Series 3 Anyone fitted a dash cam in a Series 3?

I'm thinking of fitting a dash cam in my 109. Anyone done so? Or would it just rattle it to bits? (diesel).

My vote is for rattle it to bits.Or at least a fuzzy picture.

I think it would depend on the quality of the camera and the mount as to whether vibration will be a problem. I can get a good picture quality using a go pro and a large suction mount (used for off road/greenlaing etc) however I would not want this all the time as it is is bulky in what is already a relatively small windscreen area.

Something else to consider is where you mount it, you could go for a fixed external mount at the front somewhere similar to HGV's have.

I sometimes use one and intend to do so more in future. I bought a very cheap one as a "proof of concept" (ie could I live with it) and used it a few times. It was OK but it was clear I needed to spend a bit more so I have a better one now awaiting installation. I have a 5v supply wired in and the mount in the top corner of the pax screen behind the mirror. I intend to use it more as I've has a number of incidents where it would have been very useful. The biggest problem I have found is the noise, if you have sound on you just get a mass of engine noise although it did capture my son saying "I'm bored with this" very clearly over our recording of our one and only green lane trip.

By a decent one- turn off auto event detect and it would be fine.

There can be some time bewteen the application of the brakes in a Series and the impact so I doubt that's a problem!

squeak said:

I'm thinking of fitting a dash cam in my 109. Anyone done so? Or would it just rattle it to bits? (diesel).

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Afraid this is a bit of an open ended question without more info.

1. Do you actually want it as a dashcam or just a camera to record footage?

The difference being. Dashcams are purpose built to turn on and off automatically. Allow you create emergency recordings which don’t get overwritten while recycling storage space otherwise. Most have a G sensor to automatically save potential incidents. And many also have integrated GPS to show exact location.

Dashcams don’t really work as a normal camera or as an action cam. The battery is there only to allow it to save and shut down safely when you turn the engine off.

It is possible to use footage from a dashcam for other uses however.

Action cams and even some compact cameras can be used to record footage from within a Vehcile. But aren’t designed to be dashcams. And generally lack the features of a dashcam.


So it all comes down to what you are wanting.


From this. It leads nicely into saying there is a huge array of available cameras and understanding how they work and that they are not all equal.


For clear video footage you need a quality camera, lens and processing. 1080p is the lowest res to give nice footage. Although if reading numberplates and road signs is required you will need as high a quality as possible.


I have a dashcam in my daily driver. It’s there mostly for assurance should anything happen. Although I have used it as an additional camera when green laning.

I also have some action cams. Which I use for recreational purposes. Including being mounted in a Vehcile.


The big thing you’ll want is some kind of stabilisation. There are many types of stabilisation and like the cameras they are not created equal. Cheap cameras sometimes have ok video quality but may lack any form of stabilisation.

There is electronic stabilisation done by the camera. Some are very poor and some very good. And there mechanical gyro controlled gimbals. Do some research. It’ll help understand it all.

To give some examples.

My dashcam in a car. It has basic electronic stabilisation and is 2.7k quality (higher than 1080p). In a Land Rover the image isn’t as good and you get some vibration noise from the mount.



This is from my GoPro Hero 6. It has superb electronic stabilisation, almost as good as a gimbal. But it is a very expensive action cam. The camera does 4K video too.


And this footage is from an older EE branded 1080p action cam. It has no stabilisation. Note how juddery the image is when moving quickly. The video quality is ok, but far behind the GoPro. And there is constant annoying rattle from the mount that obscures all other sound.

Slow off road:


Moving faster:

I have a dashcam in my 3 - actually in all our cars - got it on ebay for about £30 a couple of years ago, does front and rear - doesn't record speed - hd etc, good picture.

no need to buy expensive makes

Everything seems to happen so slowly in my Series 3 diesel that I'm sure I've got plenty of time to grab my phone, bail out, take a video and upload to You Tube.