Car seat install pics in Integra and Corolla

Continued from this thread since it went way off the original topic: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=153571

I decided to try turning our seats around to RF to see if indeed they would fit in our cars. The 1996 Corolla has a Graco MR 65 and the Integra has a Cosco Scenera 40RF. Child is 1 yr old and 23 lbs, 30" tall.

First the Corolla. The MR has feet the flip under for rear facing. The seat bottom in the Corolla angles up just before it hits the vertical seat back:

As such, the MR can either go all the way up against the seat back, or slightly away and be fully in contact with the seat bottom.

If up against the seat back, the seat angles back farther, but the ball angle indicator is within the green zone. I would place a rolled towel in the space here:

With the seat slightly away from the seat back, the car seat is more fully in contact with the seat bottom, and it angles up a little more. The ball is borderline on the green zone:

Here is the overall view of the seat with it fully in contact with the car's seat bottom:

And DS "installed" in the seat He wasn't too happy with me fidgeting around with him so much haha.

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Here is the Scenera 40RF in the Integra, with rear support flipped to the "recline" position, but fully in contact with the seat bottom. The molded line on the side isn't parallel with the ground, but I was told that's more for newborns with no neck control. Seat seems very snug in place and doesn't move around at all. I dread trying to get DS into and out of this seat in this 2-door car. Will have to go in through driver side door. Luckily he doesn't ride in this car very often at all.

The big thing I'm going to miss from him riding front facing (he did for a week) is that we have absolutely zero view of what he's doing from the front seats. I've been told from people at the hospital and others that mirrors and things are dangerous in the rear as they can become flying projectiles in a crash.

Also what happens when he gets up around 35-40 lbs and is upwards of 35"-40" tall, and his legs don't fit flat on the car seat before his feet hit the vertical part of the car's seat back? Isn't that bad?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Kids sit with their legs crossed when they get bigger or put them up on the seat back. And no it us not unsafe.

Also please make sure you are using the rear facing belt path on the my rise in the one picture before the one with your DS in it looks like it is in the FF belt path. But it appears right in the one with your ds in the
Seat.

Wow, your son has gorgeous eyes!!

Those both look great. I'd make the parental decision to be ok with the second angle picture of the MR, but if the first fit I'd do that first.

His legs aren't a concern. As he gets bigger they'll go up the seat back. No biggie. They, and the rest of him, are safer rear facing.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sssIsceKd6U&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube - Rear facing vs forward facing position in the car[/ame]

That's a great video that shows why the legs and the spine are safer rear facing.

You can see pictures of older kids rear facing in this album (these are mostly older pictures, so ignore the seats they're in, you may not see them anymore).

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx

Here's Piper's page. http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/Piper.aspx

As for the mirror, I have one. Could it be a projectile? Yes. However, I appreciate being able to see her the 99.99999% of the time I'm in the car and not being in a crash. I have a lightweight mirror that I've secured the best I can. It weighs 10 ounces. In a 30 mph collision it will hit her (if it does) with 18.75 pounds of force. Enough to leave a mark, but not enough to break her skull or kill her. Do you watch Mythbusters at all? A few weeks ago they had an episode asking if a bug strike could kill a motorcycle rider. As such they went to a doctor who stated that a fatal hit would have to be 2,000 pounds of force to the forehead, 400-4,000 to the chest (depending solely on age due to ossification), and 76 to the throat (an airway strike doesn't break the trachea, but then it swells and you can't breathe, then you die). So even at a VERY severe crash at 60 mph, my 10 ounce mirror would have 37.5 pounds of force. In that crash it cannot be fatal, and I'm going to be far more worried about living than my mirror. And since it's secured, it may not come off, but if it does it probably won't be going 60 mph, it'll have been slowed a bit. It'll leave a mark, but that's all. Is it worth it to me, as a parent, to have the potential of a mark so I can see her? For me it is. Other parents will say no.

This is the mirror I have. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2402035&CAWELAID=107507959 As you can see it's basic. It's plastic surrounded by padding. I would never recommend anything that lights up or sings and dances. Those require batteries (a four pack of AA batteries has a 1 pound shipping weight on Amazon). I wouldn't throw a pack of batteries at my baby, and definitely not a pack of batteries plus the light up mirror. That *could* do damage. I don't know about fatal, but I could see a broken skull.

HTH!

Wendy

swtgi1982 said:

Kids sit with their legs crossed when they get bigger or put them up on the seat back. And no it us not unsafe.

Also please make sure you are using the rear facing belt path on the my rise in the one picture before the one with your DS in it looks like it is in the FF belt path. But it appears right in the one with your ds in the
Seat.

Click to expand...

It isn't buckled at all in that pic Those are the LATCH and TT straps in the FF belt path. The seat belt buckle is up to the left

ETA: Just make sure that the harness straps are coming from at or BELOW his shoulders with him rear facing

Yep those were the LATCH straps stored in the first pics. I was just test fitting the seat in the car in those pics.

And yes I did move the shoulder harness straps down. For FF my DS had to use the 2nd from the top out of 5 slots to get above his shoulders (about 11" shoulder height sitting). For RF I moved it down to the middle slots out of the 5.

Believe me I read the instruction books cover to cover and make sure everything is correct. I'm kinda OCD about details like that.

And yes he is pretty much the cutest little boy ever. Recent funny pic I captioned as I shot a quick pic with my dad's Nikon D300 as he was trying to crawl up into my lap heh

Lol. Want nom on lens.

The bottom of the seat doesn't have to be flat on the vehicle seat. And you don't have to fill a gap with a rolled towel. Only use a rolled towel if you need to adjust the recline angle. The ball must be entirely in the green, so either put a rolled towel under the seat or put it up on the high part at the back of your seat.

My daughter is 34ish inches tall. Her legs are bent in any seat, but they were always bent when she was itty bitty, too. She doesn't sit with her legs out straight in front of her. She changes position frequently, going from criss cross applesauce to legs thrown over the side to feet up by her face (I kid you not, playing with her socks or toes or whatever). When I first put her in the seat, she usually slouches and I have to ask her to push her bottom back into the seat to buckle her. When she slouches, she is actually giving herself less leg room, but she obviously doesn't mind.

sooo the ball MUST be in the green section entirely, or it can go more upright than that? I'm seeing conflicting/confusing info between this and my other thread.

The ball must be entirely in the green. It says so right on the indicator, in your picture above.

PatrickGSR94 said:

sooo the ball MUST be in the green section entirely, or it can go more upright than that? I'm seeing conflicting/confusing info between this and my other thread.

Click to expand...

The ball must be entirely in the green to achieve the angle needed for a newborn. I'd make the parental decision to have the ball somewhat out of the green area as long as the seat is not more than 30 degrees upright.

Yeah, I'm going to set up a level line with my laser level this evening and then stick an adjustable angle between the laser line and the seat shell to see what angle it really has.

PatrickGSR94 said:

Yeah, I'm going to set up a level line with my laser level this evening and then stick an adjustable angle between the laser line and the seat shell to see what angle it really has.

Click to expand...

You want to use seat back inside the seat to measure the angle. This seat is decieving if you look at the shell with the deep sides.

I will make sure I'm measuring the correct surface.

Is the "magic number" between 30 and 45 degrees from vertical (45 to 60 from horizontal)?

Right, 30 to 45 from vertical. Between 1 and 1:30 on a clock from the passenger side, 10:30 and 11 on the driver's side.

Wendy

If you have a smartphone, the free level app is much easier than a laser and an adjustable angle.

Here's a link that explains why it's okay (and even beneficial) for a rear-facing seat to be more upright for an older baby. You can't link directly to the page, so go here: http://www.carseat.org/ and then click "Technical Encyclopedia" and then "Angle of recline, rear-facing."

safeinthecar said:

If you have a smartphone, the free level app is much easier than a laser and an adjustable angle.

Click to expand...

OMG wow, and here I just read this AFTER getting out the laser level, angle finder, doing some trig, etc. I checked again with my iPhone and it confirmed my calculated laser findings.

Well, with the MR 65 in the position shown above with the ball just borderline on the green zone, the back is right at 30.5° plus another 0.43° slope to the garage floor, which puts me right at 31° on perfectly level ground.

I can only get 25° on the Integra's seat, though. If I lean it back to 30 with a towel under it, I'm afraid the front seat may be unusable. This seat will get such seldom use, but when it is used it's typically for an hour-long ride, and it's not fun to ride that long with your knees on the dashboard (nor is it safe, being that close to the airbag).

I may go back to FF with this seat only, seeing as how DW rides in the other seat 98% of the time. FF, or RF with angle at 25°. What to do?

First thing I would do is try to re install th scenera. If you have squish seat backs in that car you can push from behind while tightening the seat down and this may buy you that few inches needed. You will have to move the front passenger seat all the way forward to so this then move it back when done. I have gotten my RF convertibles in spaces that I thought impossible this way.

Secondly I would see if a tech on this board lives near you to try and get ae help. Most seats that seem impossible can be done there are just lots of tricks. Maybe there is one we are missing here that someone could see looking at it in person. Where are you located at maybe someone can help you out.

Memphis area

PatrickGSR94 said:

OMG wow, and here I just read this AFTER getting out the laser level, angle finder, doing some trig, etc. I checked again with my iPhone and it confirmed my calculated laser findings.

Good to know the iphone is accurate.

Well, with the MR 65 in the position shown abdWove with the ball just borderline on the green zone, the back is right at 30.5° plus another 0.43° slope to the garage floor, which puts me right at 31° on perfectly level ground.

Perfect!

I can only get 25° on the Integra's seat, though. If I lean it back to 30 with a towel under it, I'm afraid the front seat may be unusable. This seat will get such seldom use, but when it is used it's typically for an hour-long ride, and it's not fun to ride that long with your knees on the dashboard (nor is it safe, being that close to the airbag).

I may go back to FF with this seat only, seeing as how DW rides in the other seat 98% of the time. FF, or RF with angle at 25°. What to do?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't for anything FF a one year old. I'd exhaust all other options first, and even buy a new carseat before I'd do that. DW can ride in the back if the front seat is too far forward or you could just leave the carseat out of the vehicle until you need it, then install it.