(Part 2) Best products from r/IdiotsInCars

Sorry this happened to you but am happy to hear you and your kids ended up ok from the experience, but hopefully you can get rid of the nerves from the experience.

I have 2 dash cams. On my daily, I have the Van True N2 Pro. Highly recommend it. It can record outside and also can record inside the cabin of the car. Really high quality cam and easy to use too. Here is the link to this dash cam


For my BMW I bought a more discrete cam. It is a dual channel cam so front and back of car are recording. It was a tad more expensive but I was looking for a discrete cam with a screen and it does the job well so far. The quality is really good but I think the Van True quality is better. Here is the link to the Street Guardian Cam I bought

I got the: Z-Edge Z3D Dual Lens Dash Cam, 2.7" Screen Ultra HD 1440P Front & 1080P Rear 150 Degree Wide Angle Front and Rear Dash Cam, Dashboard Camera with GPS, WDR, Low Light Vision, Parking Mode, G-Sensor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M5DWDQS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KDnqDbEMRKB1S

It’s $149.99 plus a $20 off coupon right now on Amazon. I have 2 vehicles & got one for each & have been super pleased with them. They record in 3-5 minute segments & it’s easy to know what’s front & rear since the file names end in A or B. I also love the motion sensor, so if even someone just walks by my vehicle, it’ll pick that up. It has night vision, audio recording (you can turn that off) & it’s pretty easy to install. I got the largest capacity micro SD card that would work with it & that has plenty of room to capture several days of video. It auto-overwrites content once full, so that’s easy.

Costco had a front/rear WiFi dash cam too that looked pretty legit, but I saw that after I’d already bought mine. I’m curious how the WiFi ones work, might be more convenient if they can auto-sync at home. I think this one was around $99.

Whatever you get, I recommend having both front & rear cams. I wasn’t fully sold on that until I saw a post on a local sub asking for help finding a hit & run. They’d gotten hit in the side rear & it was hard to tell from the front footage, but the rear cam caught everything.

I mean. You can call it what you like but if you go shopping for monitors I hope you don't assume advertisments that say 2k are 2048x1080. I get that the film industry was using this term well before QHD was so common but it has been usurped in common usage to mean 1440p. I'll be happy to hear what LiarInGlass has to say as well. I could be wrong about what they meant but it would be really weird for them to suggest the best dash cams on the market are some obscure resolution.

Edit: Here is the first search result for "2K Dashcam"

VAVA Dash Cam 2K Wi-Fi Car DVR 2560x1440 30fps Clear QHD Video Dashboard Camera for iOS & Android On-site Instant Social Media Sharing Videos, Visible License Plate, G-Sensor
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7XBK4K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wxD5CbH8WXR32

It might have been, but I have a 2 or 3watt rear blinkie light. When I ride at night, I'm a damn Christmas tree. I like seeing and knowing I'm seen :)

Good on the cops for keeping everyone safe, I try to give benefit of the doubt as well. I just don't give them a chance either. Most cops are good, but there is always that 10% rule in effect.

I have one of these, and other models. Always keep a spare charged

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E1NQ6T6

China's had a huge rise in car ownership in only a few years, so there's a lot of people driving who had little experience of being driven around or family car ownership. This is creating challenges.

There's an excellent book called Country Driving by Peter Hessler that is partly about this.

Edit: belated link to the book on Amazon. Really recommend it, it's a lot of fun and full of interesting stuff.

He quotes some questions from the written drivers exam, such as:

Q 81: After passing another vehicle you should

a) wait until there is a safe distance between the two vehicles, make a right turn signal, and return to the original lane.

b) cut in front of the other car as quickly as possible.

c) cut in front of the other car and then slow down.


Q 269 When you enter a tunnel you should

a) honk and accelerate.

b) slow down and turn on your lights.

c) honk and maintain speed.

I use SJCAM SJ5000X Elite. They're action cams not dash cams per se but have a dashcam auto-on feature and can record in 4k with good low light visibility. Good value, had mine for about 2.5 years trouble free. I fix it to the windscreen using a "Steelie" (or clone) adhesive/magnetic phone mount + magnet side glued flash hotshoe/tripod adapter (I cut the thread shorter) to screw into the camera mount. Powered by USB cable routed to the cigarette lighter. Easily removeable and can be easily turned to face the action for example if you're parked and something happens to the side of the vehicle. I think GPS and such is pointless in a dashcam, I also switch the microphone off because I swear a lot at other drivers! We only really need video evidence and really mostly to protect against malicious false claims when there usually isn't any other independent witness. (edit: They also have gyro stabilisation and can record at 2k)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074Z6QHR4

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BAQKRHY

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F19K6SN

Any time. Since you said it's a pos tuck I can recommend These as they are foolproof and work great. If you do care about looks though I run these locking aerocatches and they also work great, just a lot more expensive.

i bought a $60 one that attached to my toilet, self cleans, dual nozzle and has a hot water line, they have decreased in price since then. after finding the optimal temperature i dont muck with it at all outside of self clean and turn it on.

if you live somewhere warm-ish, you can get a seat one for as low as $17 that does just cold water and hope thats warm enough for ya.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CWDGGK2/ looks decent and has 3 dials for true control

vs

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SSS2T4B/ this has a handle which controls pressure and temp, which means as you turn it on, you will probably shift the temp accidentally.


i get in, turn on self clean for a few mins to allow it some time to "preheat" and turn it off, do my business and then ive got nice warm water to clean up with :).

Wait, I'm famous??? Lol

And I was recommended the Apeman Dash Cam. I'm just not sure if I want to spend the extra $50 to get the rear camera as well. But I'm a bit tight on budget and have been recommended this one as a good cheap dash cam. It has great reviews, as well.

Here’s a link to the one I use. Works like a dream, easy to install/use, and it’s a great value
Dash Camera
VIOFO Compact A119 V2 (New A119G 2018... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M28B92C?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

SD Card that you want:
Transcend 64GB MicroSDXC Class 10... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016B6AMFY?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

*Camera Lens to minimize glare:
Grohe 46 092 000 Pull-Out Spray... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NAD4MZP?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Not OP but I just got this rear view mirror dash cam with the rear camera for about $60 plus $20 for a memory card and it seems to work pretty well with great reviews that are actual real reviews according to fakespot.com

There's some more expensive fullscreen rear view mirror options but I'm cheap so the former is what I went with.

It depends. It's not your usual driving game. It is shower and requires I've to be more methodical. It can be almost meditative in a way. I really enjoy it, but I've also wanted to be a trucker for as long as I can remember (don't like being away from home most of the time so mad props to truckers).

I would not recommend it if you don't plan to use/buy a steering wheel, pedals, and shifter. I really like driving games so I went in for a really nice one.

Thanks, it’s an apeman dual dashcam. It has a rear view as well. I’ve been pleased with it so far.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GRV85NP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_L9VVDbZZY8Y65

I actually own a set of these specific one. I paid a bit extra to get the extended battery and better antenna.

https://www.amazon.com/GT-3TP-Mark-III-Tri-Power-Transceiver-Upgraded/dp/B014J5RJ7I/ref=sr_1_17?keywords=8w+radio&qid=1572493809&sr=8-17

Really, most of the radios you are going to buy in this class are all based on the UV-5 board (some with slight customizations/differences). Whatever you guy, just make sure it is compatible with CHIRP (open source channel/freq programing software), and buy a USB programming cable.

Since I shared it it sold out haha

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KB2PFHB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VRxwDbDRPKDNQ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app

Not to advertise for them, but I have been using this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073WFJ7HV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has been working really well, you do need to get a micro-SD card. Includes a reverse camera that I swear I will hook up one of these days.

APEMAN 1440P&1080P Dual Dash Cam... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GRV85NP?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I've been meaning to buy one for a while. This video spurred me into action. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07GRV85NP/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A3EIWO8B4N47Q5&psc=1

I bought this one with the 128Gb card and mount. If someone rear ends because they're texting, eating, or reading a damn book, I want video proof so they incur any additional charges for distracted/reckless driving.