This was a major issue for us this season.
We decided to use two CIMs in the elevator and two CIMs in the drive train. We used a two-speed transmission with the idea that we could use the two gears to accelerate; similar to the way a car accelerates, by "shifting up."
The result was a lightening fast elevator (It could hurdle as fast as most shooters), and a somewhat slow drive train.
Actually, the drive train was very speedy, it just lacked acceleration. Without any defense slowing us down we could move very quickly around the track. But as soon as we started being defended (
Finals on Curie) we lost all our "momentum" and were unable to accelerate back up to speed.
Another problem was that our robot always slowed down significantly when turning, which hurt our laps.
For the offseason (CalGames), we're going to use "Super Non-Shifters."
We basically removed the shifting mechanism and gears, remade the side plates, and added the FP motors. We're gearing it for the same speed, but now it will accelerate more quickly.
I wish the JVN calculator showed some acceleration figures, like “distance to reach top-speed.” We’ve been using the “
Tentacle Calculator” for this. We’ve never quite been able to comprehend the connections between torque, acceleration, and current draw.