not sure how to fix the mic in the trunk, but assume that zip ties and creativity will go a long way.

Feel free to link me any products or give advice that you may have. You guys have made some great content, so I look forward to your feedback.

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[luc]

Hi All! I found some great prior information here, but much of it is old and things change so fast with technology, I'm not sure its still my best option.

I have my first track day scheduled at Thunderhill in a couple of weeks. I've done a number of autocrosses, but its been a few years. I'd like to spend most of my time just enjoying the experience, but I would like to spend some time in advance prepping a setup I am familiar with so that I can record the experience and share it with others. I also would like to occasionally record some aspects of driving in the beautiful mountain roads near me. I'm already spending quite a bit when considering all aspects of track experience, so trying to keep things on the cheaper end. I think I'll want to do more days in the future, but don't want to overinvest for the first day.

Must haves if I'm spending any time on this

• Record a forward facing view that includes wheel + shifter

Nice to haves in order of interest:

• Decent sound
• Correlated car info (speed, RPM, gear, etc.)
• Foot camera

Based on these criteria, I'm thinking of the following gear:

• My android phone in some sort of (suction?) mount that lets me point at feet.
• A cheap action camera (one of the many sold on Amazon or BestBuy that is like ~50 bucks) on a suction mount (Delkin fat gecko?) inside rear window
• External Mic in trunk to pick up exhaust sound? (https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-ME-51S-Stereo-Microphone-145037/dp/B000BTAH62)
• An OBDII bluetooth device that can sync up with trackaddict on my phone (feel free to make recommendations).

Any advice on this setup? I'm worried about a couple of things. Not sure a phone will fit regarding foot cam. Thought about putting phone on rear window and action cam in footwell, but then I can't see or interface with phone when getting ready for session. I'm also not sure how to fix the mic in the trunk, but assume that zip ties and creativity will go a long way.

Feel free to link me any products or give advice that you may have. You guys have made some great content, so I look forward to your feedback.

I think that for your first ever track day you should concentrate on the driving and not on filming yourself
You’re going to have a steep learning curve that requires 100% of your attention and concentration
Flags, braking markers, turn in, apexes, turn out, pointing by, looking in your mirrors, learning the line, etc, do not leave any time for being a film maker

 

[brokenblinker]

I think that for your first ever track day you should concentrate on the driving and not on filming yourself
You’re going to have a steep learning curve that requires 100% of your attention and concentration
Flags, braking markers, turn in, apexes, turn out, pointing by, looking in your mirrors, learning the line, etc, do not leave any time for being a film maker

That's a totally fair response. For what its worth, I've been wanting to get a setup like this for a while - I would still consider the question posed even if this particular trackday wasn't coming up.

 

[luc]

That's a totally fair response. For what its worth, I've been wanting to get a setup like this for a while - I would still consider the question posed even if this particular trackday wasn't coming up.

Usually you have a photographer on site so at a minimum you should get some good action pictures of your car

 

[Biggsy]

The past two years I used a GoPro Hero 8 + OBD2 via BT + TrackAddict + SkyPro XGPS160 all with my iPhone.

It worked flawlessly. You can do without GPS and use the phone GPS but it won’t be as accurate. This set up is around 400-500 depending on if you get used or not

 

[raiderjatt02]

I would advise against a phone for your pedals. It's too big and would get in the way of your driving. I use a GoPro mounted underneath with 3M double sided tape for the mount. The material under our steering wheels doesn't work too well with suction mounts.

For the mic, get a deadcat to help with wind noise and mount it with zip ties to your rear license plate frame. You'll need a aux cord extension to run the wire from the mic through the trunk/rear seats and into one of the cameras.

For the OBDII adapter, almost any of them should work fine. I use an OBDLink MX and while it's pricier than most, it's been great for me and I use it in my other cars for various things too.

This is how my videos turn out in the end.

 

[Biggsy]

If you want less than what I initially said then you can downgrade on camera and do without GPS module. You can get OBD2 for around $40 or less on Amazon

 

[brokenblinker]

I would advise against a phone for your pedals. It's too big and would get in the way of your driving. I use a GoPro mounted underneath with 3M double sided tape for the mount. The material under our steering wheels doesn't work too well with suction mounts.

For the mic, get a deadcat to help with wind noise and mount it with zip ties to your rear license plate frame. You'll need a aux cord extension to run the wire from the mic through the trunk/rear seats and into one of the cameras.

For the OBDII adapter, almost any of them should work fine. I use an OBDLink MX and while it's pricier than most, it's been great for me and I use it in my other cars for various things too.

This is how my videos turn out in the end.

Thanks! Some of your prior posts were the inspiration for me. Are you still on the same mic setup? I think you had posted on someone else's thread asking how their audio was so good (yours is already pretty good), and I was wondering if you made any changes. I think it was you that I read put the mic in the trunk?

Also, based on your video, I'm guessing you have two GoPros (one on rear window, one on feet, phone on dash)? How do you go about getting them started? Via remote?

 

[BierGut]

I think that for your first ever track day you should concentrate on the driving and not on filming yourself
You’re going to have a steep learning curve that requires 100% of your attention and concentration
Flags, braking markers, turn in, apexes, turn out, pointing by, looking in your mirrors, learning the line, etc, do not leave any time for being a film maker

Good topic.

I don't allow recording devices in any car I am instructing. If the student has an issue -- they can hope to find another instructor. Once solo'ed - have at it.

The clubs I run with all back me up -- my decision.

How many of you instructors have ever suggested that a student can "go faster" or perhaps "brake a little later?"

I don't want to be a defendant. Plaintiff attorneys always look for ammunition.

One of my clubs had an instructor dragged through this issue. Can happen even without recording of events.

 

[brokenblinker]

Good topic.

I don't allow recording devices in any car I am instructing. If the student has an issue -- they can hope to find another instructor. Once solo'ed - have at it.

The clubs I run with all back me up -- my decision.

How many of you instructors have ever suggested that a student can "go faster" or perhaps "brake a little later?"

I don't want to be a defendant. Plaintiff attorneys always look for ammunition.

One of my clubs had an instructor dragged through this issue. Can happen even without recording of events.

I would be more than happy to not use any recording equipment at anyone's request. I've been practicing this track in the sim setup, and I'd love to be able to compare the two - to pre-empt, I'm a pretty conservative person about pushing limits. No I will not be pushing to try and match sim speed in real life.

Also, sorry for your instructor friend. Hard to believe people giving their time out of love of the hobby could be dragged through the sand on this.

 

[luc]

I would be more than happy to not use any recording equipment at anyone's request. I've been practicing this track in the sim setup, and I'd love to be able to compare the two - to pre-empt, I'm a pretty conservative person about pushing limits. No I will not be pushing to try and match sim speed in real life.

Also, sorry for your instructor friend. Hard to believe people giving their time out of love of the hobby could be dragged through the sand on this.

You certainly have the right attitude
Thunderhill is a great track and, if you are doing the East track, just be careful on the exit of T15
Too many people lift thinking that they are going to go off and end up hitting the wall on the inside

 

[BierGut]

I would be more than happy to not use any recording equipment at anyone's request. I've been practicing this track in the sim setup, and I'd love to be able to compare the two - to pre-empt, I'm a pretty conservative person about pushing limits. No I will not be pushing to try and match sim speed in real life.

That's the perfect attitude! Many instructor's have zero issues with recording equipment whatsoever. It's a YMMV thing.

Recording sessions are a important to learning and hopefully you'll have tons of sessions in the future. Obviously, I have no issues with cars with OEM recording options, but they don't record cabin information. (audio or catch hand signals, etc. - at least that I have seen)

Have a great time!

 

[brokenblinker]

You certainly have the right attitude
Thunderhill is a great track and, if you are doing the East track, just be careful on the exit of T15
Too many people lift thinking that they are going to go off and end up hitting the wall on the inside

I was just chatting with a guy I met up in the SC mountains over coffee that's been to TH ~20-30 times, and he mentioned the exact same corner. His advice was that if overcooking that corner, just let it go off and control the off versus trying to save it and risking the inner wall.

I'm guessing I won't be on the limit anyway, but good to know regardless.

 

[raiderjatt02]

Thanks! Some of your prior posts were the inspiration for me. Are you still on the same mic setup? I think you had posted on someone else's thread asking how their audio was so good (yours is already pretty good), and I was wondering if you made any changes. I think it was you that I read put the mic in the trunk?

Also, based on your video, I'm guessing you have two GoPros (one on rear window, one on feet, phone on dash)? How do you go about getting them started? Via remote?

Yeah, I'm on the same mic setup. The audio is good enough for me to now bother changing it. I have one GoPro on my helmet, one on the rear window, one under the steering wheel for the pedals, and an external GPS connected to my phone. So many things to turn on and off before and after my sessions. I don't recommend doing this much when you're just getting started and getting used to the track since there is just too much to think about.

I start them up individually before I get buckled into the car before each session. The batteries last me about 2-3 sessions before I have to change them all out and re-aim the cameras. My method is complicated as hell so I'd suggest just to start with a single camera until you get used to the track, then add more complexity as you grow as a driver. The last thing you should be worried about while flying around on track is whether or not your cameras are recording properly.

There are plenty of times where I forgot to start recording on a certain camera, the battery dies during the session, or some other issue. I just chalk it up to a loss and move on. I used to get worked up over it but at the end of the day, I care about the driving part of it more than the video part of it.

 

[brokenblinker]

Yeah, I'm on the same mic setup. The audio is good enough for me to now bother changing it. I have one GoPro on my helmet, one on the rear window, one under the steering wheel for the pedals, and an external GPS connected to my phone. So many things to turn on and off before and after my sessions. I don't recommend doing this much when you're just getting started and getting used to the track since there is just too much to think about.

I start them up individually before I get buckled into the car before each session. The batteries last me about 2-3 sessions before I have to change them all out and re-aim the cameras. My method is complicated as hell so I'd suggest just to start with a single camera until you get used to the track, then add more complexity as you grow as a driver. The last thing you should be worried about while flying around on track is whether or not your cameras are recording properly.

There are plenty of times where I forgot to start recording on a certain camera, the battery dies during the session, or some other issue. I just chalk it up to a loss and move on. I used to get worked up over it but at the end of the day, I care about the driving part of it more than the video part of it.

Super agree. Sounds like a lot to have top of mind. Thanks for sharing regardless!

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