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spike98
03-25-2011, 10:08 AM
I am looking at getting a car seat for the girlfriends little guy. Its becoming a pain in the ass swapping or me driving her Soul so i want to get something to keep in my car.

I would like something very safe yet bad ass at the same time. Does recaro or sparco make something? Id like to be able to get it from somewhere in town (calgary or medicine hat).

Anyone have any suggestions?

lint
03-25-2011, 10:20 AM
recaro makes them, but they're not CSA approved. Check with xrayvsn he's got them and posted up some info on them here before

Tik-Tok
03-25-2011, 10:22 AM
http://tinyurl.com/4759qct

spike98
03-25-2011, 10:53 AM
Originally posted by Tik-Tok
http://tinyurl.com/4759qct

Hahah a taste of my own medicine! I did google it and i have spent hours looking at discontinued specs of old models. Nothing current. Its all from 09 and older.

I want something current and readily available. Thanks lint, ill PM him. Not being CSA approved, i assume you mean Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 approved (see tik tok, i googled!)

Does this mean that because its not "approved" that its not safe? Because i want safety to come above all.

lint
03-25-2011, 10:58 AM
not approved means not importable, not sold here and not insurable I think. Safe enough for the rest of the world though. Just think bumper laws and imports

Tik-Tok
03-25-2011, 12:40 PM
Originally posted by lint
not approved means not importable, not sold here and not insurable I think. Safe enough for the rest of the world though. Just think bumper laws and imports

Insurance has nothing to do with it, but the law says it has to have the "Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213". Wasn't there a big crackdown by police last year about this? They were fining everyone who didn't have their kids properly belted in a legal child seat.

It doesn't mean it isn't safe, it just means Recaro doesn't think there's enough market in Canada, to justify going through the hoops to get it certified.

sputnik
03-25-2011, 12:46 PM
Don't waste your money on something expensive.

It is just a car seat.

Unless of course you want to show it off to impress your friends or something.

SilverGS
03-25-2011, 01:03 PM
How old is he?

Britax and Sunshine Kids make some decent car seats for Children between 15lbs and 65lbs

spike98
03-25-2011, 01:16 PM
Originally posted by sputnik
Don't waste your money on something expensive.

It is just a car seat.

Unless of course you want to show it off to impress your friends or something.

Dude, a car seat isn't just a car seat. Its about providing protection and safety for a loved one. Im not saying that a Recaro seat will be safer because of the name. Ulitmately that doesn't matter to much to me or "my friends". I want something because the little guy likes racing and would absolutley be blown away by something that is "race inspired" and looks bad ass. He is a boy afterall.



Originally posted by SilverGS
How old is he?

Britax and Sunshine Kids make some decent car seats for Children between 15lbs and 65lbs

He is three and a half but is tall for his age. Ill check em out! Thanks.

RC-Cola
03-25-2011, 01:24 PM
I would look at Britax seats as that is what we bought for our little one after MUCH research (my Wife took weeks looking for a convertable car seat worth $400 and 10 minutes looking at a $45,000 SUV, go figure!).

Anyways, you can make the seat "cooler" for the kid by adding stuff like a steering wheel / gear shifter so they can "drive" with you.

Much more important getting a safe/reliable seat that the child will be comfortable then havign a cool name brand.

clem24
03-25-2011, 03:56 PM
Britax seats are one of the best out there. But they're expensive and they're bulky. Not only are they designed well for comfort and obviously, safety, they are one of the few seats that I have been able to install perfectly tight with either seat belts or the LATCH system, and with relatively little effort (huge consideration for us and it's something that people don't generally think about or even know about b/c most people don't know how a seat should be properly installed).

Many seats out there just can't attach tightly or still exhibit side to side movements. But the Britax can be so easily tightened that it basically feels like it's completely welded to the seat (i.e. no movement whatsoever after it's tightened) . I think it is good because each LATCH belt is attached to the seat via it's own dedicated rail on each side, so each side tightens independently, unlike others that use just one belt and you tight just the one belt. Hard to explain but maybe you'll know when you see it.

We've tried an Eddie Bauer and couldn't get it perfectly tight, and another brand (can't remember) but it uses a dial to tighten the 5 point harness and that one is abysmal. Extremely hard to tighten and loosen, just general all around pain to install.

Anyway the Britax was so awesome that we bought another.

The Sunshine Kids Radian is a nice seat because it's quite compact (kind of the opposite of the Britax) and lots people like them, but I have no first hand experience. But also quite pricey...

CMW403
03-25-2011, 06:35 PM
I saw the recaro seat in that tunerworks M3 at the autoshow. He told me the recaro seat costs 3000 dollars.

RC-Cola
03-25-2011, 07:12 PM
Originally posted by clem24
Britax seats are one of the best out there. But they're expensive and they're bulky. Not only are they designed well for comfort and obviously, safety, they are one of the few seats that I have been able to install perfectly tight with either seat belts or the LATCH system, and with relatively little effort (huge consideration for us and it's something that people don't generally think about or even know about b/c most people don't know how a seat should be properly installed).

Many seats out there just can't attach tightly or still exhibit side to side movements. But the Britax can be so easily tightened that it basically feels like it's completely welded to the seat (i.e. no movement whatsoever after it's tightened) . I think it is good because each LATCH belt is attached to the seat via it's own dedicated rail on each side, so each side tightens independently, unlike others that use just one belt and you tight just the one belt. Hard to explain but maybe you'll know when you see it.

We've tried an Eddie Bauer and couldn't get it perfectly tight, and another brand (can't remember) but it uses a dial to tighten the 5 point harness and that one is abysmal. Extremely hard to tighten and loosen, just general all around pain to install.

Anyway the Britax was so awesome that we bought another.

The Sunshine Kids Radian is a nice seat because it's quite compact (kind of the opposite of the Britax) and lots people like them, but I have no first hand experience. But also quite pricey...

Agree 100%

Clever
03-25-2011, 08:48 PM
We almost bought the Radian, but something with the construction of the seat turned us off, this was over a year ago, not sure if they have a new model now, we have the Britax Advocate I think, and could not be happier.

spike98
03-25-2011, 08:49 PM
I found a local distributor for Britax and i will be checking them out tomorrow. If i come home with one ill be sure to post some pictures of it and the occupant!

Thanks for the input so far!

SJW
03-26-2011, 06:48 AM
I bought a britax for my little guy. It's awesome. Kacz kids has em. Just try not to talk to the owner of the store, he's a genuine douche.

kevie88
03-26-2011, 07:38 AM
Originally posted by CMW403
I saw the recaro seat in that tunerworks M3 at the autoshow. He told me the recaro seat costs 3000 dollars.

I have a nice Recaro I bought for around 300 shipped (Had my mother-in-law send it up from Washington for me). Love the seat! I also have a Graco that I paid more for but it's a POS in comparison.

I have this one in black/white:

http://www.recarochildseat.com/RECARO-Como-G2.pro