Baby seat/ capsule

[dog]

Thanks, that makes it easier.
I have called up Safe-n- Sound/ Britex and was told that although Britex is the mother company each country makes it's own development. According to Safe-n-Sound the Australian standards are higher than the European (26 G against 35 G here). I am yet to confirm this.
The Recaro did not get Australian Approval due to its Weight according to the local distributor.
It took me 2 years to get my 6 point harness approved, I have 7 months now to do the same to the baby seat [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[jeffw]

Does this mean that Aussie babies are heavier.....?

[Riz_RS4]

[img]images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/1syellow1.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

[Dave]

I was tempted to go with Audi's car chairs, but as they grow you need to replace the car.. and they arn't cheap either.. if I remember, Audi's version was two to three hundred quid.

I must add that the seat in the back of the RS6 are leather recaro's and baby seats don't seem to fit very well.. and that goes for the Audi ones too.. I mean they are OK but no snug against the seat

Dave

[dog]

The Safe-n-Sound rep was mumbling about contured back seats that do not accomodate baby seats too well. Their latest chair supposed to have som gizmo that adjust for that. Of course with ISOFIX who would give a hoot? But I might be stuck if no one tested the ISOFIX thing with 35 G force. (that is a lot of force)
ps my baby to be is too big at 36 weeks so I might get a Caesarian in a forthnight. (well, the wife might get it)

[charlesdash]

Interesting!

I specced my 4 with Isofix and when I took delivery in 2000 started scouting out the Isofix seats and researching which one was best etc. Then I came across an article produced by Which magazine in 1999 (if I can find it I'll post it.)

Basically although Isofix was heralded as the best and only fully integrated route to go for all of us lucky parents, there is a SERIOUS problem that was highlighted in crash tests.

Isofix relies upon 2 fixing points between the back and bottom cushions of the seat which an Isofix compatable seat clips into. In crash tests the lack of any higher level attaching device caused the child seats to become unstable and would cause serious injury to the occupant in an accident. This article was written in 1999, but was pretty damning about the whole hype of Isofix without a high level anchor point.
If you think about how a car would 'twist' and rotate when in a serious accident, I for on, wasn't even going to consider it, despite having the fixings points factory fitted.

I like the Recarro Start, and in a few months I will look at upgrading to it, but although some say it is fine from 12mths I tried it with my boy at 14 months, and even with all the padding etc it was just too big (no he is not small [img]images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]).
So after extensive tests at Mothercare, Halfords etc (yes we tried every single seat!) we went with the Maxi Comfort. This seat fits perfectly in the 4 and allows you to really strap it down tight and there it remains, (the M3 is a nightmare for car seats with nothing fitting properly [img]images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img])

Barnabus, since the attachements for Isofix are a structural part of the car, I was told that it is not possible to retor-fit these without really serious expense.

[dog]

Thanks Charles. It sounds very familiar isn't it? Maybe I just have to get both systems together. As my cars are Australian spec, I do have the anchor points for the top. It would be lovely to get a copy of your report. Who makes the Maxi Comfort?

[charlesdash]

Barnabus

Here is the web-site of the company, http://www.maxi-cosi.nl/ it doesn't look as if they have any distributors in Australasia. Maybe an opportunity! If you have problems let me know. I think they are about £75 here in the UK and shipping wouldn't be a huge amount.

With regard to the Isofix, I would be very surprised if you have upper mounting points in the 4 since I don't believe that the new standard has even been agreed. The Isofix mounting points are completely different to the mounting points for the 3 point seat belts you have in the car, hence the substantial cost of retro-fitting Isofix.

[RichardSmith]

Take the Child with you buy, I bought an audi one that comes with a table for my first S8, got it home,tried it, had to take it back before I got reported to Childline. Crushed the poor little sod.

[TimJMS]

Scary comments about the Isofix system, but thanks for bringing this to my attention Charles.

Dont use the Isofix in the RS, but where I do use it the seat seems to be very solidly locked in, and it simply aint possible to fit it incorrectly.

The sooner a four point Isofix fitting system is agreed internationally the better. As a parent you learn how to fit non Isofix seats properly, and tightly to the vehicle, but my kids arent always in my car, in my charge, in a seat that I have fitted.

Surely a badly fitted car seat is more dangerous than a current Isofix?

[charlesdash]

Couldn't agree more Tim. The article I mentioned reckoned that over 50% of child seats are fitted incorrectly or badly, it makes you think.

If you ever saw the film in which Jeff Bridges demonstrates the immpossibility of keeping hold of a child in a car accident without a restraint (he uses a tool box not an actual baby!) you really would always double check that the seat is in properly.

I'm still not 100% happy with the Maxi-Cosi in the back of my M3, no matter how much pressure I apply when fitting it, it is never completely stable as it was in the 4.

[dog]

With a bit of luck, I'll be able to see a Recaro seat within a week or two. What the local Recaro guy told me was that it uses the car's seat belt to hold the child in the seat instead having its own harnes and using the car's belt to fix the seat only. Weird design IMHO.
The information of the day came from Britex: They are going to get a system with both ISOFIX and the back straps. Bad news is it might take a year or so. I have 7 months only.

[dog]

O.K.
4 Britex ISOFIX Duo seats are on their way from New Zeland.
Problem: Audi Australia does not want to sell or fit the isofix hooks for my cars or even give me the part numbers for the RS4 or the Allroad.
I am told that there are two types: one that uses a strap (I don't want that) or one that clicks on (the one I want)
Could sombody please take a photo of the attachment and give me possibly the part numbers for the RS4 and the Allroad please?

[RobertH]

Not sure if this helps but we had ISO Fix on the TT and in my opinion it was actually more dangerous than the normal seat belt. The welded bar from memory held the children up facing the ceiling and the seatbelt was still needed to ensure they did not fly forward. I am not 100% sure what extra the fixing gets you as for all the seats I saw the belt is the weakest link as it is still needed unless you have one with self-contined straps (which we never saw over here in the UK).

The Audi seat we have in my opinion is quite dangerous between about 2 (when they kick off the cushion) and 5 years old as the seat belt does not run correctly over the "wings" of the seat.

Hope this maybe of some help.

Robert.

[dog]

Robert, are you talking about the Britex Isofix Duo?