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Originally Posted by T. Hoffman
Ahem....we broke 1 belt all year, buddy. 
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If I recall, the only reason we broke that belt was because we were trying to see if performance would improve with less tension on the treads. There was too much slop, and we were pushed from the side, resulting in a loose tread twisting off the center idler wheel and snapping the belt. We kept them tight for the remainder of the competition without incident, so tension played a major roll. I was relly happy with only breaking 1 belt in 3 regionals + national + IRI.
We broke several belts in '04, but we used a different tread compound then (i.e. the red natural rubber as opposed to the green super-grip from '06). The green super-grip was definitely softer than the natural rubber, so that may have also played a part in our tread life.
I really like the half-track idea...something to look at, perhaps even prototype.