Rev Up Your Engines: A Look at Two Excellent Dash Cams

Welcome to Mechanic Monday, where we put actual products through their paces and share our thoughts on the good ones that pass our tests. Today, we're focusing on two excellent dash cams that impressed us with their performance, features, and value.

The first product we're discussing is a high-quality dash cam from China. We've tried out many of these cameras in the past, but unfortunately, most of them are just cheaply made with poor construction and confusing menus. They often take hours to figure out how to use them, and even then, they may not work as expected. But this particular camera is different. It's an actual serious instrument that comes equipped with Sony Exmor sensors, which really work quite well.

The installation process is simple: just plug it into a cigarette lighter or hardwire it to the car if you prefer. The most reassuring feature of this camera is its safety mechanism – when someone tries to steal your dash cam while it's unattended, it will automatically shut down to prevent any unwanted footage from being captured. We've had customers in the past who have tried to steal their dash cams when they're not in use, but our experience with this particular product has shown that it's virtually impossible to do so.

The camera also features a G sensor built-in, which means that if you get into an accident, the machine will sense it and lock down the recording to ensure that all the information is permanently stored on the micro SD card. We were impressed by how easy it was to download the pictures from our laptop or phone once we had plugged in the short cable provided.

One of the most interesting features of this camera is its night vision capability, which allows it to see quite well even in low-light conditions. The dual-camera setup is also an excellent feature that provides a much larger field of view than with regular cameras. We were able to use it as a little spy camera to look around at night, and it proved to be very useful.

Now, the second product we're discussing is a fun, low-tech funnel that may not seem like an obvious candidate for a dash cam review, but trust us, this thing is solid. The main thing we like about this funnel is its versatility – it can reach all kinds of places and is made from strong, flexible plastic. We've been using these things for months without any problems, and they're not going to crack or break easily.

The design of the funnel is clever, with a screw-in top that allows you to add either a quart-sized container or a five-quart container – it's got two sizes built in! The valve system is also really cool, as it allows for quick filling but prevents fast-falling engines like those found on some newer cars. We were impressed by the manufacturer's attention to detail and commitment to creating a product that will last.

As a special offer from Mechanic Monday, we're giving away one of these dual Pro dash cam setups to a lucky winner. To enter, simply leave a clean and non-offensive comment on our YouTube channel comments section below, and we'll randomly select the winner by computer. Whether you want to make driving safer or create great video content, this is an excellent product that's sure to deliver.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines welcome to mechanicMonday where I try out actual productsthen tell you about the good ones thatpass my tests now the first thing I'mtalking about is thisdash cam i have tried out scores ofthese dash cams a lot of the cheaperones are just that cheap the directionssometimes don't even make sense inenglish you plug and it takes sixthousand years to figure out whichbuttons do what and then they don't workat the time this dash cam isn't a toyit's an actual serious instrument it'sgot sony exmor sensors in itthey really work quite well simpleinstallation just plug it in a cigarettelighter or if you really want yethardwired to the car but most people aregonna plug in because then they canunplug it and take it out so somebodydoesn't steal it when it's just sittingthere trust no one these days I've hadcustomers with dash cams they got thewindow broken there so somebody come inand steal the dash cam when you're notusing them take them out put them in theglovebox hide them in the trunkdon't let them sit there because that'sjust another thing that these will seehey I can steal that themselves and thecool thing is when you start the car thedash cam automatically turns itself onso if you get in a wreck you don'thave to say oh I forgot to turn my dashcam on it turns itself on when you turnthe car on it turns itself off when youturn the car off simple operation simpleif you want it to be complicated if youdon't got all kinds of buttons you canset all kinds of shooting speeds howlong the loop is how many minutes thatit shoots and then rerecords and shootsand Reaver cards but perhaps the mostinteresting thing is it's got a G sensorbuilt in so if you get in a wreck themachine senses it knows you're in a wreckit locks the recording so all theinformation is permanently stored on themicro SD card yeah it's made in Chinait's a good product this is one of thefew Chinese products I ever got thatcame with an excellent instructionmanual once you take the pictures itshows you how simple it is to just plugit into yourlaptop or your phone and download thepictures on there if you want in my caseit just said take the short cablethere's a long cable a short one plug itin your computer I plugged it in boomup come the pictures then I candownload them put them on a computersend them whatever I want to do you gotan insurance claim going on you candownload on the video send it right tothem or if you're addicted to thoseRussian car crash videos and you want tocreate your own hey this machine isgreat for that you can upload that stufflike nothing make a video real fastmaybe you'll get lucky and a littlecamera see a meteorite creation on earthand you can sell that to the newsagencies hey the things running all thetime it's recording and whatever's in frontof you and also in back of your and aside if you want this system comes withtwo cameras you can stick the second onewherever you want if you want to havefull coverage front and back or side andwhen I really found fast thing aboutthis camera is its night visioncapability this thing sees at nightquite well it really works at night noone really interesting aspect of this ishere's my camera at night and as you cansee the camera can see the bright lightlike your eye but the rest of it ispretty dark watch what happens whenyou're looking at it through the cameraof this dashcam notice what's a specialinfrared camera you can see thebuildings all around you get a muchbigger field of view with the camera onthe dashcam than with your eyes or withmy regular camera so instead of seeingthis where there's a lot of darknessyou'll get a much brighter viewespecially around the side of what'shappening you can even use it as alittle spy camera to look around atnight if you want as you can see itwon't see much of the naked eye or withmy Panasonic recorder here but with thedashcam and it's night vision you cansee quite a bit so if you're seriousabout a dashcam this dualcamera setup it's an excellent productit's not cheap tor not giving them awaybut it's quality and you get what youpay for if you want a serious dash camnow the second product that I like isreally low-tech instead of a high-tech camerait's a low-tech funnel but man does itwork it's a sealed unit when you're not usingit it goes back together and when youare using it oh you got to do this onscrew the thing comes apart then whenyou're done filling things up guess whatyou put it back together again you knowto worry about it spilling becausewhatever little food is left staysinside now the main thing I like aboutthis is one it can reach all kinds ofplaces there's no arguing that but it'ssolid this is strong plastic this isvery flexible and it's not some cheapthing that's just going to snap afteryou use it a couple of times I've beenusing these things for months and monthsI've had no problems with it they're notgonna crack because this is thick butflexible it's not one of those cheapplastic things that you use a few timesand it breaks it's solid made whenyou're adding oil look the top has ascrew in it just screws right on eitherthe quart so you can put it in for thebig gallon in this case it's actuallyfive quart containers since it's got twosizes built in big ones can go on it toothey just screw on the top where it goesand it's got this tricky valve it'sreally cool if you're in a hurry mostpeople seem to be in a hurry these dayswhen you open this here click that lotsmore air in so when you pour it in theair it comes out here and it actuallyfills up quicker and this actually comesin handy because on the old Toyota youwant it out quick because it flowsreally well but you don't want fastfalling engines like this Lexus v6because look inside here as you can seeinside there's a baffle plate right hereyou pour it in fast it spills up andthen drips all over the exhaust of theengine so on this case you'll want thevent closed so it actually pours in abit slower and you know make a messnow who would have thought you needed atwo-speed funnel where all these ecolube guys did and I wouldn't havethought of making this thing I justthought oh you got a poor it's lowerwell this one forces you to parts lowerand if you're hurryhave to you know put it up and it goesfaster and since its mechanic Monday I'mgiving away one of these dual Prodash cam setups they have a chance towin place a clean non offensivecomment on YouTube comments below andthe winner will be chosen randomly bycomputer to get a really high class dualdash system to make driving that littlebit safer in case you get in the wreckor if you can make a really good videoout of it if you can't see somethingwhile you're driving,so if you never want to miss another oneof my new car repair videos, remember toring that Bell\n"