Baby Seats suitable for the 996

[Richard_Hamilton]

This seems to be a regular FAQ, so I have reproduced a thread from the main 996 page. I have left the thread open, so please add any replies you feel might be useful.

911_turbo:

I've tried a few baby seats but can't get any of them to fit in the back of my 996tt. The Porsche Prince is not available any more. Can anyone tell me which make and model will fit please?

johndglynn:

If you are looking for baby seats do you mean for tiny tiny baby or face forward seats for slightly older? The Porsche stuff for either all has the airbag deactivation plug which is a plus.

There's a rear facing seat on eBay here, nothing front facing at the minute.

Design 911 have a thing on their site here which points you towards the Prince or Zoom but others have said the Britax Freeway works in 911 ( I think they mean old). I know the Zoom also works in Carrera but I stand to be corrected on 996. There are always as-new Prince seats on eBay for sale, this one for example (Germany). You also see them in Porsche Post from time to time. I can bring one of my Prince seats to the Ace one night if you want to try one out and see - let me know.

tallmat:

Barry

I've gone through all options for my 996tt. The Porsche Prince works well but is now out of production. Evidently it was made for Porsche by Britax and sold new for around £125. They now sell on eBay for as much as £180!

The new range of seats that an OPC will sell to you are circa £300. I did not bother, as I only needed one for occasional use with my year old son.

The Britax Freeway works OK in the back seats, though the front passenger will need to have their seat as slid forward as possible.

There is also a cool Recaro seat (the "start") that costs about £180 and I saw in a 996 which seems to fit OK:

http://www.recaro-seats.co.uk/childsafety.asp

These comments apply to a seat for 9 months+. When my lad was small he went in a Porsche seat with airbag immobiliser (you need to see if the base unit is fitted in your car "" a spare buckle protruding from the base of the passenger seat).

Hope this helps.
Matthew

tonyDF28:

http://www.porscheshop.co.uk/

Try the link above, I have a 3 yr old and I bought the zoom i Think it was £150 it is an original Porsche item and about £200 than Porsche direct.

Good luck

911_turbo:

Thanks a lot for your advice and recommendations guys. We went to John Lewis at the weekend and managed to find a couple that fit so just in case anyone needs to know for future reference, give the following a try:
- Maxi Cosi Priory XP
- Mamas & Papas Pro-tec

sheldon:

Hi All.

Ive read few threads on child seats for a 996, most seem to recommend - Maxi Cosi Priory XP or - Mamas & Papas Pro-tec. I tried the Maxi cosi, but found that we had to have the passenger seat very far foward.

Has anyone found any other seats that fit a 996?

Cheers
Paul


911_turbo:

I went for the Mamas and Papas Pro-tec in the end and have been very pleased with the fit. You can also create an extra couple of inches of room by taking out the rear seat-backs as follows...

You need to remove the small plastic cap between the seats; lever it out with a flat screwdriver. Next, unscrew the bolt with an allen key. Then each seat side has another black plastic cap that also lever off with a screwdriver. Unscrew these two bolts with a larger allen key and then out come the seat backs.

sheldon:

Thanks, I might have a look at removing the seat back at the weekend, although does the seat still get enough support at the back?

911_turbo:

Yes - no problem

ianbanville:

Recaro Start (from about 9 months)... and it has speakers in the headrest!!!

 

[Guest]

Same ongoing issue here -
Criteria:
Child = 9 months, 9KG+ and able to sit upright unaided

Recaro Young Expert - available for about £130.
Fit is ok with rear car seat pad removed. Would benefit from removal of rear vertical car seat pad as if left in situ this forces the child seat slighlty more upright. This child seat is height adjustable via means of a device that raises or lowers the height of the shoulder harness and pads within the seat, thereby avoiding the seat fouling the c pillar like the older Recaro seats - i.e. the Start.
Seems well made and well padded. The child seat is secured via the three point seat belt and the process is relatively straightforward albeit a bit tight in terms of handroom when securing the diagonal belt. Leaves a reasonable amount of room in the pront passenger seat if installed in the rear passenger side. Seat also reclines to a more relaxed sleeping position by means of a single grab handle.

If anyone would like a photo of the fit, please drop me a line.

 

[Robertb]

For those who can get hold of a Porsche Prince, another option which I find convenient for my 6 yr old daughter-

I bought the airbag deactivation device (off a pcgb member) and fitted it myself- dead easy. Tony Wright of Wrightune kindly did the ecu reprogramming- took him a couple of mins.

I removed the seatbelt buckle from my Porsche Prince seat (which only ever gets used in the back) and can therefore put my daughter's usual booster seat on the front seat with the airbag deactivated by just plugging the buckle in under the seat, so no need to buy the expensive Porsche seat for use with the airbag deactivation buckle (which looks suspiciously like a normal seatbelt buckle, but not tested it)

 

[davidcross]

i got the airbag deactivation fitted when i bought my car. its a very neat little light by the ashtray that tells u when the airbags off and its a key slot hidden in the door pillar. also for £15 from mothercare i bought a booster seat that actually fits nicely in the rear seats and in the front no problem. they charged me £215 for the airbag deactivation

Edit by Richard: I think David is referring to a 997 which has a different airbag deactivation system.