Why not to shift?

[Brian C]

Originally Posted by IndySam

The one thing that I haven't seen mentioned that a shifting robot can give you is more precise control.

Those slow speeds give much better control to the driver when making fine movements like placing scoring pieces and the extra power is also better for overcoming scrub at lower speeds.

THIS is a key point. In 2001 we found that a low gear allowed the driver to better align the robot for hanging tubes. In 2012 it allowed the driver to shift into a lower gear and

1) climb onto the bridge with more control

2) Play defense and push an opponent

One other thing we've always done when shifting is to definitely go for the air shifter as long as pneumatics are on the machine for another reason. The servo shifters do work but we feel they're not as good as 'shifting on the fly' as pneumatics.

As far as the driver getting used to it? Driving practice is a HUGE help.