Roadtripping with my 3yo son in a 911 with a roll cage.

fastfredracing · 12-10-2008, 04:34 PM

Me and my buddy are thinking about taking a 911 road trip this spring, maybe up to Watkins Glenn. Might check out a club race or something like that. I would love to take my son. He will be 3.5. My 911 has a roll cage, and there is no way I am getting a child seat in the rear. I am not really worried about his saftey( I cant imagine that this would be unsafe in any way. He will be strapped into a car seat, and surrounded by a padded roll cage , I am more worried about getting a ticket from Johnny Law. Any thoughts suggestions??. How serious is the fine for this. What do guys with single cab pick up trucks do for child seats???

lyon · lyon's Garage

It is legal if your car did not originally have seat belts in the back seats of the car.
At least that is the way it is up here.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

Where are you thinking of putting the car seat?

If the car doesn't have airbags, the front seat is perfectly acceptable, and you will not get a ticket.

Bill

VaSteve · 12-10-2008, 05:16 PM

My boy and I ride in the 911 all the time. I have regular 993 seats. I haven't tried to get him in the 944 yet - I don't know if the seat can be cinched in well with the race seats.

fastfredracing · 12-10-2008, 05:35 PM

That is great news. I had him in the back of my 951 when he was first born. , but have yet to ride him in the 911. I did however take him for a spin in my buddies Carrera. I wasnt sure if it was legal or not. Nice targa!!.

Oh Haha · 12-10-2008, 05:45 PM

I have fixed back race seats in the 911. Both of my kids ride with me, one at a time though.

The car seats fit perfectly in my seats. The high bolsters keep them in place better than a regular seat.

Fishman7 · 12-10-2008, 05:49 PM

My 8 year old sits in the front and occasionaly shifts for me! I think by next summer he might be driving the 911.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

kids like little sports cars, you just want to keep the lateral G's down to a reasonable level

Really any little car like that, especially if you can put the top down, or take the top off that targa, put up the window if concerned about them getting too windblown,

Hads930 · 12-10-2008, 06:24 PM

I have a Recaro baby seat that I put in the front of our 930 for my 3.5 y.o. She calls the shifter the wand of power (From one of the Toy Story movies, I wish I could take credit) and is always asking if it is time to go fast, she does not realize we never get out of second. It is a real treat to get the car out and it is generally just she and I, hope it is something that she will look back on and cherish.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

One of my most vivid memories is Mom rapping that XKE V-12 Roadster to the top of second and getting third pretty hard and saying, "Girls can drive fast too" right before she did it. I was about 8 and was telling her how Dad was more fun to ride with...

that thing always sounded like the motor ought to be in an airplane to me

id10t · 12-11-2008, 04:56 AM

I grew up in my 356 (no belts at all), my daughter rode in the front seat of it (in a car seat secured by lap belt) from 2 to 3 years old. FWIW when she was born I called the local Porsche dealer, they do have a car seat for the '84 and later 911s... same as one of the Graco models (not sure which) with Porsche logo/lettering on it...

onewhippedpuppy · 12-11-2008, 05:02 AM

I looked into this for my 4-year old son. Each state is different, but the only law in KS is that your child be in the correct seat. There is no law that you put them in back, it is only recommended. When my son and I go for a ride in my AMG I'll often put him in front, I just scoot the seat backwards (out of airbag range). He loves it, especially when we drive the backroads with the BMW club. "Go faster dad".

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

I've been putting my son (same age as yours) in the front seat of the 911 ever since he's been old enough to ride face-forward. I have a harness truss in the back, which also makes the rear seats unusable for human occupancy. The car seat just gets belted into the front passenger seat, and off we go. There's no front airbag, so there's no reason why he can't be in a carseat in the front. I don't worry about the ticket thing at all, as I know I'm within the law.

The only concern I'd have with your setup is your roll cage. Crazy things can happen in a crash. Just make sure all the cage is properly nerfed from your kid's head/body. Wouldn't want an intended safety device be the thing that does him in in the event of a crash.