Need Child Seat Recommendations for 996

Anyone out there using a child seat in the backseat of a 996? I am adopting an 11 month old from China in five weeks and I need a few recommendations for a child seat for the back seat. (I am assuming that the back seat is large enough for a child seat...) Any recommendations are welcome. Also, is the Porsche child seat and booster worth the money? Seems a lot to pay just for the brand name. Thanks, Mark

Congratulations!! There's probably not enough room in the back for a rear facing car seat and I think that Porshce recommends against this. Check with your state for recommendations (I can't remember the age/weight limit before they can be forward facing). Do a "child seat or car seat" search on the forum as there has been many posts on this in the last month or so. Porshce is no longer making their car seat (they were made by Britax for Porsche).

Britax makes the best child/baby seats on the market. They are expensive but you will immediately notice the difference when you put one side by side with their competition. I have the Britax Marathon that fits tightly in the back seat. The Porsche model may have different dimensions than the standard Britax models so it would be helpful to have the spec's before buying. There's no better place to spend your money so yes it's worth it.

Thanks! I'll check out the Britax seats. Mark

My recommendation: Don't have any kids--Buy another car

Congratulations!!! 11 month old may be big enough for front-facing car seat(no need for infant seat). let me know your shopping exp. since i will do the same very soon.

I shopped Porsche and Baby's R Us.

earlyapex, Do you have any photos of the Britax in your 40th Anniv. 911? That 911 is on my short-list and want to make sure I can actually fit a child seat in there before I pull the trigger... Thanks.

I'll post one later today. It's a tight fit with the Britax Marathon, but it works and the seat is top quality. The Porsche version may have different dimensions and thus fit better so I would look at one.

Don't necessarily go by age. Make sure your child meets all the requirements such as weight and height. In general, try to keep your child in the "younger" (i.e., rear-facing, 5-pt forward, 5-pt "bigger" forward, then booster) seats as long as they are within the recommended limits because they are safer. Also, Asian kids will often be smaller.

Mark, Congrats on the adoption! We adopted our Katerina from Russia in 2001, and are signed up to do it again. On the car seat, the rear dimensions are tricky, and not many fit. I ended up finding ours at WalMart for $30, which fits great both front and rear facing.

here is a pic of the eddie bauer one. its good for 1-year and older, rear facing in the back. i cant remember if there is a weight restriction too. i went to Right Start and they let me try them all until i got one to fit well

Justin's race seat.

The Marathon is a GREAT seat (I have two) BUT the Porsche seat is significantly smaller than the Marathon. Unfortunately, it is also significantly more expensive. One of the key differences in the Porsche seat is that it curves in at the top (which creates a lot more space). I heard a rumor that they have been discontinued, but have been unable to confirm. Anyone know?

earlyapex, Thanks for the photo. It looks so much more comfortable than the Porsche Zoom model, especially with the slight recline. Although, the Zoom is for an older child. I won't be putting my little girl in the 911 until she can sit forward facing, most likely (she's only 3.5 months right now), since I have to bring the wife along on trips, as well.

The right shoulder of the seat pushes against the material of the C pillar. The Porsche model may be narrower at this point, but I was too cheap to get one.

You are exactly right. Many non-porsche seats are too wide at the top so they hit the C pillar. The Porsche seat is designed specifically for the back seat of the 911. It curves in at the top so I get 2-3" clearance for the C-Pillar, and it is also designed so it does not block the rear speaker when your child is not in the seat. If you just leave the seat in all the time, it does not affect the sound quality when your child is not with you so you can continue pimpin' all over the world (well, as much as you can with a baby seat in the back of your sports car ).

Mark, I have a Porsche car seat in my garage that is not needed. PM if interested and I can send pics. Bruce

Thanks for all the pic. Very informative. However, after looking at those pic with rear car seat, I am concerned. But I want to think twice about putting my kids in 996 back-seat, even with child seat mounted. The leg room for the kids is VERY small. It�s even worse if someone sitting on front passage seat. Can�t image what will happen if getting involved in accident and front seat got pushed back. Any thoughts?