Britax Two Way Elite?

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Hello:)

We are going to Norway this Christmas to visit family, and we're wanting to get a couple of car seats to use there and then take back with us to Australia(yes, I know it's illegal).

Hi Niniel, and welcome to Car-Seat.Org! I sincerely apologize that this thread went somewhat off-topic. Many of us are very passionate about carseats and sometimes conversations go astray;-) I hope you will stay with us and please don't feel afraid to ask if you have any additional questions.

I know. US cars are incredibly advanced and totally superior. The Italians, Germans, Swedes, Japanese, actually the whole world, just dream about ever reaching such an astonishing level of perfection. And lets not forget about the unbelievable safety displayed by GM and the amazing overall reliability of brands such as Chrysler, Buick, Chevrolet, Dodge, Pontiac, Geo, Saturn and Oldsmobile. Perhaps one day other brands and countries can catch up.


"Advanced" airbag technology is pretty much universal in all automobiles sold today in the USA not only by GM, Chrysler/Fiat and Ford, but BMW, Toyota, Mercedes, Honda, Volvo, VW and other manufacturers from various countries. You may wish to read about them here:

http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Air+Bags/Advanced+Frontal+Air+Bags

Most importantly, as mentioned above, it means "Advanced" relative to early frontal airbag systems that deployed with full force regardless of other conditions. These caused a lot of unnecessary deaths in the USA, especially to small adults, children and babies in rear-facing carseats. As LISMama810 said, it does not mean "Advanced" relative to vehicles in other countries.

I don't believe anyone said that US cars are superior in this regard, other than you. I would appreciate it if this thread can be kept on topic for the original poster who is interested in Norway and Australia. I'm not sure why you brought up American cars and airbags in the first place, other than possibly to derail this thread with facetious rhetoric.
 
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Niniel

New member
TWE and Multi Tech will last longest of any rear facing seat in the world. MT has a taller seat shell thanks to the adjustable head support but TWE will actually last slightly longer. Our seats can be used rear facing until tip of ears are at top of seat shell. That means about one third of a child's head can be above top of seat shell before it's time to switch seat.

Shoulders of a child will reach the MT head support before tip of seat shell. It will last to around 125 cm or age 6 so still pretty good performance:) TWE will usually last to 130 cm since it doesn't have a head support.

Thanks for the info. That sounds fantastic. Might even use it for my 6 year old for a while first then, just to get a few extra months RF :)

Hi Niniel, and welcome to Car-Seat.Org! I sincerely apologize that this thread went somewhat off-topic. Many of us are very passionate about carseats and sometimes conversations go astray;-) I hope you will stay with us and please don't feel afraid to ask if you have any additional questions.

Thank you! All good. I have already learned a lot from here just by lurking, and I'll definitively stick around:)
 

Aurezalia

Well-known member
Back on topic... The Axkid wouldn't be any different than the TWE as far as install with your belt and is slightly shorter as well as being more expensive, so the only reason to go for that over the TWE is if you want the extra features - a headrest that self-adjusts with the straps. TWE has no headrest as you can tell.
I'm reinstalling my TWE tomorrow, I'm happy to take firsthand pictures of the different belt routings for you as I'll be playing around with it anyway. :)
 

Niniel

New member
Back on topic... The Axkid wouldn't be any different than the TWE as far as install with your belt and is slightly shorter as well as being more expensive, so the only reason to go for that over the TWE is if you want the extra features - a headrest that self-adjusts with the straps. TWE has no headrest as you can tell.
I'm reinstalling my TWE tomorrow, I'm happy to take firsthand pictures of the different belt routings for you as I'll be playing around with it anyway. :)

That would be awesome, thank you!:)
 

Aurezalia

Well-known member
That would be awesome, thank you!:)

Sorry, I swear I didn't forget about you - no internet at home still (I moved recently) so I had to wait until I got to work this morning so I could upload the pictures for you! Please excuse the crappy quality, I was doing this near sunset and then it started raining - thank goodness for covered parking!

So here are the three basic types of routings:

Option 1:
Seatbelt goes up into belt path as usual, across seat (can go over cover or under cover, I went over for brevity and clarity), back down through belt path openings, and buckle.
routing-1_zpsec508149.gif

(the bit of blue is the pool noodle I'm using to adjust recline)

Unfortunately, because of the fixed buckle stalks I have, this type gives me buckle crunch when I'm trying to install it like this.
routing-1-buckle_zpsf4a142e6.gif



Option 2:
Going from the FRONT of the seat, as opposed to the sides, go into the belt path openings from ABOVE, and route the belt completely under the seat, back up through the belt path openings, pull to the front of the seat and buckle.
routing-2_zps998da432.gif


Usually I get buckle crunch with this method, again because of my fixed stalks, but for whatever reason it looks pretty good this time; but I still don't prefer it as the twist to the side makes me a little uncomfortable.
routing-2-buckle_zpsa9b6b456.gif


Option 3: This method works best for my car, and I believe probably for yours as well. Very similar to option two, but you go from the sides instead of the front - across the side, down into openings, under the seat, up through opening and over side, and buckle. This requires the most seatbelt length, though - something to be aware of if you have short belts. (There is another option that I haven't tried as I've never needed to, where you route the belt through just one side of the seat and buckle, specifically for cars where the belts are very short.)
routing-3_zpsd89d4b6f.gif


The seatbelt routes perfectly to the buckle with no twists, turns, or crunching.
belt-routing-3-buckle_zpseec7942d.gif


Final result:
final_zpsec26ec75.gif
 

Niniel

New member
That is very helpful, thank you so much! Looks like option 3 is the way to go, our belts are nice and long.

Is it OK for the buckle to touch the side of the seat?
 

ERFmama

New member
I would go for TWE as well.

Aurezalia, I might be blind, but at least in your photo, I can't see buckle crunch?
Maybe it's just the angle of the photo and the lack of light.
Could you explain to me please how it is buckle crunching in the photos so I know in the future? :D x
 

ERFmama

New member
That is very helpful, thank you so much! Looks like option 3 is the way to go, our belts are nice and long.

Is it OK for the buckle to touch the side of the seat?

It is OK for the metal part that the seat belt is threaded though to touch yes, but the buckle part (with the button on) shouldn't lean on, over etc the seat.

Example of buckle crunch (and heavy at that):
 

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Niniel

New member
It is OK for the metal part that the seat belt is threaded though to touch yes, but the buckle part (with the button on) shouldn't lean on, over etc the seat.

Example of buckle crunch (and heavy at that):

That's what I thought, thank you.
 

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