Where Should I Mount My Dash Cam
This article is a guide for new owners of a dashboard camera who are wondering where should I mount my dash cam.
Dash cam placement matters even if many do not give it much thought.
It is a simple question but the answer may be different depending on the car you are driving.
Proper placement of a dash cam is also conditioned by how you plan to install it and other factors thus there are some dos and don’ts.
Dashboard Installation Is Never Recommended
Installing the camera on the dashboard is never a good idea. First of all, it is anything but discreet. It is easy to spot and annoying.
Also, odds are you will not be able to use a suction cup mount and you will have to use an adhesive pad.
That can leave marks, glue residue, and even tear the dashboard when removed. Also, if you want to hardwire the dash cam, you will still have some annoying cables running over the dashboard.
More importantly than what was mentioned above, the angle of visibility will be anything but ideal.
The lens will need to be oriented almost parallel to the road meaning that it will cut away some of the visibility on the sides and you will not record what is happening right in front of the car. Placing it higher give it better visibility.
Windshield Installation
The proper place of a dash cam is on the windshield. However, you cannot place it anywhere on the dashboard.
It should be placed as high as possible and close to the middle of the windshield so that it can record from a proper angle.
Discreet Positioning of Camera
If you want to make the camera less likely to be spotted from outside, you need to place it on the shaded or dotted area around the rearview mirror, also called sunshade tint.
Something that you may miss while installing the dash cam is that it should be placed on an area that is covered by the windshield wipers.
Just turn the wipers on and check if the surface you want to place the camera on is appropriate.
Do not install the camera anywhere where it would obstruct your vision. Also, do not place it lower, close to the dashboard.
It will not have a good recording angle and it will be way too obnoxious when looking from the outside.
Hardwiring
Hardwiring a dash cam is not that complicated but if you want to do it, you do not want the cable to run over the mirror or go from one A-pillar to the other.
What is recommended is to place the camera to the left or the right of the rearview mirror.
Choose the side that is the closest to the fuse box. In most cars the fuse box is on the driver side thus you will need to place the camera on the left side of the mirror.
Rear Dash Cams
For rear dash cams as part of a dual cam setup, there are not that many places where the camera can be hidden. It needs to be installed in the top center of the window as it provides optimal viewing angles.
If you truly want to make it a bit more discreet, you can get some tinting film that will make the camera less visible. To be noted that it will affect the quality of the recorded videos especially during night time.
As less light gets through the film and to the dash cam, the videos will be darker. However, this difference is not noticeable or a major problem especially when driving through a city or town.
Suction Cup or Adhesive Mounts?
The options are divided when it comes to choosing between the two.
From a practicality perspective, suction cups do not leave glue marks on the windshield and are easier to remove. They do have a problem staying on especially during a hot sunny day.
Most suction cups will fall off as the plastic becomes softer and allows air to enter into the suction chamber thus making the mount fall off the windshield.
Adhesive Fixings
Adhesives are more difficult to clean when you remove the mount. However, with a sharp razor, the glue can be removed. Their advantage is that mounts that use double-sided adhesive pads to stick to the windshield are much more compact.
They are also easier to conceal. What matters is to get adhesive pads that are black. Some dash cams are shipped with white adhesive pads that are very easy to spot from the outside.
What About Rear View Mirror Cameras?
These dash cams are alright from many points of view. They are discreet, easy to conceal, easy installation, there is nothing to be glued onto the windshield and they are easy to hardwire through the headliner.
It all sounds good but there are some key points to consider.
Dash cams that come in the form of a rearview mirror that is mounted over the existing rearview mirror tend to use lower quality image sensors.
In many cases, the quality of the recording is not as high quality as their suction cup mounted rivals. The ones that do have proper image sensors can be expensive and quite difficult to find.
Also, they are very big and can become annoying and could keep you distracted while driving.
Discover what makes a good dash cam.
Read this guide to help you decide on what factors make a good quality dash camera.
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