High dense foam as angle adjuster

avexnsx · Oct 7, 2014

Just wondering if anyone else did the same thing as I did.

I had a problem in my 2010 subaru forester, couldn't get a tight fit, and it's too tight for me to drive. So I took a high density foam, it's even more dense then those pool noodles I believe.

For the install steps, I tightened down the seat as much as I can, then pushed up hard to slide the foam in, it wasn't easy but it can be done, it's as tight as it ever had been. Also installed another radian FF right next to it for the older brother.

Also, they were both installed using seatbelts for install and not the LATCH as 1 seat is outboard and the other is in the middle.

I'll take pictures before I head to work later today.

Keeks64 · Oct 7, 2014

Sorry could you clarify please

Are you talking about the angle adjuster Diono makes to go with their seats or a piece of foam you bought on your own to use?

You cannot use anything with the Diono seats other than their approved angle adjuster. It's also not used to achieve a tight install but is to help get a more upright angle for older children/smaller vehicles.

CTPDMom · Oct 7, 2014

Keeks64 said:
Sorry could you clarify please

Are you talking about the angle adjuster Diono makes to go with their seats or a piece of foam you bought on your own to use?

You cannot use anything with the Diono seats other than their approved angle adjuster. It's also not used to achieve a tight install but is to help get a more upright angle for older children/smaller vehicles.

I agree clarification is needed.

Though if the foam is in place of pool noodles or towels to adjust a rear-facing recline that might be acceptable.

featherhead · Oct 7, 2014

To add to what Keeks said, when using the angle adjuster you should not be forcing the seat up once it is already installed tightly. First you buckle the seatbelt (or latch), then slide the angle adjuster under the seat, and then tighten up the seatbelt or latch strap.

Persimmon · Oct 8, 2014

Also, just wanted to verify that you had the recall on the center seat belt completed. If not, the buckle stalk ends up being much shorter and it is easier to get a car seat installed tightly.

YinzerMama · Oct 8, 2014

I think I have seen a subaru where the back seat bight/fold was up higher than normal so installing a rf radian in that spot would have the same issue installing a radian in the center seat of an ody has. Does your car have that issue?

Persimmon · Oct 8, 2014

YinzerMama said:
I think I have seen a subaru where the back seat bight/fold was up higher than normal so installing a rf radian in that spot would have the same issue installing a radian in the center seat of an ody has. Does your car have that issue?

Not the OP, but I have the same model car. The bight/fold seems average height to me. The center seating position also also a narrow hump in the seat so if you don't get the car seat in really tight, it can rock side to side. The shorter seat belt stalks post recall made all the difference for me though. Before the recall, I had to twist the buckle stalk three times to get DS's rear facing G2 Boulevard in tight. Post recall, no twisting. You just had to make sure to push down HARD on the car seat to compress the hump in the Forester seat and then really tighten the seat belt. I used my hips to do that but that wouldn't work with the tall Radian. For the RF Foonf, I used to squat in the car seat itself if I didn't have anyone else to push down hard on the car seat.

avexnsx · Oct 9, 2014

oops... when i posted this, it said the thread was too old and no one might respond to it, so I made a new thread since I took pictures for clarification as well.

Pictures in this thread

YinzerMama - I do have that issue as well, but I've seen a post (might be on this forum) that said those "feet" on the carseat can go into gap where the bight and the seat back meets, it makes the install a lot easier.

Persimmon - yes, I did get the recall done just on Monday, both carseats had to be removed. Also did the brake line inspection and ECU update. However, that plastic piece they put in gets in the way of the install, because as the seats are tightened down, the plastic insert gets pulled out of that hole.

featherhead, Keeks64, CTPDMom - the foam I got from somewhere, and I don't think the foam is any different than the diono one, also I've read posts on here where the diono foam deforms as time passes so only time will tell to see how mine holds up. What I'd want to know is the compression strength of the diono foam so I can compare it to mine.

Also another question, most of the videos that I've seen only say the seat should not move more than 1" all directions @ the belt path, but for the RF radian, it moves a lot more @ the top of the seat back, but after adding the foam, it barely moves at all near the top, but I think this might be due to the fact that the middle seat in the Foz has a slight crown where the foam had "absorbed" it so the radian can have a level surface to install on.

Thanks for all the comments, glad I found this forum! Hope I've clarified all the questions.

desiree_leigh · Oct 9, 2014

I haven't read through everything, but you definitely need to use the approved angle adjuster from Diono instead of the foam you've used. There is no way to know how the foam you've used may affect how the seat performs in the event of a crash. Sorry!

Dillipop · Oct 9, 2014

I agree- you need to get the angle adjuster made by Diono. I would also get rid of the hard plastic mat that you have under the rearfacing seat. Nothing should be between the car seat and vehicle seat. It can provide a false install where you think it's installed well when it really isn't.

YinzerMama · Oct 9, 2014

I can't tell for sure but it looks like you are using the adjuster to lift the radian up a few inches and lift the feet of the boot up into the bight. If I do that on my honda I get a perfectly solid installation in that spot but it's not the approved use of the AA so I just don't use that spot. Your seats are dark so it's hard to tell for sure with the pic but you did say that is the sort of bight you are dealing with. To me it looks like the crack is ABOVE the plastic buttons that indicate where latch is but again not sure I am seeing it right. I might be using the terms wrong - the bight is where the seat back and butt come together, the crack is usually there, but in some weird seats it is above it...

Does the pic of the ody seat in this thread look like what you are dealing with?

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=228758

The Diono-made AAs are really hard to find right now unfortunately.

Carrie_R · Oct 10, 2014

Hi avexnsx! Welcome to cso.

Please don't use that foam under your child's carseat - there are a range of possibilities it might fall in, from "maybe just fine" to "maybe deadly dangerous" and I'd really hate for your child to be the crash test dummy to find out which one it is! Since we have no idea the rate of compression of that foam vs. the (tested) angle adjuster or the vehicle seat, it could potentially lead to wildly different crash forces than the seat has been designed for, including and not limited to over-reclining during a crash and not containing your child properly.

I know the Diono AAs are really hard to find right now, but it's definitely worth the time and trouble to utilize an approved solution.

avexnsx · Oct 12, 2014

YinzerMama said:
I can't tell for sure but it looks like you are using the adjuster to lift the radian up a few inches and lift the feet of the boot up into the bight. If I do that on my honda I get a perfectly solid installation in that spot but it's not the approved use of the AA so I just don't use that spot. Your seats are dark so it's hard to tell for sure with the pic but you did say that is the sort of bight you are dealing with. To me it looks like the crack is ABOVE the plastic buttons that indicate where latch is but again not sure I am seeing it right. I might be using the terms wrong - the bight is where the seat back and butt come together, the crack is usually there, but in some weird seats it is above it...

Does the pic of the ody seat in this thread look like what you are dealing with?

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=228758

The Diono-made AAs are really hard to find right now unfortunately.

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a41922868/radian_aa_installation?cpg=2

In the last post in the above link, someone with their sig as a CPST did say the foot was in the right spot and that was for an impreza and the seats are almost identical to the Forester. So I think installing the foot into that space should be correct. Also, if using pool noodles is acceptable for angular adjustments, I really don't see why my foam doesn't work?

Been looking @ amazon.ca for AA, they have it in stock and it's $13 CDN. Not bad so I'll probably pick one up, although my younger one will turn 2 tmr so if I make her FF then I wouldn't have any of the above mentioned problems.

Dillipop · Oct 12, 2014

avexnsx said:
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a41922868/radian_aa_installation?cpg=2 In the last post in the above link, someone with their sig as a CPST did say the foot was in the right spot and that was for an impreza and the seats are almost identical to the Forester. So I think installing the foot into that space should be correct. Also, if using pool noodles is acceptable for angular adjustments, I really don't see why my foam doesn't work? Been looking @ amazon.ca for AA, they have it in stock and it's $13 CDN. Not bad so I'll probably pick one up, although my younger one will turn 2 tmr so if I make her FF then I wouldn't have any of the above mentioned problems.

The difference between pool noodles and you foam are they are being used for 2 different things- noodles are an approved method to help get a rearfacing seat more reclined. The angle adjuster or the foam you are using, is being placed under a different part of the seat and being used to make the seat more upright. Only the angle adjuster is approved for that purpose and only for the Diono seats.

To use the angle adjuster, you attaché the seatbelt or latch, the slide it under, then tighten the latch or belt. How you installed it, it seems like you installed the seat tightly, then shoved it under. Not a huge difference in the scheme of things, but enough that it could affect something. The manufacturer of your seat only wants the approved adjuster and want you to install it as above. Not sue about the seat bight thing- it's been my understanding that you can use the seat bight or if it's really high, it can dig in where the seat makes the 90 deg turn. If you have a good install, I think both are ok.

Happy birthday to your little one! While 2 is now the recommended minimum for forward facing and it's totally awesome that you made it there, there is evidence that rearfacing past this 2nd birthday is still safer until about age 4 than ffing. The NHTSA in the US recommends rearfacing until age 4 now or until the child outgrows their convertible seat. While ffing a 2 yet old in a proper seat with a great install is safe, keeping the child rearfacing is considered safer. Just something to think about.

ketchupqueen · Oct 12, 2014

Anything lightweight and compressible, towel, pool noodle, etc used to make a seat that approves using such items to increase the recline functions the same, it's just a place holder to help maintain recline while installing and during use. (A few brands, Chicco and Diono, do NOT allow this method of adjusting the recline.) Using something like the Angle Adjuster to force the seat more upright is a very different use. Only Diono allows this and only with the Angle Adjuster. Instead of allowing use of a placeholder to make sure the seat is installed the way it is tested so it can perform correctly, they are basically offering an optional, sold-separately part of the seat that changes its function for older children. So altering the seat's install with anything else is more akin to, say, adding a piece to the harness that's not tested. It's uncertain how it would change the performance because it's not tested at all.

avexnsx · Oct 14, 2014

Hi again everyone! Thank you so much for the comments!

That does give me reassurance of what I was doing wrong! haha!

Anyway, while I've seen many many articles stating that RF is the best, I have broke down and made my younger one FF. This way she'll be like her brother and secondly it'll give her more leg room, and myself as well. Not sure I'd like to be squatting in a seat for long periods of time. However, if we do go on long trips, we'll consider flipping her back RF just to make sure she's safest possible.

Anyway, we're taking a trip to China in a month and we should be taking 1 of the seats with us, hopefully it'll all work out. That's lots of luggage for the 4 of us! And these Radians are no lightweights either!

Thanks again! Great forum, really glad I found it!

HappyHoo · Oct 15, 2014

I believe the angle adjusters are back in stock now - you could order one so you can have her RF and safely have more room esp since she just turned 2 and has a couple years left she could RF.

avexnsx · Oct 16, 2014

I don't know how you guys can keep them RF for so long! right now she's almost in a squatting position already. Gonna check around this forum for some pics....

ketchupqueen · Oct 16, 2014

”squatting” is fine.

they aren't uncomfortable- some of our kids would tell us if they were!- and it's actually good for their leg development to have the back seat to push against. They may also PR them up or, my kids' fave, ”frog” them outward in a yoga-type pose. Once kids go forward facing they often complain because of the lack of leg support!

1mommy · Oct 16, 2014

This is from a different site but I think it sums up ERF pretty well.

http://csftl.org/rear-facing-car-seat-myths-busted/

Plus I might be weird but I hate sitting with my legs dangling, in my office chair I sit either in one keg or crisis cross applesauce (or back in my day known as Indian Style).

High dense foam as angle adjuster

New member

New member

Ambassador - CPS Technician

Well-known member

Active member

New member

Active member

New member

New member

Well-known member

New member

Ambassador - CPS Technician

New member

Well-known member

CPST and ketchup snob

New member

New member

New member

CPST and ketchup snob

New member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics