Child Seat Advice

[Philb1]

Adrian E said:

Philb1 said:

Thanks for that Adrian. I did wonder about them, if they were that good then most people would buy them but have never heard of them.

I think maybe part of the problem for my daughter is that the seat is more upright in my Seat compared to when it was in my wife's Mk6 golf where the seat design seemed to make the same child seat a bit more reclined. My wife saw thread elsewhere that suggested trying a 0-3 years seat as they have a different shape. Do you think that would be a possible option or do you recommend a cabriofix style seat for greater safety.

Thanks again.

There was a period a few years back where Jane were making one and quite a few jumped at it but it took up so much space across the back of a car and lasted such a short period of time before babies were ready to be more upright that it never took off in big numbers, thankfully

I had the same issues with 2 Audis and the Cabriofix seat - in my wife's old a6 it sat quite flat but in my s8 the seat base was much more angled and sprog would end up with his head nodding towards his chest when he fell asleep - I didn't buy the car till he was 8 months old so never experienced how he might have coped with that! It should improve with age and strength but maybe try the same journey in both cars and see if the result varies?!

An infant carrier should last an 'average' baby till more of less 18 months - definitely the safest place for them until they've grown out of it in terms of head protection by the shell and the 13kg weight limit for the seat. My son was 98th %ile for weight and was still in his till 14 months! Long after many of his lighter peers had 'moved up' despite gentle advice to the contrary.....

I think I would rather have this problem in a Audi S8 than my crappy Toledo diesel!

Will see how I get on with the current seat. Might be getting a Honda Accord 2.4 tourer soon so hopefully that will be better suited.

[Adrian E]

Philb1 said:

I think I would rather have this problem in a Audi S8 than my crappy Toledo diesel!

Will see how I get on with the current seat. Might be getting a Honda Accord 2.4 tourer soon so hopefully that will be better suited.

It's 12 years old and has purple leather - it's an acquired taste for most people and the 16mpg isn't that amusing, but I will admit it sounds nice

Accord tourer is nice - bit tight in the rear seat but nice in the front and really good boot space

[lenats31]

w00tman said:

Don't suppose anyone knows is a 2008 Skoda Fabia hatchback is likely to have isofix points? My google skills are lacking..

It is

[sa_20v]

Does anyone know what child seats will fit a 08 Gallardo Superleggera? I've a 2.5yr son who is desperate to join Daddy but most child seats don't appear narrow enough for the carbon buckets.

[Adrian E]

sa_20v said:

Does anyone know what child seats will fit a 08 Gallardo Superleggera? I've a 2.5yr son who is desperate to join Daddy but most child seats don't appear narrow enough for the carbon buckets.

Depends on his weight as much as anything I suspect - if under 15kg, or between 15-18kg, you're stuck with a harness CRS of which most are unlikely to fit the shape of the seats. Does the passenger seat have isofix? If so there should be a recommended seat from Lambo that will fit. If over 18kg then have a look at high back boosters using the adult seatbelt, ideally held in place (note not restraining the child) with Isofix. Might be worth looking at what Porsche offer as I'm pretty sure they do specific narrow CRS options for their models which may suit?

[sa_20v]

Adrian E said:

Depends on his weight as much as anything I suspect - if under 15kg, or between 15-18kg, you're stuck with a harness CRS of which most are unlikely to fit the shape of the seats. Does the passenger seat have isofix? If so there should be a recommended seat from Lambo that will fit. If over 18kg then have a look at high back boosters using the adult seatbelt, ideally held in place (note not restraining the child) with Isofix. Might be worth looking at what Porsche offer as I'm pretty sure they do specific narrow CRS options for their models which may suit?

Thanks for that. No ISOFIX unfortunately. He's coming up to 18kg. Obviously safety is the priority but I don't want to keep turning him down.

[Adrian E]

I'm pretty sure there are manufacturers who offer specific high back boosters for cars with narrow seats - worth looking at BMW at the cheaper end (I suspect!) as well as Porsche.

Most come as either Isofix or non-Isofix but you need to try a few in the car and see if they are stable in the seat base. If you want one that's multi-use most of the Isofix ones will work fine in a non-Isofix car and usually have a velcro strap that goes around the seat back to hold it in place. Isofix at this stage does not restrain the child - it's purely to keep the seat in place and the adult seatbelt does all the work

We've got a BeSafe iZi-up Fix now but it's quite bulky to the sides. The base is quite chunky due to Isofix and a rotating bottom section to give some additional side impact protection - I mention it as the fact the base is quite large might actually help lift the seat enough to clear the wings on the base in your car?

[bungle]

sa_20v said:

Does anyone know what child seats will fit a 08 Gallardo Superleggera? I've a 2.5yr son who is desperate to join Daddy but most child seats don't appear narrow enough for the carbon buckets.

No idea if it will fit, but the Britax DuoPlus Isofix is a fairly thin seat (all relative of course - it's still pretty big, but crucially a little thinner than some others, and hence gets quoted a lot when such Qs are asked).

Of course, Isofix seats can be used in non-Isofix cars as well, as the Isofox points retract. But no idea if they still sell them - I bought ours about 4 years ago!

You are welcome to try mine for fit if you are anywhere near Coventry.

[sa_20v]

Thanks for the advice so far. I've done some measuring and found that the back of the seat pad is 30cm wide, widening to 40cm at the front, although the sides aren't vertical which might help with fitting.

[skip_1]

What do those in the know think about Britax's pivot stop technology, is this the safest system for FF group 1 seats?
Do any of the other manufacturers have a similar technology? My wife is unfortunately insistent on a FF seat.

Also I have noticed that the Accord has top tether. Is top tether any advantage over a foot prop?

[Adrian E]

skip_1 said:

What do those in the know think about Britax's pivot stop technology, is this the safest system for FF group 1 seats?
Do any of the other manufacturers have a similar technology? My wife is unfortunately insistent on a FF seat.

Also I have noticed that the Accord has top tether. Is top tether any advantage over a foot prop?

I have no inside knowledge of how pivot link works compares to comparable products, but given they're all rig tested to give dummy injury criteria it clearly helps Britax achieve the scores it wants. Other companies products may do much the same by similar (but un-named) means, or alternative solutions. The factor that isn't taken into account when rig testing a seat is the cushion stiffness of the material in the car seat, which varies. I imagine in certain circumstances this is designed to manage energy going into the car structure.

A foot prop is a viable alternative to a top tether - a lot of Isofix points in cars are 'only' 2 point so rely on cushion stiffness of the car seat without an anti-rotation device. In those cases a foot prop is the only option. Basically if the seat you choose has one or the other you will be able to use it - just check with a foot prop that you haven't got a false floor under the carpet which in an impact might just give way (Vauxhalls are notorious for having footwell cubbies in their MPVs!)

Look at ADAC test results using Google Chrome to auto translate - it will cover recent designs if you want to compare test scores.

We used a forward facing seat and our son was quite happy with it, but if rear facing seats had been around in greater numbers when we switched from an infant carrier then I would probably have opted for one, especially given he grew out of his group 1 seat pretty early as he was quite heavy for his age!

[skip_1]

Thanks Adrian, I'll do some ADAC research tonight.

We find that our son gets very hot and sweaty in his seat, do you have any experience as to wether the 'cooling' fabric covers are effective?

[zURG]

Rearward or forward, what's the difference safety wise?

[boobles]

zURG said:

Rearward or forward, what's the difference safety wise?

Once the child is over 21 lbs in weight & if the child seats are fitted correctly, both perfectly safe. Me personally I would keep them rear facing for as long as possible whilst using the correct seat etc.

[Adrian E]

skip_1 said:

Thanks Adrian, I'll do some ADAC research tonight.

We find that our son gets very hot and sweaty in his seat, do you have any experience as to wether the 'cooling' fabric covers are effective?

Ours was always the same, especially on a long journey, as they're quite rigidly installed so don't have much scope for stretching about in the seat to get some air circulating. Short of having the climate set properly cold I'm not sure there's a really effective answer! Not used a cooling cover, but I imagine anything apart from bog basic black fabric is going to be better at drawing heat away from his body - there's a reason not many black cars are sold in the Gulf States lol

If he's not bothered about getting sweaty just make sure he's drinking enough to stay hydrated on a journey

[skip_1]

Found this petition that Halfords have started to remove VAT on car seats. Thought this would be a sensible place to put it.

https://www.change.org/p/european-union-abolish-va...

[WomblerS]

Hi Bobbles,

We have a maxi cosi pebble that is used on a family fix base in my wife's car (that has isofix) and an easy base 2 base in my car (no isofix). I cannot find any safety tests for the easy base 2, have you tested it? If so is it as good as the family fix? Should I change my car for an isofix car?!

What non isofix solution do you suggest for when she grows out of the pebble? Happy to buy a separate seat for each car...

Thanks in advance...

W

[Adrian E]

If you've invested in the family fix base with the intention of using it again, you may as well get the Pearl seat for that base. I don't believe that will fit on the other base though, so your options are then forward or rearward facing from the usual suspects. Much depends on weight and head containment in your current seat on when the right time to move is.

[lenats31]

WomblerS said:

Hi Bobbles,

We have a maxi cosi pebble that is used on a family fix base in my wife's car (that has isofix) and an easy base 2 base in my car (no isofix). I cannot find any safety tests for the easy base 2, have you tested it? If so is it as good as the family fix? Should I change my car for an isofix car?!

What non isofix solution do you suggest for when she grows out of the pebble? Happy to buy a separate seat for each car...

Thanks in advance...

W

Manufactorers and crash test facilities such as ADAC guard the results with their life. They will not reveal the numbers

The vast majority of the safety difference between isofix and seatbelt fittings lies in the installation. if you don´t mind installing with seatbelt, follow the instructions 100%, can achieve a stone solid installation and your car is on the car approval list for your seat. Then you are good to go with a belt fitted one.

For a non-isofix car I would buy a non-isofix car seat. They generally cost less and they also weigh less, which generallly means less loads are supplied to the child than normallly is the case if you have one that can be installed with isofix or seatbelt.

[skip_1]

Does anyone know if the Maxi Cosi 2 way Pearl fits the family fix base or does it require the 2 way base? I am a bit confused as some retailers show the Pearl fitting the family fix base and other sources say it does not. We would be looking to use the Pearl seat rear facing for as long as possible.