Reducing wheel traction

[Solace]

not that this could really help you right now, but in the future USE 6 WHEEL DRIVE.

[oreocookeee]

my team has been having the same problem with turning. the solution that we came up with at the philadelpia regional was to use tie wraps covered by pneumatic tubing. we drilled holes in the sides of two of our beadlock wheels, fed the tie wraps through a few inches of tubing, and secured them by looping them around the tires and through the holes. we figured the judges wouldnt mind them as much since the tubing is smooth and wont damage the field. they allowed it, but they also told us that putting anything over the wheels will not be allowed at championships (nats; im trying to get out of the habit of saying that). it worked alright but it is just a temporary fix and we will probably consider replacing our wheels or something.

[MrToast]

Wrap the wheels in duct tape. It's cheaper than pool hose...

[Matthew_H]

Originally Posted by MrToast

Wrap the wheels in duct tape. It's cheaper than pool hose...

On the FIRST Q and A they stated that duct tape could not be used on the tires.

We had the same traction problem and at St Louis we put tie wraps covering the wheel. One of the other posts stated that they were not going to allow tie wraps at Nationals. What rule does it violate and why would they change at the Nationals. It does not make much difference to us since we are not going to Nationals unless we win at Palmetto.

[Mark Pettit]

We did the vacuum hose and tie wraps thing. It allowed us to turn easier but we still bounced through the turns. Then we dropped the drill motors into low gear and it's smoooooooooth sailing for the Uncomfortable Hunk of Metal now.

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Matthew_H

On the FIRST Q and A they stated that duct tape could not be used on the tires.

We had the same traction problem and at St Louis we put tie wraps covering the wheel. One of the other posts stated that they were not going to allow tie wraps at Nationals. What rule does it violate and why would they change at the Nationals. It does not make much difference to us since we are not going to Nationals unless we win at Palmetto.

In LA we did not allow tape as a traction altering device. Tape may be used as electrical insulator or as a non-functional decoration. Using it to alter traction makes it functional.

Zipties were allowed as long as there was no damage to the carpet. Since most were being used to decrease traction, this was generally not a problem. It is the knobs you use to lock the zipties that damage carpet. So by keeping the knobs away from the carpet, there were no issues.

[Dan9874123]

Originally Posted by Solace

not that this could really help you right now, but in the future USE 6 WHEEL DRIVE.

en contraire my friend, 10 wheel drive