What did you do to your Octavia today?

[MJKooLio]

Photos or never happened

[daMama]

Thanks for your summary Gtr-most useful. Will have to make a list of light mods one of these days for my car when it finally arrives.

So in summary, don't bother with led indicators, they (IMO) aren't worth it. The reversing lights are though, nice and bright. I like the number plate lights (they are bright too) but I think if you were on a budget, the reverse lights are better bang for buck.

Interior roof lights and boot lights also worth doing.

[nickd]

My ISOFIX car seats imported from Germany show as arrived in country today, so should get them monday!

Sorry to be a wet blanket but do you realize it's illegal to use child restraints that don't have Australian approvals?

Nick


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[GTR27]

Yes. Fortunately I'm not an idiot and realise that it has no impact on my child's safety though. I'll wear the fine if I get one. I'd sooner have safe seats than worry about having a retarded Australian standards sticker on them

Edit: it's similar to motorcycle helmet laws (which qld thankfully have now made so any ece approved helmet is OK, no Australian standards sticker required). The seats are $250-300 per seat and substantially safer than 90% of the seats on the Australian market. Isofix also eliminates incorrect fitting of the seats, which is a big issue for safety.

EDIT2: Just had a re-read and realised it sounds harsh. The point i'm trying to make is there are laws out there that can be completely stupid (like the aforementioned helmet and child seat laws) - they are there to protect the stupidest people from buying something completely inappropriate from overseas, which is not the case with the seats I purchased. I researched them thoroughly and looked at crash tests etc and picked one based on the crash rating/reviews. I understand they are not "legal" however, i (and no one else I know) has ever been pulled over and had their seats checked. Maybe if you were a complete ****head to the cops and failed the attitude test, then they might do somethings, but not if you're a normal person, not doing anything wrong. I'm sure they would also pick the tint I put on the car if they were being anal.

[RedBen]

Hi GTR, out of interest, what seat did you choose? Sounds like you invested some time looking into it. I've been thinking along the same lines.

[nickd]

I get what you're saying.. I've been frustrated too by the amount of time it's taken for the Australian Standards committees to pull their finger out and approve ISOFIX seats for use here... I bought my last new car with ISOFIX mounts hoping they would be approved soon, and that car is now 10 years old, and my eldest daughter is nearly 5!

I also acknowledge that with any of these standards committees there is a large amount of self interest involved with the manufacturers having significant input and an ulterior motive to protect the status quo (I wouldn't be surprised if it was them that insisted that seats sold here also had to accommodate seatbelt mounting, meaning many seats that already existed couldn't be approved).

Having said that, there are now ISOFIX seats available here and it's hard to see how it could be economical to import something so large, let alone worth the risk of a fine or possibly worse if you were actually involved in an accident with a kid in a non approved restraint.

Just my opinion, but as you highlight... There are a lot of people on the net who think they can just import anything and use it and it's a slippery slope, so I feel it's better not to encourage the idea, particularly now there are legal alternatives.

Nick


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[kamold]

From what I understand about Australian Standards, they are basically driven by their particular industries. The individual standards are basically designed and written by the companies who have a vested interest in their design.
So if local manufacturers and distributers want to keep competition out they will just make sure they don't meet the spec.
I know a shower glass manufacturer who couldn't use a design because their competitor was the one who funded the AS based on their product.
standards Australia is a not for profit who basically are funded and guided by each individual industry's deepest pockets.

[GTR27]

Hi GTR, out of interest, what seat did you choose? Sounds like you invested some time looking into it. I've been thinking along the same lines.

I chose a KIWY SLF 123 Isofix seat. There are a few safer seats out there for the 9-36kg category (the wife wanted both kids to have the same seat, one is in the 15-36kg range, the other in the 9-18kg range) but they are all double the price. I paid ~160 euro each - it was about $580AUD for both seats, delivered to brisbane (in about 7-10 working days over the xmas break!). The ratings I could find on these seats ranked them very highly in the 9-36kg seat (basically a seat that does all sizes from out of the capsule, to full height kid).

ISOFIX for a 15-36kg child (i.e. 3-4+years old) is bloody awesome. It's about 1 min flat to have it installed, adjusted and everything perfect. For the smaller seat, it also includes the belt, as well as ISOFIX for tethering, so takes a little longer to thread the belt through.


IMO Britax Romer seats are probably the best outright seats you can buy, but the 9-36kg seat is around 300 euro each (versus 160ish). Most of the ISOFIX seats rate highly, because they are idiotproof to install. You literally cannot install them in a way that loses lots of crash safety (like seatbelt restrained seats). The euro standards will include top tether soon, but there are only a few on the market with ISOFIX and top tether (they are allowed to use a foot instead of top tether). If you only need a seat for a kid 15+kg, then I would suggest the Britax Romer Kidfix XP (SICT model optional). Not much more expensive than the KIWY seat, but slightly better all round. (but only 15-36kg - ~4-12yrs old)


Nick, there is only 1 single rigid ISOFIX seat (the others use the inferior soft ISOFIX which is like small belts with ISOFIX mounts - allows a lot more movement) available on the australian market. At $500 per seat, and only 9-18kg, it did not suit my requirements, as well as being substantially more expensive than the equivalent from overseas.

We are being gouged plain and simple. (as yourself and kamold elludes to below)

Like I said before (abeit half asleep and grouchy - sorry about that) - it's unlikely that I will be fined for it. In the event of a crash, numerous people who have imported seats with ISOFIX had them replaced by insurance in an accident. The worst they could do is slap you a fine for unrestrained child, as there is emperical evidence to suggest (from ECE crash tests) that the seats are safe to use and safe in a crash (i.e. you could easily defend in court that the seats did not contribute in any way to the accident or injuries, over and above what an australian (tax) "approved" seat would have)

[donweather]

Right back on topic.

Spent the whole day on my car. Started with the interior. Full vacuum and clean/wash and then full leather conditioning. Afternoon spent giving the outside a thorough wash including first time wash of the new rims and tyre shine. Car looks (and smells) a million bucks!!

[nickd]

Slight change of topic but still on child seats... What do you do to protect the seats of the car under/around the child seat? We have one of the "messy mats" that come with one of the SafeNSound seats, but wondering if there are better options.
Also the back of the front seat from their feet? There are any number of options on Google, but any recommendations?

In the short term I think the extra leg room in the back of the Octavia (compared to the Golf they're in now) will mean their feet won't reach the seats in front, but that won't last

Nick


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