Just curious as to how many of you (if any) have ever used the rx-8 while having a child's seat in it. Thanks.

 

My butt is too big to fit in a child's seat. That crotch strap would probably be uncomfortable too.

 

I do, works out great. Except my son can't eat in Dad's car like he can in Mom's. You also need to instruct them not to kick the back of the seats.

 

I have a child's seat that gets used on a daily basis. Wether it was front or rear facing, you just open the back door, tilt and insert into the seat. I do prefer the childs seat behind the passenger seat so that I have a little more leg room, don't feel any kicks, and so that I can reach back to hand milk or anything else.

 

6 weeks to go, then I will buy one.

 

I have a booster in the back of mine. Works fine. My kids love driving in "daddy's red car".

 

Works great with the anchors. As was mentioned above, their feet will probably touch the back of the seat. Passenger side is a must.

 

i have used two recaros in the back and they fit fine. by the way there have been a few posts about this. here is one:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/car-seat-106506/

 

I always have a booster and a forward facing seat in my back seats. A rear facing seat will be a very tight fit. I am actualy a Certified by NHTSI as a Car Seat Tech. I took a forty hour class to learn how to install all types of seat in all types of cars.

I think you will need to put the rear facing seat on the passanger side and move the seat forward to make room for the seat. You do not want the child seat to touch the seat. It needs to be able to move in an accident. Does not sound right but trust me it is. Also, the child seat handle on a infant carrier is not a role bar for your child, it must be all the way down/back.

I know it can be hard to do, but read the directions for your childs safety. They are confusing but just remember that the seat should not move more then 1-1.5 inches side to side where the belt goes through and it needs to be locked tight. If you can use the included locking clip, use it. It is better then the "Latch System" Latch has an occaional failure and is not rated for children bigger then 40LBS. Just compair the size of a seat belt to the size of the "Latch System belt" but never use both.

Most police departments or fire departments can check your install. But be sure the person is certifed and not just a good intentioned individual.

Hope this helps.

 

^this is true. i had a rear-facing in the back once and my wife was pretty much pinned to the dashboard b/c we had to move the passenger seat forward so much. it's certainly not comfortable rear-facing but once they are forward-facing it's fine.

 

Genuine Mazda RX-8 baby seats are available if you know the part numbers.

They are approved seats for Japan so check your local authorities if a Jap spec baby seat can be used. Prices are approximate & direct from the Mazda Japan catalogue

Sorry but cant quote you the 19th century terminology

04kg / 40cm - 13kg / 80cm child
Part # 1046 W3 111A (HU7X)
Price = $300 approx

09kg / 70cm - 18kg / 100cm child
Part # 1045 W3 111A (HU7W)
ISO-FIX approved
Price = $520 approx

09kg / 70cm - 18kg / 100cm child
Part # 1047 W3 111A (HU7W)
Price = $410 approx

15kg / 95cm - 36kg / 150cm child
Part # 1048 W3 111A (HU7Z)
Price = $330 approx

In the pics, they all appear to fit the contours of the rear seat properly preventing unwanted sliding around.

REgards

 

you can get the recaros a lot cheaper than that and they fit like a glove.

 

I got the all-leather Eddie Bauer to match the seats.



Has the Latch anchors and top tether, so snaps in and out easily and fits like a (leather) glove!

S

 

I bought the Safe Guard Go for my 2 year old. http://www.safeguardseat.com/go/index.htm

We're very happy with it. Still uses LATCH for child and booster modes (not many boosters do), no base or bulky back so she (and my wife) have tons of leg room.

 

What ever you get you must install it correctly and it must fit the car which could be hard to do in a rear facing seat. If the right front passenger is so far forward that they are touching the dash board, that is not safe either. Most stores have sample seats that you can try in your car before you buy. Highly recommended.

The Mazda seats must be certified by NHSTI if you are going to use them in the USA. I do not think the are but I could be wrong. If your local dealer does not sale them I am sure there is a reason.

The recaro's are forward facing only seat so you wont be able to use it for atleast 1 year and they are about as much as a Britex which many believe are the best seat on the market. Although they do not install well in the rear facing position.

Stick with a infant carrier until your child reaches 1 year old and 20LBS, then turn them around using a seat that fits the car.

 

Great post, I was thinking about this as well. The dealer told me "no problem" but I needed to hear some real-world experiences.

I'm glad to see that I truly didn't lie to my wife. The car-seat issue was literally the selling point.

wifey-"But honey, this car just isn't as practical for what we need right now. I don't think it's a good idea."

me- "Not practical? It has back seats, a larger trunk than your convertible new beetle, and it fits child seats!"

wifey- "Really? Ok then, you can buy it."

me- "Score!" followed by an 80's high-kick into a metal guitar solo that would have ROCKED had it been real, and not in my kitchen...

 

Office Ninja, you make me laugh.....


I have a three year old and her & the seat fit just fine.......

She loves mommie's car, she tells me to go zoom!

 

I use a car seat for both my kids. They are both forward facing and narrow in the back though which is the key. In this picture my son weighed less than 60lbs so he could sit up due to the passenger airbag being auto disabled. Much to his sister's chagrin, he now sits in the back

 

I've two in mine and they work fine, I daily drop of one to the DCP and its never a problem. Rearfacing is a PITA for that 1st year. Passenger seat is up pretty far and you have to kinda slide them in carefully.

Both my kids love riding in it, except they like Mom's DVD player better and thats good cuz I like the cleaner car.

 

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS/CSSRati....cfm?CSSID=498

This is the seat we got for our newborn. I got this one because it latched on to the matching stroller, which was the only stroller I could find that actually fit into the trunk.
I love the seat and stroller combo but the two were just under $700CDN.
The seat is behind the passenger, lucky my gf is short because it would be uncomfortable for anyone taller.

 

Graco Snugrides fit just fine rear-facing, and Britax Marathons fit just fine front-facing. I don't have experience with any others, unfortunately, but I had the Snugride in and used daily until January, when it was switched to the Marathon.

 

Just so everybody knows...you should ALWAYS put the child seat on the passenger side. If you get rear-ended by a vehicle traveling at decent speed (40mph or more), your seat-back will most likely break...quickly putting you into a fully reclined position. You DO NOT want your 6 month old to be under you when this happens.

Just a note...this is nothing against the RX-8. All vehicles behave this way in rear impacts.

 

I combined two car seats together and fit in them just fine...tight fit in the 8 though.

 

well since we are on this subject...I found out yesterday that there is going going to be an addition to the family...so I was trying to figure out the air bags in the back. Does anyone have them disabled? have they ever been an issue with kids and car seats in the back? is the air bag to high to cause an issue? Just questions the wife asked and of course I started to look at the 8 lastnight and wonder the same.... thanks

 

Congratulations on the "addition"....

.....and no, the air bag in the back is just a curtain from the top of the window, covers the glass. The front seat mounted one is supposed to inflate between the driver and his door, so no problem for little "additions" in the back!