I understand. I'm pretty sure the one you got was just fine. I just went for a seat I knew was really safe and the bling factor doesn't hurt any.

 

Well the seat came this afternoon,here are the pics:





The seat is black, the flash makes it look grey. It color matches the interior quite well.

I adjusted the seat for the kid and put it in the car. As I hoped, the seat fit pretty well.

There are some good points and some bad points to the seat, and here they are:

Good points:
1. Very solid construction, this seat is constructed of an all aluminum frame instead of a plastic bucket. it's also one of the safest on the market, especially for side impacts.
2. The base is perfectly sized to fit on the S2000's seats. It does not poke or crease the bolsters on either side of the seat. The "wings" on the S2000 seat backs do not interfere with the seat's ability to rest against the seat back. Additionally, no part of the seat touches any part of the car except for the area around the perforated areas of the seat.
3. Headphone jack on the seats so the kiddie music doesn't make the driver go nuts.

This seat looks and fits as if it were made for the S2000.

Now the bad:
1. It costs a lot. About $280.
2. No harness. This is a booster seat and uses the car's seat belts. While this isn't so much of a problem, getting the belt buckled requires great contortion skills. I suppose this will get easier after I do it a couple of times.
3. Tether harness. It's optional to use it, but I want to. There's essentially no way to get the harness to go up over center of the seat, but this is a problem with any car seat.

Now a clip for the tether was included. I just took off one of the hooks behind the seat and replaced the hook with the tether attachment. Now I can clip the tether by going around the right side of the headrest and clipping to the tether attachment on the left side. What it really needs to do is go through the area where the mesh is on the seat's headrest. Anyhow, I'll probably have to drill a hole especially for the tether if the anchor point I am currently using isn't very solid.

 

Holy moly, rw!!!!

Nice seat, for sure!

I don't think any booster seats have harnesses. It's probably safer/better to go with the car's belts.

 

thoughts:

WOW! very nice looking seat. i can definitely see why the premium price. it may be expensive, and you may be paying a bit for markup and the name, but it definitely appears to be a high quality item.

re: goods
1. this is one of the things that convinces me you're not paying for fluff. an Al. frame wouldn't be cheap by any means.
my seat/base sounds like it's very similar (but it is a plastic 'cup' ). this is one of the key things that i'm finding i cannot seem to reproduce elsewhere. all i want my seat to do is touch the perforated area, not dig into the bolsters.
3. headphone jack? pft! cool. very cool. still, people seem to get a big kick out of seeing me pull up and both me and my daughter bobbing our head to the music
(and before anyone flames -- MODERATE to LOW levels. yes, i can get insane loud, but not while she's in the car.)

bads: 1. expensive. yeah... it sounds like great construction but... $280. still, at least you're getting what you paid for.
2. i still struggle a bit getting the seat in and out... especially when the top is up and it's drizzling or raining... (daily driver here) you get some tricks down, but it can still be tough.
3. are you talking about putting the teather hook in the hole for the hooks that affix "Lucid's panels?" wow, i would definitely plan on relocating that. while i love to play a stereo guru, i am a Mech. Eng. in real life - i can assure you, any bolt fitting into that threaded socket is not strong enough to make a difference. i would think you'd need to be close to 1/4" diameter threaded section to even begin to be useful... and even then, i'd be more inclined for 3/8" or 1/2" threaded diameter section to be comfortable with it. ** and even then, those would have to be in a solid piece of frame, structural steel, or reinforced area, not just part of the rear firewall. maybe you can somehow tie into the bolting that secures the rollbars?

Chazmo:
actually - many booster seats DO have harnesses, however i think there are eventually weight limits (usually pretty high) where you're supposed to move to the car's belts.
i know my seat does have a 5 point harness in it... i don't recall what the max weight is for when i'm supposed to transfer to the car's belts. i am fairly sure tho that it's above 40 lbs, and my daughter is fairly light for her age...
here's a plethora of seats that Amazon/BabiesR'Us has available online -- you'll note several booster/harness combo seats. (none of which will probably fit into the S w/ any ease...)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/brows...2815997-4716108


**(standard disclaimer: These are 'GUESSTIMATES' and not solid calculated or engineered numbers. do NOT make decisions based on these numbers. compare any sizes with true engineered designs AND if possible have them verified by a licensed engineer or other qualified professional.)

 

That's where it is now. The seat came with a bolt and washer to go with the tether anchor. The instructions say that the tether is optional, because the seat grabs onto the seat belt at the top. Still, I'm looking for something substantial to attach that puppy to. The further away it stays from the dash the better. The bolt supplied with the seat is about 1/2" dia.

Another location that will work is one of the rear seat bolts. The tether is certaily long enough, but looking at it makes me think the shorter I can make it, the better.

Where are you all hooking the tether?


One other really good point I left off was that the seat folds and should fit into the trunk. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks as if it will fit.


Now my only other problems are kid-related:

"Don't push the red button!"

"Keep your feet off the dash!"

"Where are you planning on wiping that booger?"

She likes the car, it's loud and exciting. I can't wait for it to warm up a bit so I can have the top off. By that time I should have the airbag switch installed and we can go on nice drives. Then she'll really love it. Right now she rides in the car only for emergency school drop offs and pick ups.

 

i can SO relate to that... mine ALWAYS wants to put her feet on the dash.... and they just barely reach... just enough to get little contact marks on the dash.... and i also typically only bring her to school once or twice a week...




umm.... i'm not yet. my booster has the little 5 point harness and the seat buckles in via the seatbelt. so, for now, i'm not using the tether. when she moves to where you're at (using the car's belt), i was planning to face the tether question then. i also was thinking that using the seat's bolting might not be a bad idea.

 

PJ, FYI when I was saying that many booster seats don't have harnesses, I was really referring to the kinds that are not for kids under 5/6... Yes, "baby" seats, one of which we use in my car, have the harnesses because the normal seat belts ride too high for little tikes.

 

Having installed Major Havoc's headrest windblocker a couple years back, I think you should be able to remove the headrest/helmet-hole mesh assembly and run the tether directly through it and then anchor it at the base of the seatback?

 

I'm always pulling up to my son's pre-school with all the mom's gawking at my non-comformist vehicle. Then I have to find parking within a sea of minivans.

 

ah... my bad.