I have been searching for a good GoPro camera mount for the Mini. I think one utilizes the passenger side (right side for countries like USA that drives on the wrong side) headrest is best for my dual duty Mini.

I have been looking the the Mini boutique version which is quite pricy. What I like is it is safe in case of a crash and no burn. I have a hard time finding anyone who have used it on track and their experience.

the headrest mount consists of (2) and (3) which come to about $150





What I like is it is modular and safe in crash. My concern is how well the GoPro camera work with it. Being on the headrest of a seatback there will be a lot of large displacement movements, though I incline to think the GoPro can deal with it quite well.

Any first hand experience you can share will be much appreciated.

The other option that I am entertaining is build one with with RAM Mount pieces which will be a bit cheaper (<$100).

 

ECS has one that is made of aluminum, but can no longer be found, which leads me to wonder if is due to safety and potential liability.




BTW, the Mini mount is also sold for BMWs so there may be more user feedbacks on Bimmer forums. It is really a BMW boutique accessory.

 

This is the mount that I have and it works great.
http://www.filmtools.com/cruisecam.html

You will need another mount for the GoPro to fit this as it is designed for video cameras and still cameras with a standard 1/4" mount.

In the video below you can see the mount in "action." (I use that term very loosely)
It is mounted to the drivers seat. Shot with a Nikon D750 and a Samyang F2.8 14mm super wide with no image stabilization. All in, this set up tips the scales at just about 3.5 pounds.



it is the same as the post above... only it is available.

 

That is one affordable mount. The video is rock solid with the DSLR. Thanks for the link.

It is not identical to the one ECS used to sell. ECS's is solid aluminum bar and this one is extruded hollow bar. I am sure does not affect functionality. My only reservation with these kind of mount is in the event of bad rollover crash - god forbid .

We should all sync next season to come out to PIR and play.

 

The roll over bit has crossed my mind. However, I think that a 3 pound object bouncing around in the car would be the least of my concerns. I have a sunroof and the windows are typically down when on the track, I am certain that the camera would be "safely" ejected from the car before it would become an issue.


I have been trying to make one track day a year, this I time just didn't allow it. I do hope to do one next year.

 

My safety concern with rollover crash is the rigid and secured mounted aluminum bar that can impale a body. The BMW/MINI mount is plastic and has joints. Similarly with a mount that is built up with RAM Mount components. That is my struggle. The best mount would be one secured to a roll cage structure behind the front seats, but my Mini is named Desire - to be a track animal. No cage for this domestic animal anytime soon.

 

Me being impaled by it is not a concern of mine. For that to happen with this mount, it would have to be mounted to the passenger seat and the passenger side of the car where the seats mount would need to be crushed towards the driver side by about 6 to 12 inches depending on how you mount it. Or something more catastrophic than rolling the car has happened. The head restraint would have to come off the seat... or you would have to come out of the seat... Again, if any of these things happen the camera mount is the least of your problems. You can also just mount it to the rear seats head restraints if you leave the rear seats in the car.
Now that being said, it's not like any or all of those things cannot happen, they can, but I am not concerned about them. I have used this mount for many years both on track and on the street and at the Autocross.
Passengers are always very concerned though... but I rectify that by not having one.

 

Some crashes can be so dramatic seats can be rearranged is my fear, though does not keep me wide awake at night.

his wheel went into the ditch and the car did a end to end flip

 

I just picked up a JCW tow hook mount which gives a low angle view. as for inside view, I just double side taped a surface mount on windshield and rear sunroof for the secondary gopro which will capture pretty much everything

 

I am taking a baby step at a time. Need to get my first GoPro to shoot a rear passenger's holding to dear life perspective.

I almost bought a GoPro Hero 4 black this summer, but decided to make do with the iPhone. Now the Hero 6 is out, the pricing sweet spot seems to be Hero 5 black.

Equipment list:

• GoPro Hero 5 Black
• External GPS
• Kiwi 3 BT ODBII
• Sony stereo condenser microphone in old sock
• iPhone whatever

 

Here is my setup:

• Gonna pick up a Hero 6 (heard it has better battery life) mount it inside - don't wanna distroy $500 equipment yet
• Mount my Hero 3 along with the extended battery on the Tow Hook Mount
• Already have my Bluetooth OBD2 plugged in
• Sync and Control everything via Track Addict App

I don't think you will need a separate GPS since Hero 5 and your iPhone has that build-in

Here is a sample of the setup, however, the go pro was mounted on the windshield

 

You have a nice setup. For inside camera I will rig it to 12V cigarette lighter since I never smoke when on track. The iPhone GPS has update of 1Hz so that will often miss my top speeds, and invites doubts from my frenemies of my better lap time. I just received the discounted external GPS which is good for 5Hz. It is a long time before next season so I am picking up pieces when I find good prices.

 

Sweet!

 

I tried a seat mount setup once, the stock seats are so crappy they flex and move around so much it affects the video.

I found sunroof mount, or rear glass mount in narrow POV are better, now I use a rollbar mount and it's MUCH better

 

If you end up shinny side down, being impaled will be the least of you worries. The biggest worry would be how much shorter you just became... being impaled at that point my be a blessing, just sayin... Again, I just mount it to the drivers seat and you will not be impaled even in a situation like the one you pictured above.

 

I googled an image of someone being impaled and found none that I want to post here. I want a mount that also accommodate a passenger bracing for his/her life with my driving.

Right now I am leaning towards two alternatives. (1) Make my own like yours but with balsa wood as those used in model airplanes. You have to really try to be impaled by a piece of balsa wood unless it is sharpened like those in GOT.

(2) Assemble one with RAM Mount components that come to about $42:

attached to the outboard post of passenger side headrest


mount for gopro


6" long arm

 

Somewhat following in your path, I stopped by my local tech surplus store and found they had received in some industrial suction mounts with a 1/4"-20' bolts (perfect for most cameras), I picked up a few of mounts and will be testing them out.

 

By any chance that is Surplusgizmos? I mean to go there and explore but still haven't. I love surplus stores. The one that I really missed out was the Boeing one which was no longer for nearly a decade now. Too bad Wacky ***** was long gone too. I think my house is beginning to become like a electronics and auto surplus store.

 

It was indeed, and oh man so many great memories of stopping by the Boeing surplus when I would go to Seattle.

 

I just want to say that I am in no way putting down your choice of mount solution. You use a compact DSLR which is significantly heavier than GoPro, and you certainly picked an optimum mount for it.

It is all tradeoffs given our differed requirements.

 

BMW/MINI has done a very lousy job on how their modular headrest mount works, especially what you need to buy. I wasted a lot of time to realize that you need to buy 2 items, which comes to about $150 plus shipping.

Here is one Youtube video that illustrates it. While headrest mount is subject to significant shakes I am sure GoPro can deal with it quite well and you can see in the video despite he was not driving on the track.


Right now I am still leaning towards the RAM mount solution which is significantly cheaper and offers better articulation.

 

I am taking the first step in assembling a passenger seat headrest mount based on RAM Mount components. My concern with my plan to fasten it to only the inboard post of the headrest is would the clamp rotate too easily. The diameter of the steel posts are only about 1/2" so the clamp has to be quite strong and with adequate friction to withstand the torque.

Hence I only want to order just this $14 clamp first and test it out before buying more pieces. If successful, I can avoid becoming a fashion victim of MINI Boutique.

it has a clamp range of 1/2" to 1 1/2" diameter

 

My proof of concept of using RAM Mount component to assemble a mount is a success. To avoid duplication the detail is in my project thread.




Total cost is around $48.