[abirnale]

Experiment with 3M PPF
Here is a bit of background: I have been visiting 3M Koramangala for past many days - right from the CR70 films, to roof wrap and occasional wash/ wax polish. Every time I visit them, I see cars of all category getting PPF (paint Protection Films). I have always said this: the cars that cost downwards of 25-30 lakhs would be cheaper to paint as whole than buying these PPF and applying it all over the car. This is precisely the reason TheRedSparkle does not have any protection on exterior whatsoever. Sometimes this is a personal choice or that extra TLC you want to offer to your car as you treat it closer to your heart. On this topic, I had a good conversation with Vinay, who owns this 3M Koramangala franchise. While in conversation with him, we observed some serious paint chips on the bonnets - clearly the casualty inflicted due to highway runs - following the heavy vehicles at speed is sure shot recipe for such damages. The other part we noticed getting small scratches are headlights - since these are the parts that don’t have many creases and complexities, a quick decision to try PPF on these and observe how it goes for a few months/ maybe a year is the obvious choice for me.

Technically, one need not wrap entire car in PPF - You could just choose the areas that take most beating or the battle-scars such as bumpers, doors, bonnet or headlights, A-B-C-D pillars. Though, to my kind of usage, I doubt if the select areas will suffice - TheRedSparkle got scratches everywhere! And then the bumpers and doors are already scratched!

So we proceed with trying the PPF on bonnet and headlights to experiment with. 3M offered an option of using their best of the line PPF film (https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b5005352002/). With all qualities listed on this URL, explanation from experts in 3M, all I needed now is to get the car to their place and rest they will take care.

Thus, last week, we finally applied the PPF on the bonnet and headlights! I took the bitter pill in the hope that it turns sweet soon I am going to post the feedback as this thing ages and how I find this experience. As per 3M, this doesn’t expect to discolour into yellowish shade. And has much better hydrophobic effect. Anytime here is a scratch on it, all it needs is parking under sun for a few hours and the film will heal itself.

Process of Application: A thorough cleaning is first step to the prep followed by polishing of the surface to the prefect detail to ensure there are no dust or other foreign particles on the surface. This is the most important step and my first realisation on the level of detail this thing demands! The difference in work is evident at every step - a professional approach throughout. Use of materials, towels, space being cordoned off for access, lighting to ensure nothing is missed - everything is just great. It was a great experience for me to see how these things are done. While the staff was busy with the work, I had opportunity to ask all kind of stupid and smart questions to the SMEs there. The 3M may appear pricey but their highest level of skills and professionalism makes up for the peace of mind.

We took some pictures during this process:





















Some fun facts: I didn’t know the DNA of 3M as a company till this moment. I always thought they are the post-it notes and double sided tape company with some automotive products! Thats just the tip of the iceberg - they are spread from home/ healthcare/ automotive to large industrial applications!

I *may* wrap few more parts/ exposed areas with this same PPF if it continues to hold after next 6 months or so. Since the film is self-healing and can easily takes bruises, I am considering them to be used on A-B-C-D pillars where I get the thorny bushes scratching on the car. For now, the bonnet and headlights should be able to breath a sigh of relief as they face the small stones chipping away their piece of surface!

Oh and you know what - every time you shine the car and clean it, the very next day or same evening, you expect it to rain :( The best part though - #TheRedSparkle is expected to shine anyway - the rain, mud or sun. She ain’t a garage queen - we are meant to explore our country together! The rains are here, so is lush greenery. Here is the hope for another fantastic year of monsoon drives, incredible exploration of my country and tons of beautiful memories to live for the rest of the life.

The pic taken in the low-lit basement parking of my home - same evening after fitting and when it rained:



Stay tuned for more updates and wish me best to continue to explore our incredible country!

[mukeshc18]

Originally Posted by abirnale

Installing a dashboard Camera

I chose the cost-optimum 70mai: https://www.nexdigitron.com/collecti...products/a800s This is a dual channel setup with ability to take about 128GB SD Card, 4K front and HD at back. The order generally arrives in metros within 24-36 hours.

Does it get heated in Sun? Read about problem with batteries in hot weather.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by mukeshc18

Does it get heated in Sun? Read about problem with batteries in hot weather.

Technically, yes. But it did survive the 40 degrees for a week when it was parked out in the sun while I was in MH.

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by abirnale

I chose the cost-optimum 70mai: https://www.nexdigitron.com/collecti...products/a800s This is a dual channel setup with ability to take about 128GB SD Card, 4K front and HD at back.

If M&M wants to do something about this: they should make SVR footage accessible from Adrenox directly and some processing of those videos to make them look viewable from each angle individually.

Really don't know why M&M does not want us to access the videos without opening the entire panels & removing the SD card physically?

Are they waiting for the apt time, if at all any, to let us access the recordings?

Myself also in a similar predicament to buy an external dashcam or not!

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by Vasuki

Really don't know why M&M does not want us to access the videos without opening the entire panels & removing the SD card physically?

Are they waiting for the apt time, if at all any, to let us access the recordings?

Myself also in a similar predicament to buy an external dashcam or not!

You should buy the external dashcam and use a suitable SD card for it - usually marketed as "endurance" or "CCTV" cards.

The standard SD card used by Mahindra (tuned for reads and not writes) is a bad choice for write-heavy applications like a dashcam and the card will go bad in a matter of (low double digit) months. That's not a fault with the "quality" of the card, just what that kind of flash memory is... Changin it to a fancy "pro" card with higher speed ratings will not change this reliability issue. A dedicated write-heavy card will last much longer from 4 - 10x longer.

Also, larger the SD card size, lower the write cycles for a given duration of video and so that will also lead to longer lifetime (applies to both kinds of cards). So a 32GB card is a terrible choice - probably boils down to ancient software/libraries used in the firmware that are limited to reading FAT32 formatted disks. A similar 128GB card will last about 4x longer and a 128GB "endurance" card will likely last another 4x (varies) or more longer (ie 16x or more longer). Many good dashcams on the market support cards as large as 256GB.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by Transmission

You should buy the external dashcam and use a suitable SD card for it - usually marketed as "endurance" or "CCTV" cards.

Thanks. You make a valid point. Our wish-list is a little different though. This isn’t about type of card or size of card - those problems will come much later if we solve basics first.

• Existing SD card is installed by ASC. It sits inside the base of A pillar on the co-driver side hidden under the panel. Not an average joe’s cup of tea to access that panel/ SD card slot to do whatever we want to do!
• The recordings are two kinds - the cameras used for SVM are not the wide angle 140 degree kind as in dash-cams. These cameras and software is specially built to weave/ stitch multiple camera feeds into one to make them 3D surround view.
• When you look at individual image, it is almost impossible to read number plates of other vehicles. They are not the HD videos.

The next level problem is where your points come in. All of the recordings etc are managed by Adrenox system. It has its own limitation of what is the max size of SD card it can take! The point is basic lack of features to easily access the footage - let alone quality, size, durability, etc. Due to these things, its meaningless for most of us as owners to digest the marketing bullet point as - XUV7OO has onboard dash-camera. Technically they are right but it is jsut the tick in the box for the sake of it.

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by abirnale

Thanks. You make a valid point. Our wish-list is a little different though. This isn’t about type of card or size of card - those problems will come much later if we solve basics first.

• Existing SD card is installed by ASC. It sits inside the base of A pillar on the co-driver side hidden under the panel. Not an average joe’s cup of tea to access that panel/ SD card slot to do whatever we want to do!
• The recordings are two kinds - the cameras used for SVM are not the wide angle 140 degree kind as in dash-cams. These cameras and software is specially built to weave/ stitch multiple camera feeds into one to make them 3D surround view.
• When you look at individual image, it is almost impossible to read number plates of other vehicles. They are not the HD videos.

The next level problem is where your points come in. All of the recordings etc are managed by Adrenox system. It has its own limitation of what is the max size of SD card it can take! The point is basic lack of features to easily access the footage - let alone quality, size, durability, etc. Due to these things, its meaningless for most of us as owners to digest the marketing bullet point as - XUV7OO has onboard dash-camera. Technically they are right but it is jsut the tick in the box for the sake of it.

I agree with all of that

I see that my original comment might not have been worded clearly to reflect my intent - I was only providing Vasuki with some info that should make it easier for him to justify buying an external dashcam thats actually usable by the end-user as opposed to relying on the arcane system that ships as the 360 cam system with the XUV 700. With any tech product (as is the XUV 700) I'd not count on any significant usability improvement coming in the future - what you get when you buy is almost always the final product (and I agree with you that the 360 cam on the XUV700 is a missed opportunity for Mahindra to provide an even better feature in the form of a surround dashcam. Almost there...)

[anandkumargb]

@abirnale

Where in Bangalore did you get the dash cam installed. My nearby accessories guy insists on buying his dash cam which is not the make I want.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

Where in Bangalore did you get the dash cam installed.

Konark's The House Of Car Accessories
094485 17921
https://maps.app.goo.gl/iF294GbKExL8cqfG6?g_st=ic

They also sell 70mai/ DDPAI dashcams. Typically they charge you anything between 700-1000Rs. The job can be done in less than 30 mins.

[kedar_GT]

Originally Posted by abirnale

Installing a dashboard Camera

The installation was done at local accessory shop under my observation: ensuring the hardwiring is done without affecting any electronics/ wiring and or functionality. No cutting or splicing of any panels or wires or otherwise!

The fuse to be tapped from the inside cabin fusebox - I am not using parking recording since my parking place has my own CCTV setup as well as at work its secured.

Hi abirnale, I did not follow the point of hardwiring the dashcam and not using the parking mode. In that case, why did you hardwire it? And after hardwiring it, won't it keep the camera on (assuming you have tapped the fuse from an always-on source)
OR have you disabled the parking more off in the app (am assuming) and kept yourself an option of using the parking mode, if needed? Please help clarify ...

Thanks

[masterChief007]

I had fixed my Nexdigitron myself using the USB charger from the cigarette lighter, but this keeps rebooting the camera. It's irritating ting-tong sound sometimes forces me to pull the plug out. Have to get it fixed using the fuse-box, as I am suspecting that the car charger voltage/consistency might not be appropriate, and thus causing reboots. I don't want to use the always on fuse but only when the car is started.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by kedar_GT

Hi abirnale, I did not follow the point of hardwiring the dashcam and not using the parking mode. In that case, why did you hardwire it?

Originally Posted by masterChief007

I had fixed my Nexdigitron myself using the USB charger from the cigarette lighter, but this keeps rebooting the camera.

The hardwiring addresses the question @masterChief007 asked.
The hardwiring includes tapping three connectors: a trigger that sends the signal to dash-cam when the car is ON and OFF, a constant source of battery power and finally a negative terminal for grounding.

This allows me to exercise my choice whenever I want - currently parking mode is disabled from App. If need be, I can enable it from App. AdrenoX as such drains a lot of battery (Early examples from other cars I have read on forum of battery being dead are still on my mind) and hence I am exercising caution. So far having this hardwiring (see the ref picture of what fuses are tapped) hasn’t created any issues with battery health or drain. Of course I still do not have a prolongated rest to car. It moves out of its parking place at least once a day. I may use the parking recording someday when I am away from places and feel need to record even when car is parked. It’s just an App setting now.

Using USB drive takes away one charging port that my car occupant could use. Hence no to usb. Also, usb power is highly dependent on car’s running status, acc power supply logic on board, and that frequent start and stop if dash-can will be due to this. Not many dash-cams have capacitors that can hold charge for more than a minute to keep dash-cam running even when the primary power is cut off. So you will continue to get that frequent ting-tong music as cam starts and shuts down. Let alone the inconvenience of I trusted recordings and missed recording opportunities when cam restarts.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by abirnale

we observed some serious paint chips on the bonnets - clearly the casualty inflicted due to highway runs - following the heavy vehicles at speed is sure shot recipe for such damages. The other part we noticed getting small scratches are headlights - since these are the parts that don’t have many creases and complexities, a quick decision to try PPF on these and observe how it goes for a few months/ maybe a year is the obvious choice for me.

Technically, one need not wrap entire car in PPF - You could just choose the areas that take most beating or the battle-scars such as bumpers, doors, bonnet or headlights, A-B-C-D pillars. Though, to my kind of usage, I doubt if the select areas will suffice - TheRedSparkle got scratches everywhere! And then the bumpers and doors are already scratched!

So we proceed with trying the PPF on bonnet and headlights to experiment with.

I went through the same phase as well. Initially I was not convinced with PPF but after a few paints chips during the first two highway drives, I went ahead with PPF for the bonnet, front bumper, head lights and ORVMs.

[Shashank700]

Originally Posted by abirnale

Installing a dashboard Camera

The XUV7OO comes with surround view monitoring (SVM) and an ability to store the footage on a add-on SD Card which dealers/ service centre staff can install on your demand at an additional cost. This entire SVM functionality serves two purposes:

How is the 70mai cost optimum?

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by Shashank700

How is the 70mai cost optimum?

Of course it’s subjective!

My earlier car had Thinkware F770. I had imported it from out of country through my friend and it still costed considerably. Compared to all options you have in market such as 70mai, DDPAI, Thinkware, Transcend and what not, a 4K front/ 1080P rear, dual channel, in built display, ability to take large SD card, connection over Wifi with descent speed for download, and 14,999 price tag with country wide warranty/ service support - I couldn’t ask for more. IMO - it is value for money.

Also, there is a detailed thread since 2013 on the forum - varying views and experiences. Go through this: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...vr-thread.html (The Dashcam / Car Video Recorder (DVR) Thread)