Windscreen suction mounts,is it just me or ?
Discussion
Do these things ever,ever work properley and permanentley or am i just unlucky or what? 
Ive had many gps and phone windscreen suction mounts used on many different vehicles over the years but its just a never ending routine having to stick them back onto the windscreen after they repeatedley drop off without warning.
Today was a typical example,i was trying out a new sat nav,i cleaned a small area of the windscreen thouroughly,cleaned the suction cup and mounted it to the windscreen,it seemed to have a good hold when i tried tugging at it with my hand,but within a mile it had dropped off three times.
After reaching my destination and removing the sat nav from the holder and putting it in the glove box,i returned a short while later and sure enough the suction mount was lying on top of the dashboard yet again.
Does anyone here mount their holders by fastners to the top of the dashboard or can anyone reccomend a good adhesive that will stick well to both the windscreen and the suction cup material?
Ive had many gps and phone windscreen suction mounts used on many different vehicles over the years but its just a never ending routine having to stick them back onto the windscreen after they repeatedley drop off without warning.
Today was a typical example,i was trying out a new sat nav,i cleaned a small area of the windscreen thouroughly,cleaned the suction cup and mounted it to the windscreen,it seemed to have a good hold when i tried tugging at it with my hand,but within a mile it had dropped off three times.
After reaching my destination and removing the sat nav from the holder and putting it in the glove box,i returned a short while later and sure enough the suction mount was lying on top of the dashboard yet again.
Does anyone here mount their holders by fastners to the top of the dashboard or can anyone reccomend a good adhesive that will stick well to both the windscreen and the suction cup material?
I've never, ever known a screen mount to fall off the screen and that's often using two over thousands of miles at a time in cars varying from an Audi A8 to a 1963 Riley 1.5. All I do is lick a finger and run it round the bit that fastens to the screen - I've had phones and satnavs fall from mounts but the mount itself has always stayed firmly attached to the glass.
Personally I hate them stuck on the screen too but there's nowhere else to fix them to in the Riley which shakes and vibrates more than any other car I've driven. However, it never has any suction problems and that's with cheapy £5 screen mounts for my phone. I haven't yet found a satisfactory alternative for the A8 as the Brodit mount I would have bought has to be stuck to the wood trim which I don't much care for.
talksthetorque said:
Work harder and instead of having to by the base spec car you can buy one with satnav built in is surely the PH answer.
The lever reduces the air pressure, but unless the edge of the seal is airtight, it will lose air. Vaseline round the edge, if that doesn't work, nothing will.
I would buy the top of the range model with built in satnav but I find it raises the centre of gravity and affects the handling.The lever reduces the air pressure, but unless the edge of the seal is airtight, it will lose air. Vaseline round the edge, if that doesn't work, nothing will.
Having the satnav in the passenger seat not only lowers the centre of gravity but is marginally better for lateral weight distribution.
In my 12 year old X-type.
Edited by Shuvi McTupya on Sunday 3rd May 08:46
talksthetorque said:
Work harder and instead of having to by the base spec car you can buy one with satnav built in is surely the PH answer.
The lever reduces the air pressure, but unless the edge of the seal is airtight, it will lose air. Vaseline round the edge, if that doesn't work, nothing will.
I often use add-on satnavs in upmarket cars with built-in devices - easier to set the destination, better quality traffic, camera and speed limit info, in my experience also better routes and more accurate arrival times. I also like to be able to create routes on my laptop using Google Maps and transfer the route with many via points to the satnav, and I have not had a car in which the built-in unit allows you to do that. On the other hand built-in units do have some advantages about from tidiness and not needing a dangling wire - they normally find themselves more quickly, they know what direction you are facing even when you are not moving, the audio directions lower the radio volume, and the displays are often larger.The lever reduces the air pressure, but unless the edge of the seal is airtight, it will lose air. Vaseline round the edge, if that doesn't work, nothing will.
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