A bit different- child booster seat in 911

[175K911]

Most of our posts are about the cars themselves. So I'll be different.

Want to take my 5 1/2 yr old daughter for rides in the 911. But the Britax booster seat I have won't fit in the back. She's pretty big for her age, more like a normal 6 1/2 yr old. Any recommendations? I'm a safety nut and won't do it unless I'm certain she's well protected, and in a top quality seat.

Car won't be done for a few more weeks so have a bit of time.

[joecrum]

This may be against some folks better judgment, but my son (2 1/2) rides up front with me. My Britax fits nicely and I use a second strap around the back of the seat (sport seats). He LOVES my Porsche and always pronounces it correctly. Having him next to me for our daily commute is the highlight of my day (and perhaps his). It also has the benefit of keeping me within the speed limits.

We are currently looking for a back seat booster, though, so his momma can ride with us too sometimes. I'll be very interested to see the recommendations.

Cheers,

[Christien]

I've heard it said before that the shape of the back seats in a pre-993 911 are a booster seat and that nothing else is required, provided you have a shoulder belt as well as the lap belt. My daughter's still in a full child seat, so I can't really comment, as I'm not familiar with booster seats yet, but do some searching around here - I know it's been discussed before.

[burgermeister]

Agree w/ Christien.

My daughter (5) rides in back with just the 3-point seatbelt. She fits just like the britax booster in a regular car. Britax gets put up front for daddy-daughter drives (no airbag, so there is no reason not to put it up front).

We even have a toddler seat stuffed in back, attached w/ an aftermarket lap belt (structural attachment) and a nylon tiedown strap (prevents sliding around attachment) - works out OK, all 4 of us fit nicely in the car!

[Noah930]

I don't mean to sound like an a$$ (I'm just naturally that way), but Christien, could you elaborate on "what you heard?" Is it something you heard from a reliable Porsche source? Or something you might have heard from someone on the internet type dealio? (FWIW, my son's still in a child seat, too. He loves sitting up front, similar to joecrum's son.)

[eR1c]

I have a '77 930, -they didn't put seatbelts in the back seats in that year.
so my son unfortunately doesn't drive in my Porsche ...yet I know he wants to (he's only 2) but he always points to it in the garage and says "wow"

-I take him (and a few other neighbor kids) for rides in my Jeep (kids seem to love jeeps as much as sports cars).

[jmcn3rd]

Borrow a friend's Graco Comfort Sport and see if it fits for you in the back.

Edit: Re: original poster's question, this particular seat is kind of on the small side.

[jcsjcs]

I have been playing around with various options. I was able to get the Britax into the back seat and ended up using both seat belts. One handled forward and back motion and the second kept the seat from slipping sideways. Since this is a bit unconventional, I am looking for a better solution.

I also found that the Britax worked perfectly in the front passenger seat and my 3 year old had a blast being next to me. This does not work when I want to bring my 16 year old or wife along in the front seat.

I also have an e-mail out to peparts.com to see if they have a recommended solution.

There is a post on this board about someone who used eye hooks and Carabiners to hook in the seats. I believe that you should be able to use eye hooks and the standard Car seat latches - but have not tried this yet. I also have heard that the Graco Comfort Sport fits well.

Also have heard that you can remove the seat backs and the base of the car seat to get a better fit.

Will post more if I have any success.

[Christien]

Noah, no worries, you don't sound like an ass - these are major safety things, and one should never take what's read on some forum as gospel, especially for kids. I read that the back seat is already basically a booster seat here on Pelican while I was browsing for full infant seat install ideas in the back seat. There are a number of threads on Pelican regarding this, so I'm not sure which one I read it in, but thought I'd mention it in case the original poster wanted to search it out, see what people said and makes his own decision. As I said above, I didn't pay close attention, because our daughter (our only kid so far) is still in an infant seat, so I'm not familiar with what booster seats look like, shape, size, how they're installed, etc.

As for my own install, I read several postings here then combined what other people had done with my own common sense when installing the baby seat in the back. I ended up using a slightly different version of twobone's install - not only did his install make sense and was well documented in his post, he's a friend I know in the "real world" so I can also get a sense of if he knows what he's doing, rather than being an idiot, or careless, or whatever.

[175K911]

I appreciate all the thoughts. As I read Christien's first post, it occurred to me that my 86 doesn't have rear shoulder harnesses, just lap belts. Dooh. So the back seat is off limits for her. Now I need to research the state of Illinois to find out if the front seat is legal in a car without air bags. Might even call Britax.

[Christien]

You can install a shoulder belt, if you want.

[dtw]

How could one install a rear shoulder harness in say, a '76 Targa? What would be used for the upper attachment point? Would I be SOL?

[SCHNELE]

Guys the search is your friend, this very important topic has been raised and addressed before. Check the link below, be safe with your precious ones aboard.

http://www.peparts.com/Detail.bok?no=60

[steve911]

I used this booster seat in the front seat for my son. In a non-airbag car, I had no issues with him sitting up front. I still have it. If someone wants it for $20 shipped, just let me know.





I also installed shoulder belts in the rear as well:
lap belts--child seat

[175K911]

Interesting paragraph from the Illinois Code:


"Changes to the Child Passenger Protection Act

Senate Bill 52
Public Act 93-0100
Effective January 1, 2004

Requires children under the age of 8 (was previously under the age of 4) to be properly fitted and secured in an appropriate approved child restraint system. Children weighing more than 40 pounds may be transported in the back seat of a motor vehicle while wearing only a lap belt if the back seat is not equipped with a combination lap and shoulder belt.

So my 49 lb 5 1/2 yr old can legally ride in the back of my 86 with just the factory lap belts. while I don't think I'd ever do this for safety reasons, the State allows such a practice. I'm sure it would be safer to put her on her booster in the right front with the shoulder belt system.

[stubblehead]

Just picked this up last night at Babies R Us: it fits great in the back of my '09 Carrera S. Graco bases are all too "squared off" to fit in the back seat.

Minor rear-view obstruction; can't wait 'till my 4-yr old is big/old enough to remove the back piece. Combo lap/shoulder belt holds him in securely & the height gives him a great view!

[schumicat]

I have a Britax/Roemer Prince seat that fits in the back of an SC/Carrera. They were sold at Porsche dealers in Europe with a Porsche logo cover and at Audi and Mercedes dealers with those logs (mine is actually an Audi logo one). They are very unusual design in that they use only a lap belt and have a chest protector piece the lap belt goes through. You can also use it without the chest piece and with a 3 point belt as a booster seat. You can find photos in searches. Personally, I started only letting my kids (4 & 8) ride in passenger seat (the 4 year old in the Prince, the 8 with just a bottom booster). The rear seating area just doesn't look safe to me in a crash. In German, the rear 911 seats are (I think) referred to as Notsitze (emergency seats). I doubt any effort was made to make them safe in a crash. My kids love riding in the Porsche.