I'm an avid autocrosser, and occasional HPDEr. I like to have a camera in my car to record my runs, but I don't have harnesses or a cage or any of that stuff. I just got a GoPro HD to use for the upcoming season and I'm trying to figure out how to mount it. In the past I have used suction cup mounts on the windshield or sunroof, but I like to have the camera back far enough to see my hands. The glass/top on a C6 seems to vibrate a fair amount which makes suction cups on the rear glass or transparent top a poor option.

In looking at the car it seems like it wouldn't be tough to add a mount between the seats right on the edge of the bulkhead. Is it safe to screw into the carpet there? The GoPro is very light so it doesn't have to hold much weight.

 

With respect, may I suggest that you strongly consider installing a harness bar and full 6-point harness before you give much more thought to camera mounts.

During my misspent youth (when I was '40-ish!'), I did considerable 'club racing' in the Porsche Club of America with my Porsche 911. The first season, I raced the 911 (in class) virtually stock... OEM lap belt and all. Then, in the off season, I did a boat load of 'mods' including a full race harness.

Well, as it turned out, the benefits of the harness were just what I needed... no longer did I expend an ounce of energy trying to 'hang on' to the car... nope, I was firmly in the seat.

Before actually experiencing the difference, I would have never believed just how much improvement the harness would be.

Go ahead... give it a try (and it will give you a place to put your camera).

Rb

 

A harness bar would be ideal, and I may just wind up doing that, but the car is essentially a daily driver, I don't really want 6 point belts or a racing seat in it. I was hoping to get away with something that I could build myself.

The type of racing I do isn't wheel-to-wheel, it's either straight autocrossing or maybe once or twice a year a casual HPDE.

 

Sure, I understand completely! I hope that someone will dive in here with a good idea for a camera mount for you...

Just be ready for when those autocross events turn from 'casual' to really wicked-competitive, you will be wanting a harness!

The TeamTech harness that I have in my C6 has never had any track use (yet), I just 'sit on it' as I drive the car around town and use the factory lap belt so keep me safe and legal. And, dang, it looks teriffic!

 

A lot of the groups or tracks that sponsor or put on track days have specific requirements concerning helmets and harnesses.

Below is an excerpt from the Nat'l Corvette Museum site:

http://www.corvettemuseum.com/regist.../virinfo.shtml

This is from the "VIR Participant's Package" and concerns requirements for the VIR event coming up June 28-29, 2010:


You'll notice that there is a requirement that if you're going to carry a passenger/observer/instructor in the right seat, the right seat must meet the "equal restraint" rule.

Also, if you have a harness system, the shoulder straps must pass through the seats. I believe some groups are so concerned and lawyered-up over liability that a seat with harness pass-through holes has to be manufactured that way as a race seat, but it doesn't say that in the NCM info. There are some large plastic grommets that are sold that can be installed in OE seats to pass the straps through.

Some race suppliers used to sell sternum straps to hold shoulder straps together it they passed around the headrest on an OE seat, but I don't believe anybody sells them any more because they are considered unsafe.

Here's a picture of forum member Wayne O's very nice setup, and he doesn't have any problems with the groups he runs with out in the Tucson/Phoenix area:




Not all groups require the harness to pass through the seat (I'm pretty sure PCA and Bimmer groups that put on events have that requirement), but many do and more may adopt it as time goes by and liability concerns grow.

Here's a picture from the Simpson site:




You can see that it may be problematic to get the shoulder harness to come across the shoulders from the correct angle, depending on your bar and pass-through holes.

I believe that a lot of states will not accept harnesses for street driving, so you may have to make sure your OE 3-point belt is still installed and functional for street driving. With many race seats the OE belt system doesn't come across the lap properly because of the higher side bolsters and the OE belts may not work properly at all with many race seats.

Good luck, but putting a harness system in a DD can be a difficult issue to deal with.

Bob

 

I understand the value of full race restraints, but the racing I do just requires a Snell helmet.

I'm just wondering if it's safe to screw into the bulkhead between the seats to put a small camera mount there. It would allow me to put off having to buy a harness bar until I actually need one.

 

Great post, Bob... thanks for the detailed info! I hope the original poster will forgive me for fiddlin' around in his thread! :o

Rb

 

I apologize for kinda hijacking the thread with all that info about harnesses, etc. I find the stock seats/seat belts work fine for me in my DD and occassional HPDE car. I do have an R3 Rage for head-and-neck support. A HANS only works with a harness system, but the R3 Rage works with a factory 3-point belt system.

As far as screwing into the bulkhead to mount your camera, be careful putting any holes into that area. I've never been into that area, but there are fuel lines in there you don't want to puncture. There may be enough room for some short mounting screws to go into the area without hitting anything, but there are 2 fuel tanks and that area has crossover lines and fuel return lines running through that hump in the very front area of the cargo compartment.

Bob

 

I made a camera mount using a tripid purchased online ($8) i had to make some minor modifications to make it stretch the way it does. to tie the mount down i used steel cable and hardware ($10). the cables are a fixed length and attached with clips to the seat brackets so extending the tripod legs puts them under tension and the camera stays solid even over bumpy roads.

pics

i can remove/ install it in 2 minutes

videos showing integrity:

bg road tour

aimed at gauges

more driving

not sure if you know or not, pull the safety belt all the way out and it ratchets back to hold you pretty tightly, use the seat motor to make it extra firm

 

Now, this is darned cleaver!

 

good idea

Corvette Brey-Krause Harness Mount Bar : C6
http://www.westcoastcorvette.com/p-1...nt-bar-c6.aspx

Just in case

 

Thanks for the info, that's kinda what I was worried about.


Sinister's tripod setup is pretty slick, but the gopro camera doesn't have a normal tripod mount. I'm not sure if it could be adapted to fit.

I LOVE the Brey-Krause bar. It's a beautiful piece, but it's pretty expensive, especially as it would only be used as a camera mount.

Maybe I'll just troll the parts for sale forum and try to pick up a used sharkbar or something.

 

your camera doesnt have any sort of tripod adapter?

 

The GoPro camera uses a proprietary mounting system. There might be an adapter I can buy, but the motorsports kit I got didn't come with one.

 

I've got a BK I will sell you with a camera mount, and powdercoat it any color you want for 400. I bought it raw and powdercoated it metallic black to match my car's paint, but I don't track the corvette anymore.

As to your original question though, there was a guy at VIR last summer who basically used a piece of bar stock bolted to the riser behind the seats and attached a camera to it.

 

I don't autocross but I use this aluminum cargo divider as my videocam mount.
I installed an adjustable RAM mount for my videocam and it is very stable.

 

I presently use a small Flip video cam. Before attaching it to my roll bar (and a harness bar before that) I found a way to attach it to the plastic vent slats on the dashboard. The Flip camera has a small mounting bracket with Velcro straps...I could thread the velcro straps through the slats on the dashboard (wrapping the straps around the camera) and secure the camera fairly well. I even put a couple small felt pads on the top corners of the camera as it was resting right up against the glass. If you did this you won't be able to record your hands or the instruments but being right behind the windshield you don't get much wind noise either.

A long time ago there were a couple forum posts about guys who mounted camera tripods in their rear cargo area. I recall the one guy secured the tripod with metal guy wires. He said the tripod and camera were secure and it worked well.

Just a couple ideas...good luck!

You've got to be kidding...you just sit on all that stuff? That must be uncomfortable to say the least. If you have the harness installed why not use it? IMO using a harness (even driving around town) isn't all that inconvenient. You wouldn't even have to use the sub-strap (if any) for in-town driving.