Frontier, FR85, or GN for 3yro ? Small 4dr car.

Ltaylor

New member
Ok so here is the deal.

DD is 3 years, 32lbs 38in. Im not sure on her exact measurements but she wears 4s and 5s in tops and 4s in pants.
She has broad shoulders.

She is in an EFTA right now BUT it needs to be replaced. The EPS foam is busted away from the shell. My brother busted it off when taking the seat out of his car. The only thing holding it on right now is the seat cover. Evenflo says that the entire seat has to be replaced not just the foam and they will not do it because of the way that it was busted. Its considered misuse. :thumbsdown:

Soooo I need to get a new seat for DD.

Yes she could still be RF but she HATES it and in a proper seat she is safe FF. Plus, DH isnt going to go for buying a new seat to keep her RF longer and then yet another seat for extended harrnessing/booster.:(

We have a 2005 Nissan Sentra. Its a 4dr but its small. The seat has to go in the center or on the outboard behind the passnger because DH has to have his seat scooted all the way back to drive.

There is no split in the backseat. But the center seat is humped making it harder to get a good install.

DD has been in a GN before and I really like it but Im thinking that I want something with a higher harnessing weight.
I have read about some of the issues that the FR85 has with the back panel, harness being too narrow, head slump, belly pad. Im a little warry of this seat because of those reasons.

Im looking to compare the seats. And any pictures of them installed in a small car would be very helpful.

Thanks !
 
ADS

tl01

New member
I know the GN is required to sit fully on the bottom of the vehicle seat. I don't know how deep your seats are but it could be a problem if they are not very deep since the seat can not overhang at all. I know a few members have had experience with Sentras so hopefully they can lend some more knowledge. We had a GN and took it back bc of the head flop while sleeping issue.
 

Ltaylor

New member
I dont think that our seats are too shallow but Im not sure.

This is what the seat looks like. This is not our car, but is exactly like our backseat. the front seats are scooted all the way back.

04-1.jpg
 

crunchierthanthou

New member
I think a GN is sufficient if she's 3 years, 32 lbs and 38". It would probably get her to age 6 harnessed, depending on her torso height. Some kids find it a little narrow in the shoulders, so that may be an issue if she's broad as you stated. They are all three good seats, so I would try to find a place where you can try them locally and see which she finds most comfortable and which installs best in your vehicle.
 

mburks26

New member
I can fit our GN in my 95 Honda Civic 2 door that has a hump and it fits fine. We use recline mode or it wont go it hits the top of the car.
 

mommyof3tx

New member
We have a Nautilus for my 5yr old. But my 7yr old can still fit, he was 34lbs at 3yrs and quite tall...but he slowed down A LOT. But he's 49lbs and 48 1/2in and fits just under the top slot for harnessed in the GN. My 5yr old is 39lbs and 43 1/2in and is on the next to top slot..still lots of growing room harnessed. We love it, highly recommend it. But having said that we haven't actually used the Frontier, nothing more than playing with it in the store...nice seat but we just don't have th need for that high of a weight limit
 

Ltaylor

New member
Are the harness slots on the original Frontier the same height as the GN ? or is one taller than the other ?

I know that my BRU carries the Original Frontier and the GN. They do NOT carry the FR85 and they were too busy to do any measurements for me.

What is the seat width and shoulder width on the GN and the FR ?
 

armywife12

New member
The original frontier and Nautilus have very similar top harness slots. In some vehicles, the Nauti may be slightly taller and in others the Frontier may be. Many have measured them to be about the same. I don't have width measurements in front of me and can't do it myself right now but by eyeballing the two seats in front of me, I'd say the Frontier is definitely wider. I think the Nauti is around 19 inches but I may be way off. The Frontier 85 has top slots around 20 inches or so and the old style has them around 18.25 inches
 

soygurl

Active member
The original frontier and Nautilus have very similar top harness slots. In some vehicles, the Nauti may be slightly taller and in others the Frontier may be. Many have measured them to be about the same. I don't have width measurements in front of me and can't do it myself right now but by eyeballing the two seats in front of me, I'd say the Frontier is definitely wider. I think the Nauti is around 19 inches but I may be way off. The Frontier 85 has top slots around 20 inches or so and the old style has them around 18.25 inches

I'm pretty sure the top slots on the Nautilus are only 18.5" so just barely higher than the orig. Frontier. :thumbsup:
 

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