Question Car seat for RX8- for emergencies and tot to grow into

L

LSUdreamer

Guest
My hubby has an RX8 (tiny blue sports car) and we are looking to purchase a second seat for our 18 month old to use in his car in case of emergencies. We currently have a Britax Marathon that we use for him as the main carseat and it is forward facing. My son is 18 months old, 36 inches tall, and weights almost 28 pounds. We are hoping to find something that is more along the lines of a booster that he can graduate to next.... so when baby #2 comes along, we have the seats we need as everyone gets bigger. I want something SAFE but it must fit the small car as we aren't getting rid of that any time soon. HELP!
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Is there a reason your 18 month old is forward facing so soon? Do you know of the AAP recommendations to rear face to at least two, preferably longer? It's up to 500% safer than forward facing at this age.

If you want SAFE, as you say, then I'd get a rear facing seat that he can use rear facing for another couple of years. If the backseat is very sloped, I'd probably try your Marathon in there, since it has a small base, and buy something new for your car. What do you drive?

Remember, it doesn't need to be at the newborn angle of 45 degrees. The Marathon can be as upright as 30 degrees, so it should fit well in his RX-8. We put a Wizard (same size and shape as the Marathon) in our Porsche 911. :) It fit and it was the safest way to ride.

Wendy
 
L

LSUdreamer

Guest
I drive a 2009 Rav4... we had MAJOR issues with him rear facing as he wanted to straighten his legs out and could not even with the seat he was facing (RF) reclined some. He is ALL legs... so we flipped him to FFing. We no longer have the meltdown child in the car which makes for a much calmer mommy and tot.

I know the Marathon fits FFing in the RX8 with his front seat mostly forward. (Daddy had to pick up the tot from school once already.) I had not thought about putting the Marathon in his car permanently and buying new for mine.

We are also trying to plan for the next child so we have seats that will fit both when that one is out of a carrier, but that is down the road a bit. :) I have seen some great reviews on the Sunshine Kids Radian seats too...I just haven't been able to find a website that allows you to compare different brands.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
We can also help compare.

I'd try turning him around again. It's FAR FAR FAR safer, to the point where I'm just not comfortable recommending a forward facing seat at all (and in fact, one I would recommend is not allowed because the company realizes he should be rear facing). The children here generally rear face to three to four years old. We get through the stage where they push on the back (nearly all kids do, they hate being restrained. He'll probably fight you again, in either direction, around his second birthday), we get through the stage where their legs are bent or straight or appear to be uncomfortable. And they can straighten their legs. Easily and more comfortably rear facing than they can forward. Forward facing they have nowhere to rest their legs. They get dangling legs, which can lead to bum and back numbness or pain.

956049483_237a9c7272.jpg


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See, straight legs. The Marathon doesn't offer a lot of rear facing leg room or forward facing leg support, so if he's all legs he'll likely find it uncomfortable in either direction after a time.

Also, his legs are safer rear facing than they are forward. The video at the bottom of this page, "Rear facing vs forward facing position in the car," explains it very well. http://carseatblog.com/5168/why-rear-facing-is-better-your-rf-link-guide/

Seats that offer a lot of leg room and can help him meet the AAP's bare minimum recommendation of two to forward face, and are narrow for when you have two in the back are the Sunshine Kids Radians and Safety 1st Complete Air. They rear face to 40-45 pounds and forward face to 50-80 with 17.5" top slots. They have tall shells and a lot of leg depth.

If you won't turn him back rear facing, to be SAFE, again as you say, then I'd look at the Graco Nautilus or Recaro ProSport. The Evenflo Maestro would be a nice, narrow option. The one with the most leg depth is the Britax Frontier, but with a two year minimum he cannot sit in it yet (as Britax encourages rear facing to at least two, even if it means not selling seats).

It's good the Marathon fits for you forward facing. Due to the shape of our Porsche's backseat, our Wizard fit rear facing, but not forward.

If you do keep him forward, it is imperative that you tether his seat. And make sure it's installed properly. For instance, your top tether for the middle in your Rav4 is on the ceiling, not behind the seat, and LATCH is not allowed in the center. If you have him on the side you can use LATCH with a top tether down low on the seat, and the car's seat must be reclined to the seventh click. You cannot install a seat on the driver's side and in the middle, due to the seatbelt/LATCH overlap. So when you have two you'll either need to put them passenger/middle, or each outboard.

Wendy
 

leighi123

Active member
I have successfully installed both the Radian XTSL and the TrueFit in my dads "tiny blue sports car" (we have a spyder), install with the seatbelt, and its super easy. The airbag turns off with a key, and I put the seat all the way back, but still, he is in this car only for emergencies.

ETA: Here is the TF
DSC02663.jpg

DSC02664.jpg

DSC02661.jpg


He was a little over 2 in these pics, the infant insert was still in it, without he had a ton more room.
 

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