Hi guys

Picked up a new Fiesta earlier today which is great, but one of the questions I asked the salesperson was, can I fit a dashcam on PCP? (hardwired).

The salesperson had no issue but did warn that a lot of MK8 owners are returning to the dealer (surprising amount actually) as various different dashcams are draining the battery when car isn't in use. This was less noticeable on the MK7 & 7.5 apparently.

Anyway, taking in this advice, I've had a look at dashcams online and on FOC to see which ones would be good to run off the cig lighter (which I don't want to do but if it saves battery...).

Can anyone recommend a good brand/model?

I've looked at Nextbase but they seem massive next to the rear view mirror. I'd ideally like something a little more discreet.

Any tips? 

Many thanks!

PS. Not fussed about parking modes.

15 minutes ago, DEVSR2 said:

Hi guys

Picked up a new Fiesta earlier today which is great, but one of the questions I asked the salesperson was, can I fit a dashcam on PCP? (hardwired).

The salesperson had no issue but did warn that a lot of MK8 owners are returning to the dealer (surprising amount actually) as various different dashcams are draining the battery when car isn't in use. This was less noticeable on the MK7 & 7.5 apparently.

Anyway, taking in this advice, I've had a look at dashcams online and on FOC to see which ones would be good to run off the cig lighter (which I don't want to do but if it saves battery...).

Can anyone recommend a good brand/model?

I've looked at Nextbase but they seem massive next to the rear view mirror. I'd ideally like something a little more discreet.

Any tips? 

Many thanks!

PS. Not fussed about parking modes.

The nextbase ones are the most reliable dash cams, and if you run it off the gauge cluster fuse in the fusebox it should be fine that is what I am doing or any circuit in the fusebox that gets power only when the ignition is on and is not reliant on other things like lights and engine etc... The lighter socket fuse in the fiestas are the wrong type to tap into, if you get a nextbase dash cam you can get there special hardwire kit that comes with everything you will need to tap into the power from a fuse socket safely, it keeps the device that the fuse socket is for having the same fuse and the dash cam its own fuse.

 

Quote

Can anyone recommend a good brand/model?

I've looked at Nextbase but they seem massive next to the rear view mirror. I'd ideally like something a little more discreet.

Any tips? 

Many thanks!

PS. Not fussed about parking modes.

This is the one I went for:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AUKEY-Camera-Detection-G-Sensor-Recording-Black/dp/B0711K92J1/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1549665571&sr=8-5&keywords=aukey+dashcam

It was recommended on Techmoan's YT site.  It's the most discrete one I'd found.

I had mine hardwired to the fusebox after buying a kit from Amazon.  Unfortunately the MK8 needed a size that wasn't in the kit (micro size or something) but it was easily sorted with a trip to Halfords.

It works really well and I had a  similar designed one in my last car.  It's barely noticable once fitted.  Placement is not great in the MK8 though as I've found the central windscreen instrument / camera / mirror cluster interferes with the viewing angle a little.

I know more expensive solutions exist but £60 was about all I wanted to spend ( got £40 back from my insurance for fitting it too ).

I would go with Tef89 said as i have a wedge shape one and you cant see it and it aint like a brick stuck to my window,i have the A119 front and A119s in the back.

So you want yours on24/7 then as i have hard wired mine to get a ignition on/off feed.

8 hours ago, DEVSR2 said:

Hi guys

Picked up a new Fiesta earlier today which is great, but one of the questions I asked the salesperson was, can I fit a dashcam on PCP? (hardwired).

The salesperson had no issue but did warn that a lot of MK8 owners are returning to the dealer (surprising amount actually) as various different dashcams are draining the battery when car isn't in use. This was less noticeable on the MK7 & 7.5 apparently.

Anyway, taking in this advice, I've had a look at dashcams online and on FOC to see which ones would be good to run off the cig lighter (which I don't want to do but if it saves battery...).

Can anyone recommend a good brand/model?

I've looked at Nextbase but they seem massive next to the rear view mirror. I'd ideally like something a little more discreet.

Any tips? 

Many thanks!

PS. Not fussed about parking modes.

I have a Garmin Dashcam 55 with the optional parking mode cable which is hardwired to the fuse box and this is designed not to drain the battery.

Great camera which is very compact with tiny magnetic mount.  Also has speed camera alerts with free updates.

I have a Nextbase 312GW run of the cigar lighter and it's brilliant.   The detail it gives if phenomenal. 

I’d throw in a Thinkware F770 in the mix. I have this hardwired into my car and it’s really discreet, is a 2 channel camera and does have a voltage cut off built in preventing the battery from being fully drained. 

I bought a Nextbase 312GW this week ready to fit this weekend.

I bought the hardwire kit but i'm now waiting for the micro fuse tap which wasn't in the kit before the install.

Which fuse did others tap into for a switched live?

I cannot stress enough how poor the Nextbase cameras are in terms of lifespan. The picture is good but these cameras all have internal batteries which are notorious for just giving up after aprox 12-18months. You need the internal battery regardless of how you power the camera as it is used each time the camera shuts down and when it fails you will enter a continuous boot loop.

One of the best ones on the market, for the money has to be the Viofo a129 duo front and rear cam. Looks similar to the Aukey one above (which is also excellent) and has a capacitor inside not a battery.

 

24 minutes ago, Jonro2009 said:

I cannot stress enough how poor the Nextbase cameras are in terms of lifespan. The picture is good but these cameras all have internal batteries which are notorious for just giving up after aprox 12-18months. You need the internal battery regardless of how you power the camera as it is used each time the camera shuts down and when it fails you will enter a continuous boot loop.

One of the best ones on the market, for the money has to be the Viofo a129 duo front and rear cam. Looks similar to the Aukey one above (which is also excellent) and has a capacitor inside not a battery.

 

I will second you 100% on this,i have the Viofo and they are amazing footage for a very small price also had friends who had the Netbase with problems as great

footage etc but there big and long.

Small and discreet is the way i think as if it can be seen it can be knicked unless you take it out which most of us don't.

Does a lot have them on 24/7 as what is the main purpose of it just if anyone taps it from the front.

8 hours ago, robbyvrs said:

I bought a Nextbase 312GW this week ready to fit this weekend.

I bought the hardwire kit but i'm now waiting for the micro fuse tap which wasn't in the kit before the install.

Which fuse did others tap into for a switched live?

I *think* mine was wired into the Park Assist fuse (or similar).  I had the same issue with needing the smaller fuse tap too.

One thing I would mention to anyone getting a Dashcam is to buy a proper high endurance Micro SD.  You can get away with standard cards often but i've had a couple of instances when a recording or card has failed / corrupted using them.  High endurance cards cost more but use a more robust nand chip hence the higher price.

Worth the reassurance that you're less likely to see an unplayable file when you need the footage most.

Some good information here:

https://carcamcentral.com/guide/recommended-sd-cards-avoid-sandisk-ultra-cards

Hi I’m using the garmin dash cam 55 would recommend it.

Do a lot of these Dashcams go into sleep mode so only on about 1 minute before it does this and wont use the car battery then the sensor picks up if someone

moves past it or car gets tapped.

Thanks for all of the advice guys - much appreciated!! Like anything, there's far too many to choose from and narrowing it down is tricky - currently, the Garmin 55 is in the short list. 15% off with FOC at halfords but I've seen better deals so I'll keep searching.

 

38 minutes ago, DEVSR2 said:

Thanks for all of the advice guys - much appreciated!! Like anything, there's far too many to choose from and narrowing it down is tricky - currently, the Garmin 55 is in the short list. 15% off with FOC at halfords but I've seen better deals so I'll keep searching.

 

No worries Dev, hope you find the perfect one for you 😉