Review: BonzerMat

BilboBaggins · Post by **BilboBaggins** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 12:58 pm

I got one.

Arrived today.

Looks cool, I'll be running the cars on it when I get home.

Everything packs up neatly in the supplied case/bag. I'll have images soon.

payaso · Post by **payaso** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 1:56 am

Cool man.. give us a review. I'd like to get one, but don't have that much to lay down at the momento.....

silla

BilboBaggins · Post by **BilboBaggins** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 6:51 am

I set it up for the first time in about 15 minutes by myself.

I unrolled the mat and I discovered that it's best to have something holding the sides to keep the mat flat. I had cars jumping all over the place.

The barrier hold-downs can be put in any of the small holes in the mat, I only used the normal layout and not the flip-side yet. The barriers are rubber tubing that have plastic connectors to keep them together. This was well thought out. The barriers on mine are red, maybe they should come out with other colors.

My driving skills are not the best but I don't feel that any motor higher than 1.5 would be advisable in a Bit. I'm going to try my ZZSE this weekend and hopefully have a camera I can use. I don't ha ve a digital camera I usually use the one at work.

I took it down and put it back in it's bag in 5 minutes. I was being careful pulling the clips out because I'm worried that the holes may enlongate and not hold the clips down.

My first impressions are that it's a nice thing to have if you are racing your buddies (or spouses, children).

Post by **CaboWabo** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 5:59 pm

I just got one myself.
and my mutha frickin camera got stolen (coming soon: see "rant thread")

so once I figure out that bullshit, I'll have some shots and a review as well.

Finks · Post by **Finks** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 6:13 pm

"rant thread"???? am I missing some forums?

Post by **CaboWabo** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 7:23 pm

Finks wrote:"rant thread"???? am I missing some forums?

not if you joined the usergroup
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/phpFo ... &start=285

TeamBonzer · Post by **TeamBonzer** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 5:48 am

CaboWabo wrote:I just got one myself.
and my mutha frickin camera got stolen (coming soon: see "rant thread")

so once I figure out that bullshit, I'll have some shots and a review as well.

Hi CB, got a camera yet?

I would really appreciate any feedback on the track.

Cheers

TB

Post by **CaboWabo** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 8:19 am

yea actually - just got it last weekend.
I promise, pictures and reviews coming soon as I can.

Post by **CaboWabo** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 4:23 pm

Here we go - I finally got around to doing a review of the Bonzer Mat.

Here's what you get:
- a carring case
- a mat
- tubing for guide rails
- clips to fix tubing to mat
- couplers to attach tubes together

Impressive package, I like the self-contained idea with a carrying case.

Unrolling the mat on one side reveals a pre-made track for you.

and the reverse size reveals a grid to transfer your own track designs to.
Holes are evenly spaced out in a grid of squares allowing you to put the clips in just about anywhere.

After about 20 minutes of setup, here's what we got:

Following the pre-made track design (a few holes seem to have been added that don't follow the typical grid of squares pattern) we notice the mat itself has some retention memory.
You can see little "waves" in the mat itself. This is from having the track rolled up. The thick canvas type material is heavy enough to some-what crease itself.
This is also probably why the recommend to roll the mat (not crease it) and to not crush it.
The guide rails don't follow exactly, but good enough for government work.

The directions tell us to clip together over-lapping pieces of tubing. So we did.

It didn't turn out like the pictures in the instructions - not sure why, it's kinda hard to get the tubing to squeeze together and fit in the clip.
The tubing tweeks enough to cause the clip to pull to a side (usually the side the over-lapping tubing is going towards).
I was a little worried about having open-ended tubing sticking out on the track, a car could get stuck on it - so I didn't mind the clip tweeking enough to put the over-lapping piece of tubing on top.

Tight corners are a little bit of a conern with the tubing, it's thin enough to crease.

I don't really see this as a super huge issue, the tubing has to be able to bend tight in areas depending on how you design the track.
I was hoping though that after installing the guide-rail tubing, it would help pull those "waves" out of the mat.
The retention memory is just too long and strong so I imagine after keeping it un-rolled for awhile, those "waves" will work themselves out.

After complete setup, we're ready to give it some test runs.

Before we get into the test runs results, notice the "waves" and the clip in the lower right hand corner, it's pulling itself out.
It's not affecting anything now, but I wonder about the future, if you keep putting a clip in and taking it out of the same hole, I think that hole might get stretched out enough to allow the clip to be loosely fixed to the mat. (all that hole talk sounded kinda pornographic)

The track itself is kind of small for my driving habits. I typically like to go fast and wreck alot.
This course seems to be more of a slower technical driving track. Which I do like as well, especially with more buddies racing.
After going down to a smaller motor, I was able to control it more, but the "waves" were still causing a few troubles - as well as my driving I'm sure.
When trying to push the limits, I'd hit a "wave" or "dip" in the mat - over correct and then into the guide rails. For the most part the guide rails worked just fine, but there were a few incidents where the car drove right over them.
I don't think it's due to any 1 thing, I think it's the combination of the "waves" and "dips" in the mat, the speed, my driving, etc.

...and there you have it.
my experience and review of the Bonzer Mat.
hope that helps some of you out there.

sg219 · Post by **sg219** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 4:30 pm

I think I'll stick to the hardwood floor and some rope lighting and save some cash for BEER!!

SuperFly · Post by **SuperFly** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 9:37 pm

Cool. Good review, CW. I like the portability for being able to race anywhere. I too have a more wide open driving style, so I'll probably just keep on the floor as long as it's available.

filelicker · Post by **filelicker** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 10:00 pm

Great review cabo , but I have one question , how much is one of these?

Post by **CaboWabo** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 11:25 am

I think they are around 50 USD shipped.
http://www.bonzergear.com/

I did forget to mention something else I think this baby might be useful for. Jumps.
the flexibility of the track allows you to make a nice lump under the track for a ramp, and provides a smooth transition to the ramp.

honda_s2000 · Post by **honda_s2000** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 6:17 am

ok , im sorry to revive a dead thread ,
but i have one ,
i got it at x-mas time ,
i use a 3.0 booster on it , it works ok but the 2.2 is better control,
you can aslo hang the mat up in a warm room (over the radiator is ok )
and it smootherns the whole thing out for you , that's where the fun begins , no lumps or bumps , you could have a nice technical race , or set up you own for a spot of 1/64 oval hehe ,
anyway's i would give it a 7/10 because of the fact that when you hit a barrier you have to reverse , rather than just being able to slide along it abit , but that maybe coz of my driving skills , also the bumps bu they can be sorted out , other than that its got the all clear from me
p.s i also race on the track side with no barriers for a bit of loose fun

peace out ,
hs20

MotorGong · Post by **MotorGong** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:41 am

I'm kinda hyped about the NEW Bonzer comin' out.

But I was wondering, how is the racing experience, cornering, etc. on this original mat? Cabo mentioned it was a "thick canvas type material". Maybe a tad softer than linoleum?

And what's the dimensions? Wait, that's kinda slack, I can go look.....

EDIT: whoa, i'm kinda buzzed and for some reason thought this thread was 'new' , then looked at the last post.wtf was i thinkin/smokin?. i'm still kinda curious, but i'll go to my corner now.....