Who's using a Child Seat in their e30?

[IAmGary]

I've heard that's for keeping the middle seatbelt off the seat or some such, that it's only attached to the parcel shelf and not the frame itself. In the thread mentioned by mcskibadee1 there is discussion about a mythical "car seat kit" but I've never felt confident enough in that info to pull the trigger and order the parts.

Remember, we're talking cars from the early 80s. BMW didn't install LATCH systems standard until 2001. LATCH isn't a system that is legal to install as an "after market add on" so I doubt there's a kit for it.

[mcskibadee1]

Check this thread, there is a special latch in the parcel shelf that I believe is for further securing child seats.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=238192

I believe it's this triangle piece.

[IAmGary]

My daughter is 3 1/2 and we go for long car rides every weekend. We are using a cheap $70 car seat (Evenflo Chase XL) in the e30, the good Recaro is in the wife's 540iT. The Evenflo works great, though it is a pain to move so we leave it installed and never move it to another car.

What everyone says about protecting the seat is true. We use the bottom half of the "Prince Lion Heart Seat Saver" to protect the seat, otherwise the vinyl (or leather in the case of your M3) will become permanently formed to the shape of the seat.

As for installation, I would say that properly installed the car seat is MORE secure when installed using the belt and retaining clip than a latch system. The child's seat in my e30 does not move 1/4" even when I grab the un-tethered top.

The secret is to adjust the retaining clip so that it is EXACTLY where it needs to be so you can just barely get the seatbelt closed when your full weight is on the car sear. This might mean installing and uninstalling the seat a few times, moving the retaining clip slightly and trying again. As long as the buckle and bolts do not fail that seat is not going anywhere - you'll know when it's installed right, the seat is SOLID. My wife reminds me that this is superior to latch but latch was invented because most people couldn't install car seats correctly.

If done correctly the tension of the shoulder belt does not matter - the retaining clip stops the belt from slipping or changing tension.

No closeup photos handy just this one:

[herbivor]

2 and 5 year old girls, I drive every day to school/daycare. My car scrapes the speed bump at her school every day, but I feel like a pretty cool dad every time I do it. 4 door Sedan makes it easy to load them up for sure.

[E30Jigzaw]

i use two car seats on my vert

have a 2 year old and a 5 year old..

the Simpson car seat for my two year old fits perfect i wish i can find another one :)

[dudecati]

One tip - when using the rear shoulder belts to secure a car seat, pull the belt ALL THE WAY then feed it back it out when installing the seat. This will make it so the belt doesn't move freely but 'locks' into position when it retracts - making for a secure seat and not one that moves around.

I usually put in the car seat, thread the belt as needed, then pull the belt all the way out, then let it retract, then put my knee into the seat so get as much of the belt to feed back into the mechanism which makes for a very secure seat. I do release the tension on the seat by unlatching it if the seat isn't going to be used for a day or two.

[brgracer]

E30s don't have the LATCH system (specific metal anchors to attach carseats), so you just have to use the regular seatbelts like you would in any pre-2000 car. I'm partial to the Sunshine Radian 80 b/c both how narrow it is for fitting more seats and all the padding/neck support. It's not cheap, but I can fit three in the back of an E30 sedan. Proof below:

[e30construction]

I just had my son and glad I found this thread..i didn't think our cars had a middle seat belt cus I cant find mine..it must be tucked behind the seat or something..anybody using a car seat that has a base u can leave in? if so where do u guys hook the base up?

[Threehz]

Make sure to use, either a thick blanket or towel to lay on the seats, as they will rip or get scratched up pretty bad if not protected from the child seats hard plastic.

It's an M3 and he plans on putting a 2.5 year old in... I would cover the entire back in towels. Just saying.

E30s have no anchor points, but the two side and center seatbelts work fine.

[1990m3]

I'm not worried about the inconvenience of a 2-door as this is not my daily driver. It's an occasional summer car so inconvenience is ok, just want something that will function safely.

[IRON-E]

Make sure to use, either a thick blanket or towel to lay on the seats, as they will rip or get scratched up pretty bad if not protected from the child seats hard plastic.

[redsubdivisions]

This is where my sedan makes it much easier to get my daughter in and out of the car; no seats to fold back.

[M-technik-3]

Both of mine did. We had a recaro seat for them. They both used it at some point. This was over a decade ago. Oldest is now in college and youngest is in middle school. GF's rode in booster seats in e30 since that's all I owned. Granted she had an 09 Audi avant a4.

[Xat1cZ]

You can also use a roof rack.

[1990m3]

Which car seats are you guys using? I'm lookin for a forward facing, also where do you attach the anchor strap?