We install dash cams in all sorts of vehicles, from daily drivers to supercars that only get driven once or twice a week. One thing to note on high end exotics is the issue of battery drain. Because vehicles like this McLaren 570S have an expensive lithium ion battery, it is particularly important to not put any stress on it and cause premature wear. Furthermore, because these cars aren't driven as often, the batteries go under even more stress since they have to go longer in between charges.
The standard hardwire kit that comes with parking mode equipped dash cams will run off of the car's battery until it drops to a preset cutoff voltage. While this will allow your car to still start up, the regular discharging does cause wear and tear to the battery. Not only that but even when the camera does hit the cutoff voltage (for example 12.2V), most new cars have plenty of other electronics that will continue to drain the battery long after the dash cam has turned off.
External Battery Pack
For a car like this McLaren, we will only install a parking mode dash cam with an external battery pack. These battery packs are designed to charge only under accessory power and will stop charging as soon as the engine is turned off. In doing so, we prevent adding any stress to the car's lithium ion battery and avoid warranty related issues.
As a bonus, the capacity of the Cellink Neo battery pack is that it can offer significantly longer parking recording time than a standard hardwire kit. It takes about 45 minutes to fully charge (when hardwired) and can keep the Thinkware F800 Pro 1CH installed in our customer's 570S running for more than 24 hours!
Parking mode recording is important to have for a car like this. Due to the low nose, it's easy for larger vehicles without reverse cameras to back into them, resulting in thousands of dollars of damage. Furthermore, customers have reported that people often touch or even sit on cars like these to pose for a photo op!
To schedule your dash cam installation, contact us today!