carnetango

My son is 5 years old and weighs about 40 lbs. I just picked up a Harmony Deluxe Comfort Booster Seat for about $40 at Walmart. It fits in my 2000 Cab very nicely, with seat cushions still in place. Many of the models in earlier posts are obsolet, s I thought I'd post this info. Cheers.

rs10

I can add 3 seats that seem to fit:

I sometimes use a Maxi Cosi Opal. (Well, if I remember correctly from when I bought it, it's the Opal. It's definitely not the Rubi that some others have mentioned. It's the Maxi Cosi seat that can be used forward facing or rear facing, for kids up to 15 kg. That's why I bought it - so he could be rear facing after he outgrew the baby seat.) It fits fine. Though he sits too upright and his head can fall forward when he sleeps. Guess I'd need to remove the rear seat.

But of course, it doesn't fit facing backwards in the Porsche, and since he's still young, with a big head on a small bidy, I'd like something safer. And since no backwards seat fits, safer means one of the new modern seats that use a front cushion in place of a harness.

I've tried both the Cybex Juno-2 fix and the Kiddy Phoenixfix 2. Based on the latest tests, these seem to be the 2 safest seats on the market. Both seems to fit fine, though I just tried in the parking lot; actually driving might reveal suprises. He hates them though. Apparently most kids do. The cushions are tall and should ideally be in contact with his chest. However, with the Cybex, the tightness of the cusion is adjustable, so I'm going to give it a try. Maybe if we drive for an hour or so and he goes to sleep, he'll get used to it ...

I'm also concerned that these might also sit too upright. The solution again might be to remove the rear seat backs. But because of how these baby seats attach to the car, I'm worried that in a rear accident, without the rear seat backs, these seats could tip over backwards. (I'll have a closer look at whether this seems possible when I install it.) I'm also worried that in the same situation, if all the pressure of the impact ends up where the seat meets the top edge of the bulkhead, maybe the seat could break. If these dangers are real, they're probably solvable by installing something flatter in place of the rear seat back, but that may be solution for someone with more mechanical skill and time ...

fpena944

Where are you guys finding these models for purchase here in the USA?

I've searched and all of the sites that come up are European or those that do carry the brand don't carry these models.

My boy is now almost 1 1/2 years old and looking like an overgrown "monster baby" in his Cybex Aton. Technically he still fits but he could be more comfortable in one of the above.

Thanks!

rs10

I'm not.

But having shopped for car seats and strollers on both sides of the Atlantic, I'd be surprised if at least Cybex didn't sell something very similar in the US. Otherwise, you could have a car seat shipped from Europe. It seems you wouldn't be the first.

(Or if you're really in a hurry, take a vacation, fly to Stuttgart, see the museum, rent a car from Hertz, set the navigation for Nurburg (and be banned by Hertz for life - but it's worth it), and fly back with a car seat :-) )

rs10

I'm now using the Cybex Juno 2-fix (or Juno fix 2, or whatever it's called), and both I and my son are pretty much happy with it. Actually, he put up a hell of a fight the first time we tried to put him in it. But once we started driving, he was fine, and rarely complains since.

A couple notes though:

First, the directions say it must fit flush against the back of the seat with no gap at the bottom, and given what our rear seats are like, it didn't work right out of the box. But it was easy to solve. I just put a square foam pad behind the bottom of the Cybex seat. I had some relatively firm foam padding which I cut into a rectangle that fits against the carpeted section of the Porsche rear seat back. And the Cybex seat has a stretchable fabric cover, so I was able to fit the pad firmly under the cover (after removing the owner's manual). For a pad, one could use a camping mattress, or a yoga pad, or an upholstery pad. Depending on the thickness, one could layer it. About 1.5 - 2 inches (~4 cm) seems to work, if I remember correctly.

The alternative is to remove the Porsche seat back. I'd prefer this, as there would be more room for his legs (or his mom's, in the seat in front of him). But I'm not yet sure it's safe. I'll explain why in another post below, since this may be helpful for people with any kind of seat.

rs10

A note about safety that might be helpful for people considering removing their rear seat backs: I was concerned about two things. First, that if the car is rear ended or goes off backwards (in the unlikely event that a 911 would ever do such a thing ... ), the child seat might tip backwards. Maybe even 90 degrees backwards, or more. Particularly given how heavy kid's heads are relative to the rest of them. The seat belt that holds the seat in place might stop this. But I'm not sure, and I haven't had a chance to try taking the seat out and seeing if I can tip the seat by pulling on it.

Second, also in a rear collision, that the back of the child seat could bend or break.

So I asked Cybex, who made my seat. Based on my description, they said don't do it. Of course, they probably would not risk saying it's OK unless they were 100% sure. And they also said send pictures in case we don't understand, and perhaps soon I'll take out one side of the seat back and send pictures. (And if I do, I'll of course see if I can pull the child seat to make it tip over.) Though this won't tell me much about how strong the back is. Perhaps Cybex will.

Other seats may be attached in such a way that makes either of these dangers impossible. Otherwise, if you are not sure, I'd suggest seeing what your seat manufacturer thinks.

rs10

This tipping backwards issue raises a question: How hard can it be to install isofix connectors to the back seats? Isofix would take car of any such dangers, and add a lot of convenience. The complex part of Isofix seems to be the part attached to the child seat - the part attached to the car is basically just a metal loop. So it should be pretty easy to attach one if there is a strong enough piece of metal behind the base of the seat. And the seat belt buckles attach there, so there must be. In fact, Schroth makes harnesses that attach to seat belt mounting bolts, without removing the seat belts. So there would be an easy way to mount it. Alas, the Schroth hardware is not the same shape as the Isofix. But there must be a way.

Anyone have any thoughts on who does/could make such a thing?

roadsession

Chaos

B U M P a lot of tiny rennlisters!

fpena944

We actually made the transition for my son this past Monday from his Cybex Aton to a larger seat.

I purchased both the Maxi Cosi Pria 70 and the Britax Roundabout.

I liked the design of the M/C better than the Britax but was concerned it wouldn't fit so I bought both knowing that we need a seat for the SUV anyway.

So I fitted the M/C but found that although it fit in the space it was pretty bulky and once installed wouldn't give my son enough legroom even with the front seat all the way up.

Then I found that the Britax would hit the C-pillar of the hardtop because the base made the seat so high. So I removed the base and fit the seat itself in the spot (with both the P-car seat bottom and back removed) without incident.

He loves both seats as we now have the Maxi-Cosi installed in the SUV and the Britax in the Porsche. Note in both instances he is now forward facing. Yes I know pediatricians suggest keeping kids rear-facing until much later in life but there's no room to do that in a P-car and we wanted him facing forward now at almost 2 years old anyway. I remember riding in the back speaker shelf of a big American sedan in the 1980s so my son is still much safer than most of us were just 30 years ago.

Bottom line - both the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 and Britax Roundabout fit a 996 cabrio (with hardtop) but both require either squeezing the kid in or removing the base of the Britax to make it work. Oh and once you install them you may as well leave them there because getting them nice and snug is a pain.

CSH951

Great chance to buy a cheap Porsche Jr. Seat in excellent condition

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151593310421...84.m1555.l2649

SpawnyWhippet

Does that Porsche Jr. Seat fit a 996, or only Cayenne?

rs10

There must be a way to add an Isofix compatible attachment point to the back seat. It's just a metal loop.

Even if there were any concern that the Isofix attachment point is not as safe as an OEM attachment point, if the seat is held in place by the seatbelt anyway - as with most seats that use a front cushion instead of a harness - adding an Isofix attachment can only make it safer. Much more convenient too.

Ideas/solutions, anyone?

SpawnyWhippet

I was thinking to do this in my 911. I was going to buy 2 of the door latch 'D' loops from the door jambs of a wrecked Cayenne or similar, then bolt and weld them to the rear seat bucket to act as ISOFIX loops. However, even though I contacted about a dozen wreckers yards, none could be bothered to sell me a pair.

shearlayer

I worked hard to get a car seat that fit in the back of my 996. The US seats just don't work because the rear seat belt latch is positioned too far forward in the 996 and 997. You can not get the seat snug up against the seat back.

This seat was imported from Germany. Because they way the seat belt routs around the base it hold the car seat very firmly against the seat back. It is narrow enough to fit and the passenger seat can go almost all the way back when the kid is not in there.

It is a pain in the *** to get it in the first time but after you figure it out, it goes much better the next time.

I an in Menlo Park and can help you get it in the back of your car.

It is in perfect shape and I even attached some felt to the seat so it does not damage the leather headliner. My son has outgrown it and we have no more little ones on the way.

$200 obo. It cost me over $400 to get this thing from Germany.