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My experience with a forward-facing carseat in the back seat of a 997
I thought I'd post this here in hopes that it helps other parents who come along after me. I know I benefitted, to some degree, from the older posts on this and other sites that discussed fitting car seats into Porsches... it's no easy feat!
I have a 2.5 yr old who's very tall and heavy (he's the size of a four-year old). Developmentally & physically, he's not ready for a booster seat. He needs at least a harnessed booster, if not a normal forward-facing carseat with five-point harness.
I need to take him to preschool on my way to work, three mornings per week.
My car is a 2005 911S coupe.
OMG it's almost impossible to find a carseat that will even fit back there! And the ones that do fit, don't install tightly... the main issue being that the female part of the seat belt buckle is in a fixed position (completely fixed; it doesn't even rotate or bend at all), placed inches forward of the normal belt path for a forward facing seat installation.
I researched, and researched, and researched.
I ended up thinking I'd get the Recaro Performance Sport harnessed booster seat to work. It's a very pretty seat, you have to love Recaro, and it does drop down into the seat well pretty nicely in a 997. BUT, there was absolutely no way to tighten the install whatsoever. It was flying all over the place back there... way more than the 1" of movement allowed. And, to properly fit it to my tall son, the headrest portion of the seat was so large and high, it created a dangerous blindspot for me, the driver.
OK, scrap that. I sent it back. Next, we tried the two seats we already had installed in other cars.
One was a Diono Radian RXT. This seat is very narrow, but also quite tall, and not upright enough for the very vertical rear seatbacks in a 997. There was no point in even trying to tighten the install on this one.
The other is a Britax Marathon. The seat is wider, but it's on a narrower base, and shorter than the Radian or the Recaro. No dice either. Didn't really fit into the seat at all, and definitely couldn't be tightened.
More research. And more.
I found a thread on a VW enthusiast site talking about installing carseats in 997s, and one fellow posted success with an Evenflo SureRide, from relatively recently (2013), so I had reason to believe I could find a substantially similar seat new. I examined the specs on this thing, and decided to give it a whirl.
It ain't perfect. It turns out, the fellow who "succeeded" actually had to stuff a rolled up towel to the side of the side (on the side where the seatbelt buckle is), to be able to get a truly tight install. But, if you know about carseat installation, you know that's a total no-no. It gives you the illusion of a tight install, but in a crash, can create an unpredictable situation.
That said, I was able to get this seat situated well enough that I am comfortable using it for my kid, for the very short trips we'll be taking.
It definitely DID require that I cut into the carpeting on the shelf behind the seat, to expose the rear anchor point. This, understandably, was a very uncomfortable thing to have to do. Taking a knife to one's Porsche's interior... well, let's just say I would only do such a thing for the safety of my child. But, the good news: it worked.
So, long story short: if you need a forward-facing 5-point harnessed car seat in the backseat of your 997, and it's anytime around now (February of 2015), go for the Evenflo SureRide DLX.
1. Expose the rear anchor above the seat where you plan to install the Evenflo. Yes, you need a knife. Yes, it ends up a little bit ugly with exposed insulation... just a bit. Sigh. But if you don't use the rear anchor, you will not get a remotely tight install.
2. Do not remove the seat bottom from the Porsche's back seat. It's tempting, to avoid damaging the leather, but it creates a worse, looser install. We tried it both ways. You have to keep the seat bottom in.
3. Use two people to do the install. It's easier for one person to try to push the seat down and into position, while the other pulls the seatbelt through the belt path, buckles, and then tightens it. The pusher/weigher should enter the car on the side that the seat is being installed, and the seat belt operator should climb in on the opposite side.
You'll end up with a seat that's good, not perfect. (So if you are truly a carseat crazy -- you know who you are -- you won't be able to drive your kid around in your Porsche, because you won't find this satisfactory.) It does not move at all at the head, it moves side to side only very slightly (less than 1"), and the only movement that's more profound occurs if you pull up on the front edge of the carseat. But even then, the head stays where it is, and that, to me, is really key.
It looks reasonable, and doesn't create a nasty blindspot.
With the kid in the carseat, obviously we'll have to move the passenger seat forward. It's pretty far back here.
The seat doesn't occlude much of the side window, and none of the rear window.
Thank you for the very detailed write-up. I too have a 3 year old but he is probably not as tall as a 4 year old and I was contemplating on placing a child seat in the back of my C2s cab. I am not sure if I would use a knife on my interior though. I wonder if there is anyway of altering the seat instead of the interior to make it fit? At this point, I have an option to just use the wife's suv for hauling the kiddo around. I do agree those recaro's are nice but they are huge seats even for larger cars.
The diono radian r100 works. It's a tight fit to get it in there because its so tall.
I had to put a cloth on the top left of the seat so the c pillar wouldn't get scratched with the metal seatbelt guide.
This seat is SECURE. I can't move it at all in any direction. It was a pain to install anything in the back of a porsche when you're 6'2" but this sucker is solidly in place and doesn't move an inch. I took the bottom seat cushion out and left the seat back in with a towel behind it.
The only caveat is that I had to use the belt loop for the rear facing rather than the forward facing to get a snug enough fit based on the location of the buckle. As secure as it is I have no qualms about doing this. I've never had a more secure carseat in any of my cars.
I will say that it gave us more legroom than I was anticipating since the cushion fits well and is somewhat short. That evenflo picture you posted looks like the passenger will have NO legroom.
Last edited by eviligloo; 02-27-2015 at 11:50 AM.
Reason: edited to add picture and more description
The Diono R100 will fit, but has metal hooks at the top of the seat which can scratch the pillar.
The Diono RXT works for us - you just have to be careful with installation and go slow to ensure a tight fit. I did take out the bottom cushion and use the Diono seat protector behind the car seat.
... and I was contemplating on placing a child seat in the back of my C2s cab.
The convertible is awful to put a carseat in because the back seat position is a lot more upright than the coupe. You're gonna have a struggle with that one finding anything to work and fit a passenger in that side.
Also I don't believe there is a rear anchor/tether point in the convertible.
Recaro ProBooster works, I have one that my 4-year old rides in. It's a nicely made seat and is about $80 on Amazon. Nice narrow base so it fits well in back, or in front as well in a Cayman/Boxster. Most car seat bases are too wide to fit in the front seats.
I think removing the rear seatback is key to getting a car seat in the car. If you haven't done this I highly recommend it as it makes for a snugger fit and you gain more leg room (~100mm).
Hey, thanks to those who have posted about getting Radians, and other seats, into their cars. I may go the route of removing the seat back and trying my Radian RXT again. But, I'm a bit of a stickler about car seat installation, and any install that involves you placing anything behind or next to the seat (e.g. putting a towel behind the seat) isn't technically a good, reliable install. In a crash, whatever that item is could compress and/or come free, and your previously tight carseat could be loose in an instant.
I'm probably also too much of a rules-follower to install the seat using the wrong belt paths. It wasn't tested that way for a forward-facing crash, and so you can't know for certain that the forces involved, when exerted on that belt and belt paths in that configuration, won't exceed the capabilities of the seat. And, it's precious little compensation in the event of an accident where your child is hurt, but you won't be able to take legal recourse as readily if you knowingly installed the seat in an unsupported manner.
I did try removing the Porsche's seat bottom with each install attempt of the Recaro, Radian, and Britax, and in all three cases, for my car and with my seats, it make the situation worse... not better.
Your mileage may vary! ;-) And no judgement here with regard to folks who are comfortable making more adjustments to get a seat installed tightly. I totally get it, but just don't want to do it myself, for the above-stated reasons.
My Recaro install (in a different car) specifically calls for the use of a rolled up towel. Not sure how the regulators would allow that if it was unsafe. As long as it is tight I would be ok with it.
I had to put a cloth on the top left of the seat so the c pillar wouldn't get scratched with the metal seatbelt guide.
This seat is SECURE. I can't move it at all in any direction. It was a pain to install anything in the back of a porsche when you're 6'2" but this sucker is solidly in place and doesn't move an inch. I took the bottom seat cushion out and left the seat back in with a towel behind it.
The only caveat is that I had to use the belt loop for the rear facing rather than the forward facing to get a snug enough fit based on the location of the buckle. As secure as it is I have no qualms about doing this. I've never had a more secure carseat in any of my cars.
I will say that it gave us more legroom than I was anticipating since the cushion fits well and is somewhat short. That evenflo picture you posted looks like the passenger will have NO legroom.
I bought the Radian R100, tried to install it as you did in your picture and it feels a bit lose. Did you cut a whole in the rear carpet behind the seat in order to find an anchor point for the top tether? Is that how you got it so 'solidly in place.' I am assuming the answer is yes, because as-is it feels very slippery and unsafe.
Any advice on how best to do this cutting?
Thanks!
02-26-2015, 10:45 PM
My experience with a forward-facing carseat in the back seat of a 997
