[Tom Bottiglieri]

As Ben and Paul stated, I prefer live axle for a drive train system. While installation and initial design of a dead axle system using common off the shelf FIRST parts (AM, IFI, Skyway) may be easier, incorporating a live axle system will prove much easier to swap out parts in competition (a lesson we DEFINITELY learned on Einstein this year.)

I must also comment on the West Coast drive train. I always knew it was nice, but watching 968 swap wheels in less than a minute (nothing was broken, mind you... they just wanted new tread) convinced me this is by far the best design FIRST has ever seen.

You may also consider a combination of these two systems, such as team 25's drive train. While their wheels sit on dead axles, there is no chain to play with. A big spur gear is attached directly to the wheel hub, and a line of gears transmit power to all 6 wheels. They can swap off wheels and not have to worry about configuring live axles in the design.