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Re: Thoughts on the new AM14U 2014 KOP Drive train?
So far I think its a very decent chassis and for our previous three years I could see us using it with a few modifications. This year we are still up in the air as to what we should do.
One portion I'm not a huge fan of is modifying the kitbot to more square and even wide configurations. It is pretty straightforward to do but making several cuts on each side rail and re-drilling several holes isn't something I'm super excited about. There are a few other issues that I'm not a huge fan of like mounting the gearboxes we want to use and same for the wheels we want. Its all possible with the AM14U just some areas require more machining work and others involve using more parts whereas I would prefer each wheel/axle be identical for fewer parts and increased reliability.
I think we will opt to have our own 1/8in. side plates CNCed to tailor to what we want along with moving from belts to chains. Plus several other changes but the DT as a whole is still in design mode.
Overall I think its a great chassis but at least for our team we feel it is harder to build/modify to our liking compared to the C-Channel systems from previous seasons.
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