mickfluff

I have read and read here and 6speed and other general web data..... I am more confused then what I first started. Can someone please help me. I have a 05 997 (not a cabrio) and my child is 19 months old and roughly 26lbs.... (under 30lbs) I have read about having special latch systems installed by porsche dealer (do I need this?), then airbag like disabling, special programming, etc etc.....this seems way to complicated. I want my son to be safe and if I have to cough up $500 for the P car seat I will but life has always shown my the most expensive isn't always the best. Other options would be great... also read that some dealers will install for free if you buy the seat is this true or rare....

Can someone please school me once and for all what I will need to do and buy to have my son safe and happy sitting on the back seat of my 997. Any data on special latch systems I need to get installed,(if any) air bags I need to have turned off etc etc..... any recomentations on seat as well. He is not ready for a booster for a while...... again I have read a lot and almost feel like maybe I read too much......more confused then ever!!!! Thanks for the help all.....

CME

The 997's should have the latch system in both rear seat positions. All you need is a seat that fits back there (Britax) and you hook it up and you are ready to go. No airbag disabling required.

angelo1404

+1

MartyB

I have read that a Britax Roudabout fits . . . barely. I have one that I am going to try for my 3 y.o. when my car comes in. I have already bought a Britax Parkway booster for my 6 y.o. and I have read that it is a great fit (narrow and not very deep). The Britax booster looks well built compared to other boosters I've seen. I simply can't see paying the prices Porsche wants for their Britax rebranded seats unless there are no other alternatives.

cole328

cosco scenara works like a charm in the back seat for my 18 month old...he LOVES it, and its snug and tight in there

ozcav

A Britax Diplomat will fit. You use the seatbelt and the tether (which requies pulling up the tab of carpet behind the seat to expose the hook for this). I removed the seat cushion which is just velcroed down before putting the seat into the car. The seat will sit very slightly canted towards the outside of the car. But, with propr placement of towels under it I can get mine where it moves less than the 1 inch dictated by the instruction manual when you really tug on it. I would not want to use it without the tether which adds a lot of support. There will not be a great deal of leg room for the kids if the front seat is even remotely inclined so the passenger seat needs to sit fairly far forward.

Installing latch would be for the front seat. You can make most seats fit in the front if you want to go that route. Airbag auto disables but if you install latch they can add the manual airbag shut off for added piece of mind.

funcars

No latch in the back seat. AFAIK dealer doesn't have any kit to add one.

The dealer can install a latch kit in the front passenger seat. I believe this comes with a airbag deactivation kit, which will require programming.

I don't think the 2005s had the 'smart' front airbags that would deactivate themselves if there wasn't enough weight on the seat. If you want to go front seat, you'll need the deactivation kit.

The $500 pcar fits extremely well in the back, using the 3pt belt. I have it (the Porsche Junior -- the one with the crash table) in the back of my 2008 TT. It isn't a rebranded Britax -- I can't figure out who makes it. Kids love riding in the car, but that's probably due more to the car than the seat. I don't plan on putting it in the front. I did not have any luck getting as good a fit with any other seat I tried: Britax and Recaro. One of the ones I tried was the Roundabout, and there's no way I could get a correct fit.

Bottom line for me: the $500 was cheap compared to the kids.

jcnesq

+1

With my 05 "launch" 997S, I had to add the front seat stuff - latch, and key-like device to deactivate the air bag. I believe this was installed in later cars from the factory. While I installed it, the irony is I have never put a kid in the front seat. I have the Britax Starriser (I think) booster behind the driver's seat for my 6 y/o, and I have a narrow base Eddie Bauer leather seat for my 2.5 y/o behind the passenger seat. I don't think they make the Eddie Bauer seat anymore but I recently searched and I think they can still be found. The key is to find a seat with a narrow base. I also removed the leather seat pad.

There is no need to spend the money for a Porsche child seat.

Edgy01

We had good luck with the Grayco. No need to install the special latch system, either. The little one likes his own controllable rear window! (cabriolet)

c2cal

I spent a lot of time & effort on this and found the following to work best:

1) Remove both the seat bottom and seat back of the reat seat to maximize space and leg room. I had the dealer do the latter.
2) Prepare the latch behind the seat by cutting the carpet and removing the foam as necessary. Again, I had my dealer do it (note: this applies to coupes w/ Bose, not sure about others; also note: dealer took some convincing to pick up the tab). There are no latch options for the belt - only for the top.
3) Used a Britax Roundabout seat
4) Seat belt needs be routed through the child seat, fastened, then pulled all the way out with a firm yank. Belt should then "click" as it retracts to tighten - this prevents any slack.
5) On the Britax seat, I had to route the belt in slats designed for rear-facing seats because the seat belt connection points are so far fore of the normal slats. This resulted in a much sturdier installation, but this is not the recommended install, so beware.
6) Remove toddler's shoes - they like to kick!

Hope that helps ...

Jlangmd

My 10 year old occasionally sits in the front seat (and by that I mean twice). Small for age, maybe 60 pounds or so?? Usually when back seats are full of smaller kids. The center console light indicating "airbag switched off" is lit for him. I don't know what the upper weight limit is for the auto-disabling of the airbag is though (even though I RTFM )

SilverSteel

That's a cutie Dan. Good thing you got the leather seatbacks, eh? I have the same seat and used it in my Porsche and now my Ferrari. It is a great seat.

CBnAT

This gets discussed and searched so much, can someone make a sticky?

Jlangmd

I'm repeating myself in multiple threads, but I was wondering if you have a tether anchor on this cab?

Thanks!

W211

Just ordered these vests to replace the booster seat. Surprise nobody mentioned about them..

Safe Traffic Systems RideSafer Travel Vest
http://www.safetrafficsystem.com/newsite/find.php

Anyone used them before?