Child Seat Advice

[boobles]

We all know how difficult it can be finding the "right" child seat for our car & how awkward they can be to install. I have 17 years experience in this very subject & install them on a daily basis & also crash test them, so I know which one's are safe. If anyone would like any advice whether it be buying the right one, to advice on installation, I can offer this.



I will only offer advice on seat's that fit your specific vehicle, and which seat's are safe. I will not give out any information on any seat's that do not meet these requirements.

[boobles]

First of all, hi Pickled Piper. If she is soon to outgrow the high back booster then all you can use is a standard booster as you say. These seats offer the minimum safety requirements but do atleast place the child in the correct position, another words they raise the child up to allow the lap belt to sit in the correct position. The advantage of using the booster with a back is they offer side impact protection & if you can find a bigger version, this is what I would recommend.
I realize that older children view these as "baby" seats but they really do serve a purpose & are better than using just a booster. I must stress that a booster is better than nothing. I hope this helps.




Hi Voicey.

My apologies I should have been clearer. I am not looking for work as currently employed where I crash test child restraints & also install them into vehicles.

To be perfectly honest, It's not recommended to use child seats in any car where the airbag can not be de-activated, but having said that, It's normally ok to use booster seats in this situation but they can not be used until the child is atleast 4 years old & the passenger seat if adjustable must be as far away from the dash as possible. I personally wouldn't risk it until the child is atleast 6 or 7 but the same principal applies with regard to using a booster seat with the passenger seat as far back as possible.


I hope this helps the both of you.

[boobles]

I started the thread in here because I am offering advice & thought here would be better than in "general" gassing etc. I view it as a service that I am offering & was hoping that if enough questions were being asked, the mods could keep this in here as a "sticky" & I could build up enough answers were people could use this thread as a quick reference & hoefully find the answer they were looking for without having to start threads etc.

[boobles]

Beardy10 said:

We have two cars a current model (E70) BMW X5 (2007) and a MK V Golf (2006). My two year old is currently in an Maxi Cosi Priorifix (it has ISOFIX) seat and I have a two month old in a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix (with an ISOFIX base).

First question is....do you think the current seats are good or are there better on the market for those cars?

Second question (assuming you think what we already have is okay) is what would you recommend as the next seat for my two year old ? It seems like a lot of the next size up seats don't have ISOFIX which seems strange to me. Not really bothered about cost within reason...just want the safest.

Thanks!

Hi,

Good choice of seats, both perfectly safe so no concerns there.
The only seat I can think of at the moment apart from the one you already have (priorifix) is the Britax Duo Plus, this has Isofix & is from the age of 9 months to approx 4 years. The next one up could be the KidFix which also has isofix & is from the age 4 years to approx 11. The only thing with this one is there is no harness, you only use the 3pt adult belt but this will be the same for any isofix seat for bigger children. They are basically high back boosters but with isofix latches but you still have to use the aduld belt to secure the child.

[boobles]

stussyman said:

Hi there,
I am just about to buy a 2011 Audi A4 Avant Black Edition. My wee one is currently in a Maxi Cosi Axiss and I am using the seatbelt option at the moment as my current car doesn't have Isofix. 2 questions; can I retrofit / buy an Isofix base for this seat (the Audi has Isofix) and more importantly, does this seat fit in this car?
Thanks in advance,
Lee

Hi,

After doing some quick research, I can't find anything about an isofix base being compatible with the Axiss unfortunately.
According to the Maxi Cosi vehicle list, the seat does fit in to the Audi A4 but using the 3pt car seat belt only.

Edited by boobles on Monday 14th February 10:42

[boobles]

zx10ben said:

Hi Boobles, a bit of a longshot here, but I have two nippers (18mth and 9wks) The 18mth is in a Maxi-Cosi Tobi and the smaller one is in a Maxi Cabriofix.
I am toying with the idea of getting a Jag XK, happen to know if the Tobi would fit? Or, know of an alternative that would?
Sorry if the questions a bit bone, but "if you dont ask"!

Hi Ben,

I would need to know the year of the car please?
Or alternatively you could try here.

http://www.maxi-cosi.com/ot-en/carselector

[boobles]

McSwerve II said:

Hi Boobles

I have a new BMW 3 Series, and we use a Britax Duo Plus (with an extra foam pad thingy, as specified by the small print). According to the Britax website this can also be used in the RX8 we have recently acquired, but with a top leash attachment specified.

Anyway my question was, in Mamma’s and Pappa’s they were trying to flog a seat (Cybax Pallas) with a large bar across the child’s chest rather than traditional 5 point harness arrangement.

Are these any better or just a new fad in design?

Many thanks for your professional opinion.

Hi,

I have seen many different varients of these seats with what they call a "protection pillow" which sits across the childs chest.

I wouldn't say that they are any safer than using a 5 point harness to be honest (otherwise this technology would be used within race cars etc) but I am also not saying that they are un-safe. They do score fairly high marks in frontal impacts but also restrict the child from being able to do anything like move to scrath an itch or something. I personally would stick with a 5 point harness simply because of the history of the design etc.

[boobles]

rhinochopig said:

Out of interest how do the child Recaros fare? We went with that make on the basis of their motorsport reputation as we couldn't find any public data on crash tests of child seats.

They are perfectly fine. Never seen any recaros that would concern me.




Good point Zod, Gold star for you.

[boobles]

zx10ben said:

boobles said:

Hi Ben,

I would need to know the year of the car please?
Or alternatively you could try here.

http://www.maxi-cosi.com/ot-en/carselector

What a muppet! Sorry Boobles it'll be a 2008 XKR, meantime I'll have a look at your link, if my works computer will allow!

Just checked for you & according to their website, they have no Isofix available.

[boobles]

rhinochopig said:

boobles said:

They are perfectly fine. Never seen any recaros that would concern me.

Thanks.

Ok then, what childseat graces your car - assuming you have kids

I don't have children but do have the privelige of crash testing approx 5 child seats per day.

[boobles]

groomi said:

boobles said:

I will only offer advice on seat's that fit your specific vehicle, and which seat's are safe. I will not give out any information on any seat's that do not meet these requirements.

I realise my question probably falls under the above comment, but will ask anyway.

What are your views regarding fitting child seats in obscure cars such as kitcars. Take a typical Caterham/Westfield as an example. I've seen people with child seats in such cars before and would like to take my son out in mine at some point, but is there anything in particular which is likely to cause problems with installing a seat?

Very good question.

Coming from owning an Elise, I know exactly what you mean & I spent some time trying to find something that would fit on the basis of purely sharing my experience & to help others. There are seats out there that do fit, I found 2 that would fit the Elise & they were the Britax Prince & the Britax Eclipse. I am sure there are others out there. I am uncertain if these seats would fit a Caterham or Westfield but there will be some, I have no doubts. Don't be put of because of the your choice in car as ther will be something that fits.

We train Mothercare & Halfords staff & they are normally willing to try any seat before you commit to buying, so might be worth taking the car to them & seeing it they have anything that fits.

[boobles]

Glad to hear that the children were ok after the collision. Also a massive well done for installing them correctly because we see so many child retraints fitted in-correctlty. Nobody deliberately fits them in wrong, It's something that can be extremely tricky & difficult.

[boobles]

Zod said:

Boobles, how much narrower is the Prince than the Duo Plus?

The Prince is actually approx 1 inch wider than the Duo Plus at the widest part.
Also the Duo has Isofix where as the Prince doesn't.

[boobles]

Life Saab Itch said:

Can I just say thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with everyone.

Not a problem & thank you.
There seems to be alot of interest in this subject & I am glad to help where I can.

[boobles]

TimmD said:

HI,
I'm currently looking at getting a 996. One of the plus points is the 2+2 seating as I have a 3 and a 5 year old and was wondering what would work in the back. Or if it is just not a good idea. I have concerns looking at the lack of padding..



Thanks

Tim

Hi Timm,

Looking at high up the buckle attachment stalk is in the rear of the car, you may find it difficult to find any "belted" seat that fits due to what we call "buckle crunch". This is where the buckle itself secures the child seat instead of the seat belt webbing & this is a massive no no. You can however go along to Halfords or Mothercare & try before you buy & they are trained to ensure a safe fit.
I don't suppose the car has Isofix latches? If so something like a Duo Plus would almost definately fit as this seems to fit more & more "sports cars" & I know Aston Martin recommend this seat.

[boobles]

DBSV8 said:

can you tell me what paremeters of crash test you perform ,

I am interested in how the Swedish plus tests compare with the German ADAC tests

specifically for the atca graco duologic 2

thanks

We test to R44-04 & Euro Ncap & ADAC. We also go that extra mile & test Side Impact pulses.
I can't compare the Swedish plus tests because we don't do them & it would be unfair for me to try.

[boobles]

Risotto said:

Hi, just wondered if you have any views on seats that use an impact cushion instead of a harness?

As far as I can make out, the rear facing seats for older children are very safe but also very large and awkward to fit. They don't lend themselves to being regularly moved between different vehicles either.

The forward facing seats with harnesses seem much less cumbersome but offer less protection against internal decapitation.

Various reviews I've read seem to suggest that the impact cushion seats seem to offer a better level of safety than a forward facing harness seat, without the inconvenience of a rear facing seat. Would you agree?

Edited by Risotto on Monday 14th February 17:09

Hi,

Do you mean the "protection pillow" that was spoken about earlier in the thread?
If so, I wouldn't agree that they are any safer. Ok they do score good points in frontal impacts but so do many many "harnessed" seats & for me to suggest they they are any safer would be wrong & I will not slate one product against another for obvious reasons.

I hope you understand my reasons.

[boobles]

vit4 said:

Was going to post a thread as it goes.

I have a friend who has a first-gen Renault Megane (R-reg) and has a little one on the way No idea about how to go about car seats and doesn't want to get ripped off by salesman, so if there is any advice about any good models for a reasonable price, I'd really appreciate it

Hi,

First of all try either of these sites to establish which seats fit into the specific car.

http://www.britax-roemer.de/car-seats/fit-finder

http://www.maxi-cosi.com/gb-en/carselector


Your friend will then have to choose which one is right for them & their price range.
Atleast by checking which ones fit, half the battle is won.

[boobles]

It is but unsure as to how much.

Are you looking at buying one?

[boobles]

hora said:

Hello

Would this work in my 04 (mk1) Ford Focus?

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.207-5395.aspx

Potentially going to a mkVI Golf later on this year.

Hi,

According the the Britax fitfinder, this seat will fit into both the Focus & golf.

That is a superb price for that seat aswell.