[Cal578]

Originally Posted by squirrel

We discovered this year that we could get too much traction on a wide base robot, so it could not turn while not moving forward/backward.

I thought wide base was easier to turn (all other factors being equal) than a long base. For the same torque per wheel, you get more turning torque (a longer moment arm about the center of desired rotation). Also, the shorter wheelbase gives less inherent resistance to the turn (a wheelbase of 0 would be very easy to turn, and an infinite wheelbase would be impossible to turn if the wheels have non-zero sideways traction).