[david_acm]

A few months ago, a friend abroad asked me to record the sound of the Camaro. Fast forward to today and I've arrived at the following setup that's relatively cheap.

Results - skip to 6:00 for a highway on-ramp

disregard the video quality as it's easier to test with dashcam video than to setup my camera.

I could not lower the microphone gain enough on my camera to use it to record audio, therefore I used a separate audio recorder. However If you can lower the gain enough on yours then this will not only save you the money of buying an audio recorder but also the hassle of synchronizing audio and video later.


Tools used
- $6 Painter's tape (though I hear Gaffer tape might be better regarding residue)
- $4 Flat head screwdriver optional to help guide cables through small openings

Audio
- $52 used Tascam DR-05 optional (my camera could not lower the gain enough)
- $20 A couple TRS lav mics(I used smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0838YQ6TS, but you'll need a TRRS to TRS adapter to use these)
- $14 TRS extension cables
- $6 Y splitter - Male TRS to Two TS Female

Video
Any camera. Test was done with a dashcam

Mic placement
Since the main thing anyone wants to hear is the exhaust, I placed a lav mic just below the license plate and another inside the engine bay. I found that placing the mic on the bumper gave me the least amount of wind and tire noise.





I've also played around with a stereo exhaust setup (both mics in the back, which I think I prefer). Either way since you will end up with each lav mic recording to either the Left or Right channel, you can mix the audio in post to your liking.

Any additional tips to improve audio recording are more than welcomed!

I took a lot of inspiration from these two videos
[YouTube] Recording Car Audio That Actually Sounds Good! PART 1: Cheap & Easy
[YouTube] Recording Car Engine & Exhaust Sounds w/ 4 Mics (PART 2)