Customer Reviews

Hot Wheels Tech Trax Crash Chamber Stunt Set

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When the cars are launched into the first jump, they will not make it, and they will crash and fall apart completely (it's fun to watch them "explode"). Then you must put them back together (which is fairly complicated), only to have the same happen again. If a Jump Master car is put on the track, it wll make the jumps, but fly over the guardrail. All the guardrails must be set up, and, as mentioned earlier, they don't all work. Your results may vary, for I did not use the manual as a measuring tool like it says so, which might get frustrating, as it is an almost too big book for that purpose (at least for the Power Swing set).

I recently purchased the Hot Wheels Tech Trax Crash Chamber for my Grandsons birthday. It took hours to put it together, had to be "just so" or it wouldn't carry the car. NONE of the other Hot Wheels cars my Grandson has (about 50) would work on the track. The car that was sent fell apart and you have to order MORE to use the track at all. My Grandson got no use out of this set and was very frustrated. It was very disappointing. It's no wonder the price was so reduced. I won't be buying any more Hot Wheels cars or accessories from Mattel. Too bad, you used to be a good company.

Set-up was prolonged by the picture-based manual. Structural parts are clearly labeled with the part number. The instructions recommend using the guides in the manual to measure key distances - not necessary as the struts are ruled in inches and the tolerances are not that critical. The Tech Trax track interconnects with easily aligned slots and tabs. Much better than the old orange track obviating the potential for misaligned track to impede the progress of the racer. The vehicle will not stay on the track without the well-designed guard-rail system. I adjusted the position of a few rail clips on the ramp panel to allow easier return of the vehicle to the power booster. Notwithstanding, my 6 year old and I got it up in running in under an hour.

With (2) fresh D-cells in the booster, the included Jump Master vehicle easily cleared both jumps and circled the track at blinding speed. There was little tweaking necessary. The only additional adjustment I made was to the angle of the ring support / inner swivel ring - The jumps were impossible at steep angles. The sweet spot is with the ring support about 10 degrees off the horizontal.

I am very impressed by the layout and my son showed excitement after each completed step. So much so that upon completion, he was soon joined by his older siblings (9 & 12) and they held a championship for the most completed laps without crashing or stalling. My 9 year old holds the current record at 15 laps. They played with this set for hours (yes, hours!)

Santa also brought the (3) available 2-car kits: Jump Master, Turbo Torque, and Power Pivot (a bargain at $4 or $5 per set). Each set is uniquely designed with inline flexion, axial torsion, and lateral pivoting, respectively. The sets include weights that can be positioned to change the performance of the vehicle. All cars functioned very well on the layout except when no weights were applied.

Over all, I found this layout to be great fun and construction provides some education in design and engineering. I plan to purchase the Airstunt Challenge Stunt Set and any of the other add-ons that are not included in either set.

Enjoy!

I would actually not give this toy any stars. We received the toy, spent the time to put it together, bought brand new batteries and installed them and it didn't work.

The motor did nothing. Took it to Toys R Us and exchanged it....same thing....didn't work. Finally got something else instead.

I got this toy in 2004. This toy is great. Likes : comes with a car, durable, like the idea of the crash chamber. Dislikes: doesn't always complete the cycle. Don't buy this if it is your first Hot Wheels playset because it will be too difficult to put together. If you're already familiar with putting together Tech Trax, then buy it. You'll enjoy it.

My son got this for Chanukah. It was difficult to assemble: the angle of one of the turns was so severe that the pieces of track wouldn't hold together. Then once we were able to get the car past it - and only by modifying it so the turn wasn't so sharp - the jump inside the loop wouldn't line up; the car never made it through the whole course even once.

Im disappointed that Mattel would put their Hot Wheels brand name on this inferior toy.

Even I enjoyed assembling this and playing with it. Child has to know to handle it gently since it is very flimsy, and can easily mis-align causing frequent "crashes".

This is definitely not for the technically challenged. I bought it because I thought my little boy would love it, and being a Mechanical Engineer, I figured it couldn't possibly take me four hours to put together. Turn's out I was right. I had it together in less than 30 mins, it totally kick's butt, and my little guy was screaming he was having so much fun!!!

As for all of the complaints, here's what I'd say:

1) The engineer's at Mattel weren't crazy, they just forgot that most people don't putting like stuff together. This toy was designed by engineers, for engineers. Lot's of adjustments and tweaking are part of the fun.

2) The cars are supposed to be dis-assembled and re-assembled. More tweaking - add some weight here, take some weight away there... (Don't glue the cars).

First let me say we purchased the air stunt teck trax set for christmas. My hubby had a blast putting it together only to get down to one of the last sections and am missing one of the pieces of track. Of course I have a sad and unhappy special needs 8 year old son who just didn't understand that things like that happen. So first thing Sunday morning we trail off to Toys R Us where we purchased it to tell them. Bring the book in and show us the missing piece and we'll see what we can come up with. So of course I didn't have the heart to go out to the car empty handed so I bought the Crash Chamber thinking we could use one of those pieces for it. We put the Chamber together which was really simple and fast. Hubby had a blast while my son waited impatiently for his new toy yet again. So we turn it on and boom the thing worked first try out. The only problem we had was getting them around the top portion just before they go through the shoot. I had a blast watching these little cars fly through this thing and some with the lovely help of my son went flying across the room. We all laughed and had a ball. I am not a toy person so this is a first for me. So buy it if you want dont' if you don't.

DON'T EVEN BOTHER with this one. As with most parents, we give in to buying these hot wheels sets because they look cool and we have "toy amnesia". The only hot wheels set that has ever really worked was the fireball from a few years ago.

This set took over an hour to put together and looked like it may be a neat track. However, the car does not make it through the first loop. I tried everything and it still doesn't work. So after all that effort, I will be returning this.

I hope you will heed my advice and not waste your time. If you do decide to go ahead and try it for an Xmas gift, definitely give yourself time to put it together ahead of time. Happy Holidays.