Ford focus query (parking sensors)

You can get a kit which fits as a surround for the rear number plate - much easier to fit, with a lot less drilling involved.

Get the type that just has a metal strip that glues to the inside face of the bumper, much neater, works well and no holes to drill crooked.

I experimented with placement of standard sensors on a spare old bumper on my SD1 - and positioning is pretty important if you want them to work well. Ended up with the outside ones just into the corner of the bumper for best results. Can't see how ones in the middle of the car would work as well.

The original Ford OEM ones fit in the black rubbing strip.

Dave Plowman (News) presented the following explanation :

Problem then is that they pick up reflection from walls and other things you are parking alongside if they are too close to the corners. Placement is critical, my own self installed ones tend to detect stones, kerb stones and even low kerbs.

Even better is a reversing camera and they are not now that expensive, you can't beat actually being able to see what is behind you and how far you really are from it.

Indeed. You don't want to graze a wall either when parking in the dark.

Yup. I'm happy to know about kerbs too.

I'm not sure a camera would be good for distance judging?

You fit them facing quite steeply down, then you can judge quite well. Costco had a kit for about 50 quid, take a look next time you go.

Dave Plowman (News) expressed precisely :

Understood, but false positives can tend to mean you might ignore the real positives.

That depends upon the angle that the camera looks out at. I can reliably stop bumper 2" away from an object using a camera. I have one of each type, reversing sensor and camera fitted to two vehicles. I don't get the same level of feedback from a parking sensor - most seem to offer only three distance warnings. With the camera I can see 15 feet of space behind me as measured at ground level, including my rear bumper at the bottom edge of the screen.

Well you could always add two laser pointers :-)

In message , Duncan Wood writes

Nah, two pieces of dowel arranged a'la dambusters, just have to jump out and arrange the relevant towers on every parking space and Bob's your uncle..

I thought your parking would have been perfect by instinct, like your driving?

But in any case, I'm curious. to get the fielof of view you describe, I'm guessing the camera is mounted on the boot lid or the top of an estate hatch? Can you see both ends of the rear bumper, i.e. what the corner is about to hit?

What system is it? I've been thinking about that sort of thing myself.