WCD vs straight up 6 wheel

[Jeff 801]

Originally Posted by sgreco

I think the primary idea behind a west coast drive (or at least a very important one) is the widened drive base. A WCD, due to its nature, optimizes the 38x28 box by allowing the wheels to be as far apart as possible. This is helpful for maneuverability and control for the driver.

I am just going to throw this out there is that you can do other types of drive system other than a "west coast" that are just as rigid and keep the wheels very close to the outside edge of the frame perimeter. To further explain as seen here in this picture of 254 from this past year (254's 2011 robot) the wheels are set in the range of .5" to .75" and in the attached picture you can see with this drive system the wheels are just about as close to the outside of the frame perimeter.