Waterford Hills in Audi S4

[toolo4sno]

Here is my Youtube page. There are 9 recent uploads featuring HLT in action. At least the data collection side.

http://www.youtube.com/user/2lo4sno

[lunat1ck]

Nice videos!! I really like Dashware's G-force display. Very nice.

I've got a question for you about the external mics. I also use a GoPro 2, with one external mic, and for now I just mount it with some velcro inside the cup holders on my car's center console. That puts the mic near the center of interior fo the car, and it picks up sound without too much wind interference, but I'm not getting the satisfying engine/tire noises I want to hear.

So 2 questions: (a) where are you mounting the two mics in your car, and (b) what are you using (if anything) to mix the two signals before they get to the camera? I was under the possibly mistaken impression that you would have to use a simple mic mixer to produce a useable signal for the GoPro2, instead of say a standard Y-connector for a pair of headphone cables.

I'm very happy with the video's I produce right now using Race Render (which I'll almost certainly continue using to merge videos form the multiple cameras I use), but Dashware looks like it does much better data overlay. I'm also not thrilled with the sound quality, hence my questions above.

I've been thinking seriously about permanently mounting a few mics in strategic places on the car's chassis, specifically to pick up engine, exhaust, and tire sounds better. Hell, I already have 8 GoPro mounts permanently fixed to various places on the car, so what's a couple more bits of hardware?

[lunat1ck]

One question was answered by reading your YouTube video text: Tascam DR-40 4 Track recorder

Which begs the next question: what kind of mics are you using?

[toolo4sno]

Behringer C-2s are in the engine compartment and a cubby hole behind the Rear Left wheel well inside facing the exhaust. I wish I had a better spot for the exhaust mic, but it works for now and the cables don't have a ton of slack.

Not sure why these aren't resizing, but here are some photos.

Rear Mic location. I don't want either mic. hard mounted so I had to devise a springy mounting method for each.


Front Mic location above turbos. Cable tied to a large rubber grommet just inside internal engine firewall.


Front Mic location wider out.


Cables come together at the rear of the center console. I can stow away the one from the front in an ash tray. There is a USB port to the left that powers the Tascam.

[lunat1ck]

That is a *sweet* setup!! Thanks for the up close look at how you put it all together. Nice bit of ad hoc engineering.

OK, I'm inspired to see what I can do with my 09 Mustang GT and some creative use of cable ties. I am going to attempt to mount the exhaust cameras underneath the car and run the cable back into the interior somehow. I want to pick up the sound of my treadware 200 tires screaming through the turns, as well as the exhaust sounds of course.

The goal will be to experiment with a variety of mic locations, and see how things turn out.

I take it the point of not hard mounting them was to avoid vibration?

[toolo4sno]

Yes, minimizing excessive vibrations was the goal. I mounted either external mic. inside a compartment to lessen wind noise, as that seems to be the killer. My 2.7L engine's exhaust isn't a low bellowing sound; so I'd like to be closer, but not worth the wind noise cancelling that out. I just haven't found a place I'm happy with. Plus I have the cables with minimum slack; so I'd probably have to cut and route new ones. I am happy with how long the mics have held up in those positions. I've had them mounted that way most of this year w/ 3 track days in there. I was hoping to hear the turbo noises with the engine mic, but I seem to hear the air diverting during shifts more than anything. Those two work pretty darn good though. And, when not battling wind noise, my interior mics pick up stereo for any passing and such.

Edit:

I forgot to mention that I ultimately went with the 4 track recorder to do a pseudo 5.1. The center channel is the mic in the engine compartment. The two stereo fronts are the built-in mics on the recorder behind me, and the rear channels (based off 1 mic) is the exhaust. I copy the exhaust channel into the LFE (sub) channel. If I had a low rumble exhaust my subs would be hopping, but alas that isn't so. Both external mics pick up the tire noise well. Either way Youtube in their infinite wisdom doesn't do 5.1; so it's just my personal copies.