[ttldomination]

Those who have posted in this thread are correct in that the answer truly depends, but let me attempt to give you a more definitive answer from experience.

For the past three years, we have used a standard toughbox reduction and then chained to the wheel.

In 2011, we used a nearly 1:1 chain to the wheel because of our 4" wheels. This gave us roughly 8 FPS. Here, the robot was strong and fast. The top speed was at a level that the drivers could handle with ease, and to be fair, no one was worried about our speed as our drivers headed out to pick up tubes.

In 2012, we used a 15:22 chain to the wheel because of our 8" wheels.This give us roughly 9 GPS. Here, the robot was also fast and strong, but I cannot recall a time when our robot ever reached top speed.

I'd be lying if I said that we planned for those speeds, but they worked out really well. This year also, if the game is flat-ish, I think we'll aim for 9.5. If the game requires getting rough with the field, then we'll push the lower limits of 8, maybe 7.5

- Sunny G.