Definitive baby seats thread?

[lookingfora944]

I will soon be a proud father of twins, well late November anyway I have had my 944 S2 for only 8 months and in that time I have come to love it so much that I cannot bear to part with it.
Is there anyway on this earth I can keep it or will I have to bow to pressure and buy a Ford?

Are there any forward facing baby seats that will do for a baby of 6 months+ for example? Not too fussed about getting them into the car when they are real babies as I can probably borrow the in-laws car for the first 6 months or just buy a pile of trash to cover that period. But I don't want to be a Ford driver!

 

[simkin911]

Congratulations. Twins! Fantastic. []

I'm interested here too... I have a 10 mth old who is fed up travelling in a Passat and wants to go with Daddy! I haven't looked into this at all either so will watch this thread develop.

 

[Buddy]

When I had my front engined cars I used to be a member of Tipec and at the car shows our cars had the largest number of those fitted with kiddy seats, about 15 years ago.

In those days most got sorted at Halfords although Porsche do their own too ££££

 

[Ewan]

I use a Recaro Young Expert in the front of my 944 and 996, which is a forward facing seat for children between 9 and 18 kg (this is the size of seat kids have when they change from rear to front facing). This is one of the few seats that fits in Porsche sports seats without crushing the base or side bolsters. Beware not to buy the Recaro Expert, it has to be the Young Expert - the bases are different and only the Young Expert fits between the bolsters. I'm very pleased with it - top quality and easy to fit and swap from one car to the other. From memory it cost about £150 from an internet supplier, so is cheaper than the Porsche equivalent. If you need child seats for the back, then I can't help - I couldn't find anything to fit the back seats of a 944.

 

[diabloam]

interesting post as I have my first baby due on in January and the subject of car seats has come up, I've got a Discovery and a Clio also, so not stuck but really like the idea of taking little one in the future out and about in my 944, the Recaro Young Expert sounds interesting. However is there any solution for getting a baby in the back of a 944 safely or is it just way too small a space?

 

[deafasapost]

i've tried a number of seats for the rear, and up to now, nothing will fit.

the front, no problem. i found the brittax http://www.mothercare.com/Britax-Eclipse-Car-Seat-Jet/dp/B004EYHUVA?ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_1&nodeId=44470031&sr=1-1&qid=1310336307&pf_rd_r=0790HRSPN096QQEP0N6P&pf_rd_m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=44470031&pf_rd_p=231490867&pf_rd_s=related-tab-3-5 i got it from mothercare) fits great without squashing the bolsters. junior also has lots of room for his legs and the wife can (just) squeeze in the rear seat behind him.

good luck with the twins, your certainly going to have your hands full!

 

[supersport]

I have a Romer Prince for sale at the moment which we used to use in the back of the 911. This is front facing for 9months to about 4 year, or 9-18Kg. Ours is a Mercedes branded on, they also come in Peugot and Renault I think.

If you are interested I can take a couple of pictures of it in the back of the 944 so you can see what it is like.

Until yesterday we also had a MaxiCosi Rodi which is the next seat on and also fitted in the back but the wife flogged it cheap at a car boot yesterday.

 

[deafasapost]

mark, will the rodi and romer fit just using lap belts? the prob the cab has is that it only uses lap belts.

cheers.

 

[Fat Albert]

Somewhere i have the text from a thread on the 968 forum from the MD of Recaro UK that details what seats fit in the rear of a coupe and how.
for a Convertible with only lap belts I don't know if anything will fit safely.
What I have seen parked up at TWG is a Cab with mini 4 point harnesses in the rear which looked a neat solution for when they are older.

For Booster seats I have tried a lot and the best fitting ones are these halfords ones:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_714407_langId_-1_categoryId_165554
They are available in Blue and Red and they have a curved base that fits the shape of the rear seats, of course in reality the rear seats are much safer without a booster seat as that is what they were designed for...but try telling plod that!

 

[944Turbo]

Congratulations!


see here

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=576789&mpage=1&key=seat&#576795


this,
Also discovered that a britax prince (9-18kg) car seat fits in the back with the roof up not sure how well the lap strap works with it, though it is designed to be safe with a lap strap, it might need a slightly different strap to work. The Britax fitment guide says it wont fit in the back of a 944 but will fit in the back of a 968 should fit in the front on both.

Bought one from argos last year - so fairly current seat - rubbish with the standard lap belt, but a different lap belt may work or see this thread
http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=570755&mpage=1&key=straps
This seat wont fit in the back with the roof down though and its 9months to 4 years (group 1)

Also this might help with other seat options

Discovered this the other day (for bigger kids)
http://www.quickfitsbs.com/gallery_porsche.asp
scroll down to bottom for 944 cab

its in this thread http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=574386&mpage=1&key=belt&#578918 but porsche prince is different from the one above!
Tony

 

[sawood12]

Finding a seat that fits in the car, and a seat that is safe (or as safe as these things can be) are two completely different things altogether. I used a Brittax seat (can't remember the name of it right now) that was specified on the Brittax car selector as being the seat for the 924/944/968 for both three point and lap belts, and could be fit in the rear or the passenger seat. Sure enough it fit fine within the rear seat bolsters, but in my view it was not safe. You couldn't tension the belt properly and the seat could rotate quite alot before the seatbelt took up the slack. Also, even with the front seat slid fully forward and the back as upright as it could go, there was not enough room between the face of the child and the rear of the seat - even if you could tension the seatbelt properly. If you see these slow mo shots of car crashes and see how much heads move forward even when restrained by a seat-belt, then in a crash the babies face would definitely strike the seat in front.

I would say then, as far as safety is concerned, rather than just being legal, a baby seat in the rear is just not safe. There is simply not enough survival space around the baby for anything other than a slow crash. Whenever I used it the baby went in the front seat which was fine, but if the wife was coming with us we either took the Focus or I squeezed her in the back. We bought a cheap Focus for such trips.

These things, to all intents and purposes, are two seaters. You would not want to be in the back during a crash at any age or size. Just because you can fit in, doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Sorry to be negative about this, but that is my honest opinion with nothing but the babies/kid's best interests in mind.

 

[j4mou]

ive checked as we have a 2 week old baby, no seats for babies unless they are 9 months old or older.

gutted!

 

[944Turbo]

ORIGINAL: j4mou

ive checked as we have a 2 week old baby, no seats for babies unless they are 9 months old or older.

gutted!

They will go in the front, but you have to be carefull with seatbelt length.
Tony

 

[supersport]

ORIGINAL: deafasapost

mark, will the rodi and romer fit just using lap belts? the prob the cab has is that it only uses lap belts.

cheers.

The Romer Prince is designed to work with lap belts but the Rodi needs proper belts to work. I have a picture which I can upload.

Here is the pic

The bit with the Mercedes logo on sits over the childs lap and for small children cover most of their bodies. THe lap belt of 3 point (lap and sholder part) slides up into the bit that comes off and you just adjust the belt to tighten it up. This is very similar to the Porsche Prince but the base is not detachable.

 

[944Turbo]

ORIGINAL: sawood12

Finding a seat that fits in the car, and a seat that is safe (or as safe as these things can be) are two completely different things altogether. I used a Brittax seat (can't remember the name of it right now) that was specified on the Brittax car selector as being the seat for the 924/944/968 for both three point and lap belts, and could be fit in the rear or the passenger seat. Sure enough it fit fine within the rear seat bolsters, but in my view it was not safe. You couldn't tension the belt properly and the seat could rotate quite alot before the seatbelt took up the slack. Also, even with the front seat slid fully forward and the back as upright as it could go, there was not enough room between the face of the child and the rear of the seat - even if you could tension the seatbelt properly. If you see these slow mo shots of car crashes and see how much heads move forward even when restrained by a seat-belt, then in a crash the babies face would definitely strike the seat in front.

I would say then, as far as safety is concerned, rather than just being legal, a baby seat in the rear is just not safe. There is simply not enough survival space around the baby for anything other than a slow crash. Whenever I used it the baby went in the front seat which was fine, but if the wife was coming with us we either took the Focus or I squeezed her in the back. We bought a cheap Focus for such trips.

These things, to all intents and purposes, are two seaters. You would not want to be in the back during a crash at any age or size. Just because you can fit in, doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Sorry to be negative about this, but that is my honest opinion with nothing but the babies/kid's best interests in mind.

Well in a heavy accident, the slack in the seatbelts (the ones holding the seat and the ones holding the child) could allow the child to hit the seat in a focus (maybe) certainly a fiesta/polo and the greater distance would allow greater acceleration before the impact, potentially causing more damage, so there is an argument for having the front seat right in front of the child.

However I do agree the seat I mentioned above doesn't fit in the rear with the standard seatbelts very well - its the plastic around the receptacle belt. However different seatbelts on the standard mounting points could resolve the issue. or other straps in the rear

The other thing is, the 944 may allow you to swerve/brake/accelerate out of trouble avoiding an accident whereas an old smoker may not.

Tony

 

[supersport]

My lad has been in the back of our 911 and the 944 since he was 9 months old and I have never been completely convinced that he is competely safe, as stated above the rear seats are very close to the front seats. The only time I was completely convinced was last Christmas when he was wedged in with bedding although he wasn't so impressed.

But then life isn't completely risk free, we go on trains with no belts, buses which are driven appallingly with no belts, he rides his bike and so on. With the 911 it was a weekend car and I took the attitude that if had bought it from new, then the rear belts were an option and there were no child seats. The world changes, the rules change and so do our attitudes to risk, sadly in the wrong direction in my opinion.

I am 6ft 5 and these cars are a tight fit so I wouldn't want to have an accident in one either, no abs, air bags, self tensioning belts, side impact bars and so on. What's the alternative, sit at home and hope that nothing horrible happens, or accept that the risk and go out and enjoy the world.

Now when it comes to kids the modern world seems to want to wrap them in bubble wrap etc, but I don't buy it. That doesn't mean you don't need to be aware of the risks and the situations you are going into. If I spent my life driving the motorway networks with my lad in the back, I might think differently, but then I don't want to die or be maimed either.

At the end of the day you have to make your own mind up about how you feel and all you can do is look at the available information and come to a decision.

 

[944Turbo]

Thought of an analogy for the seats being close - would you rather be punched in the face by someone starting an inch away or 2 feet? The preferable outcome is of course not getting punched, but how big a back seat do you need to avoid this? - there are of course many variables, size/weight of child, type of restraint, softness of seat cushion, tension of belts etc etc.

Tony

PS been in one accident in the last 20 years - french women hit the (very) rear side of my Audi A6 with my daughter in the car - If we had been in the Porsche she would have passed behind and missed.

 

[simch1]

Yes, we have the recaro Young Sport and it fits a treat in the front of the S2, for my 3 year old.

Far better than the "stick her in the rear bucket seat with the lap belt and a roll of Kitchen roll down by her side to stop her sliding about" option!! ....

come on, we've all done it...!

As a 7 year old, I spent many a happy hour bombing up and down motorways in the boot of my dad's (then new) 928! Surprisingly roomy for a kip!

 

[lookingfora944]

Thanks for all the very helpful advice guys.
I am probably resigned to selling my beloved car come November but it will be well worth it as we have been trying for many years
So another 944 will come onto the market. It's a bloody good one too