JP_in_CA

I think this Graco seat is going to be a keeper. There is a small amount of wiggle, but I think once I get the top tether connected it will be even better. I still feel strange about connecting the belt through the rear facing slot when the seat is front facing, but as much as I look at it, it seems very secure and safe.

The one I have was only $70 and is not very padded. I'm considering ordering the $150 one from to see if it is much more comfortable I am going to have my girls in the back a lot. I'm one of those people who convinced his wife it was a family car and we will soon be down to only two cars.

I have this seat behind my seat and had to move it forward just a bit, but it was much, much better than the other seats I've tried. It sits about 4 inches further back than the Britax Roundabout/Diplomat. These technically fit, are better seats, but you can't sit comfortably in front of them. If you were going to only use the seat occassionally on the passenger side, you might think about one of those.

I have kept the bottom cushion in the seat for now. It seems like the compression of the cushion might help it stay in place. I bought some Lionheart seatsavers that I am going to try. The Graco seat does not sit as high as the Britax ones so there didn't seem to be an advantage to removing it. Removing the seat back would give you another 3-4 inches so one option might be one of the Britax models without the seatback. I looked into some of the posts on how to do this and decided I'd try to avoid it.

I'll try to post some pics this weekend.

ELUSIVE

Thanks again for the status JP.
Pictures would be GREAT.
Where did you purchase the seat from?

JP_in_CA

Didn't get to the pictures today, but I'll try to find some time tomorrow. I purchased the Graphite Graco ComfortSport at a Babies-R-Us store. I got my Britax Parkway on-line at elitecarseats.com. I had very good luck with elitecarseats.com. They have a $2.99 shipping insurance where they will send you a FedEx pre-paid shipping form if you want to return it. No questions asked. I think I ended up buying 6 car seats from them and returning 5 of them. The Graco that I got is pretty much the bottom of the line of the ComfortSport series which runs in price from $80 to $150. For more money, you get more padding and nicer fabrics. I picked the one I did because it matches the Britax Parkway Onyx just about perfectly. I did some research and the Graco model is rated very high for safety.

I just had my second cruise with the two girls in the back. It is actually a lot of fun. One thing I hadn't thought of before was how close we all are given how small the back seat is. My girls love it and my older daughter keeps asking "Daddy, can we take this corner fast?".

Hopefully I'll have some pics for you tomorrow.

synergy

Thanks for the info - looking forward to the pics! I too will order from elitecarseats.com.

cole328

Hi JP sorry for the email, but the thread with all of the people as confusing. Which seat ended up working out best for a 16 month in the rear? I have a 997 C2S, and my son is 16 months old and will need to be in the rear, in a front facing seat. Appreciate the clarification. Thanks Cole

JP_in_CA

First to Cole: The seat that worked out best for my 22 month old daughter was a Graco ComfortSport with the seat belt routed through the "rear-facing" belt opening instead of the forward facing opening. Even though the seat is forward facing, the forward facing belt opening is too far back for the seat belt to work since the receptacle is 5 inches or so from the rear of the seat. Sounds confusing, but if you ever try to put a seat back there you will quickly see the problem as you try to tighten the belt and the seat wants to rotate 30 degrees. The only other seat that I think would work would be the Britax Roundabout or Diplomat. The issue with these two are that they give you 4 inches less front leg room because they sit much further forward.

I took lots of pictures of the Graco seat as well as the Britax Parkway Booster for my 4 year old daughter. This is my first try uploading pics so and I realized they are too large too upload. I will email them separately to the 3 of you who I think are interested. Hopefully I can get that to work.

JP_in_CA

My quest to send emails didn't work either. I think I've figured out how to reduce the size of my pictures, so I'll give it a go. One thing to note on these pictures is that the fabric on this is jet black. The flash on the camera made it look like a washed out gray. Looks much better in person and is actually darker than than the black leather.

synergy

Thanks for the pics. My fear is that my wife will flip if she knows I "rigged" the seat by using the rear facing slot on a forward facing seat. JP, do think there is a danger to doing this?

MartyB

JP, you still around? I know you ended up going with a Graco for your younger child, but you mentioned the Safeguard Go and I was wondering if you ever tried one for fit. I have a C2S coupe due in any day and this seat does seem ideal for my 3 year old. It will allow me to keep him in a 5 point harness much longer than a regular convertible seat. I know you mentioned that the Safeguard Go required LATCH, but according to their website it only requires the top tether and not the lower anchors. I believe the top tether anchors are standard on 997s, or at least an easy dealer install according to the owner's manual I referred to. I'd just like to know if it fits before I drop $200 on it. Certainly looks like it should.