Very interesting that everyone is also having problems with the treads. Last year we went after a similar design to team 61, since we were impressed by the power that it laid down to the ground. We started with the blue supergrip belts from brecoflex (also known as 'break o flex') and they started out OK in practice. It was quickly apparent that the grate was eating them away rapidly but it was too late to do anything about it. After the first regional at Buckeye, two treads had ripped in half, through the metal bands and everything, of course the team 45 tranny in low may have had a bit to do with it
that never failed once and we beat on it non-stop. Then we ordered up the solid center belts for Great Lakes and they worked better however they didn't fit the pulley's nearly as well as the serrated center and they took some power out of the drivetrain, boke a few there. So we kept on and ordered yet more for Nationals and actually it is pretty good that we didn't make it to the finals since we were down to the last set of treads by the end of the competition. Strangely enough one other team had the identical treads there and offered them to us in a pinch (That's gracious considering how much they cost!). Looking back, we spent wayyyyyy too much on the stupid treads and I actually am not too happy with the Brecoflex belts anymore. I think we broke 8-9 total which with the sprockets came in somewhere around $2-$3k in treads. Team 902 had the best compound for this years game with the rubber cortex, and many teams with the red rubber had de-lamination problems. So even though they were a blast, I would think twice about the treads in the future especially BrecoFlex. (Also the lead times were pretty long on the belts)
If I had my way
, I would build a subassemblies
one that was interchangeable with inline wheels like team 25 and one with tracks like this year and then you can have either depending on the game. Perfect this setup with a robust transmission (I think I have seen one around here somewhere) and you WILL have a sweet start to the season.