We have used Ram Mount in race cars. The phone holder part is Ram Mount X-Grip, and rest of the mount are generic Ram Mount parts. You'll find there's handle bar, roll bar and suction cup attachment bits. You can also find different holder bits, if you want to attach action camera later, as these holders are much more solid as the ones that come with GoPro for instance.
Resurrecting this. I'm looking into better phone and camera mounts.
The GoPro one works ok so far, but is kind of bulky. It's solid enough, but all the big angled arms make placing the camera a little more difficult than necessary.
The phone mount I have is now lacking; I noticed in the last track day the phone slowly moving during the session until it ended up pointed at the passenger. While not a safety issue at all, it did make for an entertaining--but mostly useless--accelerometer trace. There is so much noise due to the mount vibrating and moving around that it's hard to learn much there. Plus the new phone won't even fit in the old mount (old phone is now a dedicated telemetry device running RC).
I've been looking at the RAM mounts. They appear sturdy, but I'd like to hear direct from users in track use.
I use Ram Mount almost exclusively now. I have bits to attach the other end to handle bar, roll bar and window, and the other end to phone (x-grip piece), GoPro case (not standard Ram Mount bit but available in ebay), 1/4" tripod thread etc. Ram Mounts are very strong and do not more once tightened, but also quite heavy.
Having all different bits is very handy as I don't have to carry a lot of different mounts. I can build a mount for any application, street car, race car, motorbike, GoPro, Sony ActionCam, phone...
Ram Mount transmits the vibrations differently to some lightweight mounts; the movement is much smaller, but the vibration is much higher frequency. This is because the construction is more solid.
Also one important note about Ram Mount is the adjustability. You never can adjust GoPro mount the way you want as the joints move only one direction. If you need more directions you need to add more joints. And then the arm gets too long and it starts moving. But with Ram Mount you have quite a bit of adjustment on each joint as they are ball joints. You do not have complete 3D adjustment but as you always have two joints, you can manage almost any position relatively easy.
Perfect! Thanks! Sounds like the pieces work just like it seems they should. Heavy is not an issue--probably a benefit actually. Looking through their catalog was making me drool; it's just the kind of modular, customizable system I love.
So, while it's kind of spendy--looking at about $70-80 for the phone mount vs the common $10-15 mounts, it will do what I need. I'm looking at the X-Grip + short 2.38" arm + AMPS-drilled base and a ProClips dash mount for the phone.
Then the nice little GoPro suction mount kit for the main camera and later the V-clamp & hose clamp + short arm + GoPro adapter for the second, interior camera (once the roll bar is purchased & installed).
Comments
The GoPro one works ok so far, but is kind of bulky. It's solid enough, but all the big angled arms make placing the camera a little more difficult than necessary.
The phone mount I have is now lacking; I noticed in the last track day the phone slowly moving during the session until it ended up pointed at the passenger. While not a safety issue at all, it did make for an entertaining--but mostly useless--accelerometer trace. There is so much noise due to the mount vibrating and moving around that it's hard to learn much there. Plus the new phone won't even fit in the old mount (old phone is now a dedicated telemetry device running RC).
I've been looking at the RAM mounts. They appear sturdy, but I'd like to hear direct from users in track use.
Having all different bits is very handy as I don't have to carry a lot of different mounts. I can build a mount for any application, street car, race car, motorbike, GoPro, Sony ActionCam, phone...
Ram Mount transmits the vibrations differently to some lightweight mounts; the movement is much smaller, but the vibration is much higher frequency. This is because the construction is more solid.
Also one important note about Ram Mount is the adjustability. You never can adjust GoPro mount the way you want as the joints move only one direction. If you need more directions you need to add more joints. And then the arm gets too long and it starts moving. But with Ram Mount you have quite a bit of adjustment on each joint as they are ball joints. You do not have complete 3D adjustment but as you always have two joints, you can manage almost any position relatively easy.
So, while it's kind of spendy--looking at about $70-80 for the phone mount vs the common $10-15 mounts, it will do what I need. I'm looking at the X-Grip + short 2.38" arm + AMPS-drilled base and a ProClips dash mount for the phone.
Then the nice little GoPro suction mount kit for the main camera and later the V-clamp & hose clamp + short arm + GoPro adapter for the second, interior camera (once the roll bar is purchased & installed).