The perfect gearbox

[Veselin Kolev]

I like my drive train this year. 7 fps low, 14 fps high. Torque and speed, and a nice 6 lbs flat with the shift piston and motors included. The CIM and FP give a good bit of power. Construction out of 1/4" aluminum plate with pressed plain bearings, 1/2" OD threaded aluminum spacers, hardened allen head cap screws, and a very narrow, large OD dog shifter. Makes for a very small (1.75" wide), very light transmission.

Personally I would always stick to 2 speed dog shifter made of 1/4" plate. It is a very solid base to work off, and my teams have had lots of experience with this kind of transmission. Of course we always work for new advancements every year, but this is our sure proof drive train.

NOTE: New features of this year's transmission are: quick 4 bolt face mounting, pneumatics mounted directly on the transmission (as opposed to chassis mounted), larger diameter dog (1.375"), narrower transmission (by 1/4"), more efficient (can anyone say 'valve grinding compound'?). Not a whole lot, but sure makes maintaining it a lot better.