[Adam Shapiro]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Friction has little do do with surface area in theory. Perhaps in the real life application of FRC is different? Do more wheels equal more traction in FRC or do they just equal more weight? Will a robot with its left and right sides lined with wheels be harder to turn than the same robot with the wheels only at the ends? I'm actually not sure on this one. Simple friction theory says there will be no difference, but there is the tread/surface interaction factor to consider in real life.

I'm not entirely sure on the matter of the robot's traction in terms of rolling motion. However, I'd be inclined to think that more wheels would produce more friction when not rolling (i.e. sideways motion, or a pushing battle). Also, the additional wheels would provide extra opposing force when the robot attempted to turn, resulting in much more work required by the motors. As I said before, we experienced this first-hand in 2002 when we used tank treads on our bot and realized that our bot couldn't turn at any quick rate without blowing breakers like mad!