Child Seats in M3 Sedan

[georgere]

what the title says. looking for recommendation on Child Seat recommendations for a toddler (who is groing obviously).

the current seat I used in my 3 series is horrible. pain to install and it leaves bad inprints in the leather seats (the base is not flat, it is kind of a bunch of edges in a square form forming the base)

I like recaro but don't want to get something pple hate to install/remove/etc.

so what works for you?

[Warranty P]

I've been using RECARO and it is simple and effective. It also extends as your kid grows so it is serviceable until your child doesn't need a seat anymore. You can also buy seat pads if you are concerned about your leather.

[Fast4d]

I used one very similar to this.


large image!

http://static.worldstores.co/images/...Graphite_1.jpg

from age 3 to about 7. it even had adjustable foot rest.

it fits well in the rear of an X5. depends alot on distance from seat bottom to roof.

I could not give it away after we were done with it. no one wants a used car seat for their kids.

[Bmwguy11]

Diono Radian R120. I'm using two of these forward facing (they dont fit very well rear facing), plus a chicco keyfit 30 (infant) for our kids. The two kids in the dionos are age 6 and 3. Yes, I can fit all 3 in the back seat of the M3. They are designed to fit 3 across, they are only like 17" wide. Great crash test ratings, steel frames, etc.

[Matt_B]

Here's a great resource for comparing car seats. http://csftl.org/ Helped me select my Britax Advocate a while back but I think there might be a newer model now. Thing is enormous but fits out car fine in any position so long as you don't have two incredibly tall people sitting up front. Also a bit more expensive than some. Otherwise I recommend them all the way, although there are other quality options too.

Recaro is perfectly fine but unremarkable when it comes to child seats, I think their popularity among enthusiasts is solely because of their reputation in motorsports.

[mnhomes]

Any one using the cybex aton 2 infant car seat? I have twin girls on the way, heard the aton 2 is very safe and takes up less room.

[dngo]

I use Recaro not for the motorsports connection but because the Britaxes I tried do not fit properly. The problem is that the rear headrests are fixed and prevent many car seats from being mounted properly. I use a Recaro Performance Sport for my 3 year old and a Performance Booster for my almost-6 year old.

I prefer the LATCH mechanisms on Britaxes but the Recaros are almost as easy to use. I can get the seats in and out pretty quickly.

[Bmwguy11]

I always like seats that are easy to use with the seat belt instead of latch personally. But that's because the seat belt method (properly installed) is safer and can handle more weight. (latch has a limit of 65 pounds including child and seat)

[Bluex]

Plenty of existing threads on this, but here are a few just to get you started:

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1134151

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1026734

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1044630

[AW BMW]

I use Recaro for my son in my m3, works perfectly for me and my son loves the seat. I hardly ever have the need to remove it so even better, I do use a pad for the bottom of the car seat.

[SamS]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

Diono Radian R120. I'm using two of these forward facing (they dont fit very well rear facing), plus a chicco keyfit 30 (infant) for our kids. The two kids in the dionos are age 6 and 3. Yes, I can fit all 3 in the back seat of the M3. They are designed to fit 3 across, they are only like 17" wide. Great crash test ratings, steel frames, etc.

Those Dionos seem rather tall. They don't bump/conflict with the built-in rear seat headrests?

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by SamS

Those Dionos seem rather tall. They don't bump/conflict with the built-in rear seat headrests?

They do rest against the head rests but they still sit as they should and at the angle they should. But you could always use a bolster/cushion behind the back if you wanted to have it not leaning on the head rest so much.

[BigMo]

I use a Chicco Nextfit and love it. Easy to install snug but I don't think it'll last past the age of 4 or maybe 5.

[RobbyMack]

personally I like the Recaro, I've been through the proride model and now we're on the performance booster. The little guy gets a kick out of the motorsports connection. It's really a personal choice as to what you want and what is important. Some people will only buy the highest rated from consumer reports, and that is fine, I just don't think that's the end all be all.

[cotmfk]

Originally Posted by Warranty P

I've been using RECARO and it is simple and effective. It also extends as your kid grows so it is serviceable until your child doesn't need a seat anymore. You can also buy seat pads if you are concerned about your leather.

I use Recaro as well.

Just FYI - there was a recent recall on some Recaro models.

[YolkyPalky]

I put Diono Radian R100, two of them, in the back of my E90 M3, and they are great. The low profile makes it super easy for kids to climb in and out of them. I think they work great in the back seat of M3/M4. Lot of people love Recaro, but I just found them to be too fn big and bulky,

https://us.diono.com/convertible-to-booster/radianr100

[JoeFromPA]

Just a note since somehow mentioned LATCH:

Only use LATCH up to a combined weight of your child + car seat = 60 pounds.

Once it exceeds that weight, you need to be using a seat belt to secure the car seat.

My 3 year old is 39 pounds. his car seat is 26 pounds, LATCH is rated to 65 pounds. After that, he needs to be secured using a seat belt + top tether for ALL forward facing seats.

So, to be clear, after your child hits about 40 pounds or so you are going to want to no longer use LATCH. And no, it's not recommended to use both LATCH and seat belt - I have no idea why, as I would assume both would be safer together, but that is the recommendation across everything I've read.

Here's a helpful resource: http://thecarseatlady.com/latch-weight-limits/

Lastly, I use a pretty worn britax marathon in the F80 m3. I lay a light towel down under the seat and on my carbonstructure when the seat is out for maybe 8 hours it looks brand new/no deformation. There's heavier duty stuff you can use too.

[///M///]

Originally Posted by YolkyPalky

I put Diono Radian R100, two of them, in the back of my E90 M3, and they are great. The low profile makes it super easy for kids to climb in and out of them. I think they work great in the back seat of M3/M4. Lot of people love Recaro, but I just found them to be too fn big and bulky,

https://us.diono.com/convertible-to-booster/radianr100

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

I always like seats that are easy to use with the seat belt instead of latch personally. But that's because the seat belt method (properly installed) is safer and can handle more weight. (latch has a limit of 65 pounds including child and seat)

Other than the R100 and R120 you guys recommended, I was also looking at the RXT. Did you look into this as well? Not sure what the difference is.

http://www.babycenter.com/103_diono-...xt_10392552.bc

[theroadrunner]

+1 for the chicco nextfit with a seat protector

[M3Fury]

I am well versed in this space. Although this may apply more to 5-8 yr olds than toddlers per se.

I have a 7 yr old on the short and light end of the spectrum. In addition to safety, my goal is to let the child be as independent as possible about buckling/unbuckling herself for school drop off and pickup. This really comes down to how wide the base of the booster is. If too wide it either partially covers or otherwise interferes with the buckle.

In my E90, I had a Britax Parkway SGL that worked great. In my F80, the geometry changed a bit and that seat no longer works well. Recently I compared the Maxi-cosi Rodi AP, the Clek Oobr, and the Cybex Solution X-Fix all at the same time (thanks Amazon). I went with the Cybex, which is German-designed. It has a narrow base and the headrest of the booster has the least interference with the car's headrest, minimizing the gap between the booster seat back and F80 seat when installed. I'll say though that I could still not use the Latch anchors that come with the Oobr or Cybex. Doing so still forced the seat bottom to interfere with the buckle. BMW really screwed this up IMHO. The last thing about this seat (and the Oobr) is that the rear of the seat design is smooth with minimal "knife edges" that would dent the F80 leather. I still use a seat protector though. I'll snap a pic in the daylight tomorrow.

[Needsdecaf]

Seat protector is a must no matter the seat. Go for the prince lionheart one. It's fantastic.

[NetBoy]

the Britax Clicktight system is easy to use. so much easier than latch.
The Britax seats have a flat bottom but you should still use a seat protector.