Racing Wheels

[gaut1234]

Hi,

We're looking to buy a racing wheel for our new team. What racing wheels do you guys use?

Thanks.

[carpedav000]

Define "racing" wheel.

If you want sheer speed, slightly deflated pneumatic wheels should do the trick.

[GeeTwo]

The first question to ask is: What do you want these wheels for?

"Racing" is not a usual descriptor for most FRC wheels. Usually traction and maneuverability at low to medium speeds are more important than maintaining control at high speeds, or than raw acceleration from a stop. Also, you must consider what surface(s), irregularities, and slope(s) you may encounter. Most teams have used nearly as many different types of wheels in competition as they have played seasons. For example, 3946 has used:

• 2012 Rebound Rumble: 6 @ 6" Wedgetop (planned to play defense)
• 2013 Ultimate Ascent: 2 @ 6" solid rubber and 2 @ 6" omnis
• 2014 Aerial Assist: 4 @ 6" Mecanum
• 2015 Recycle Rush: 5 @ 4" DuraOmni (H-drive)

In none of these cases was "racing" a top goal. If you do want to race, you still need to consider the surface and the turns in the track; Drag racing, Formula 1, and NASCAR all use very different tires for pretty obvious reasons.

[MrForbes]

Ok, I'll bite....I have some old aluminum slot racing wheels on my old Chevy race car.

[topgun]

Originally Posted by MrForbes

Ok, I'll bite....I have some old aluminum slot racing wheels on my old Chevy race car.

Sweet!!

[NWChen]

Do you mean a racing wheel for your driver station?

[swaxman12345]

Do you mean wheels for a robot or usb wheels for a driver station?

[Monochron]

We should take bets on whether the OP meant a game controller style racing wheel, or a fast wheel for a robot that is going to race. I originally thought the former, but it looks like the latter have some support
Communicating your questions clearly is a valuable skill. It just takes some practice.

[gaut1234]

Sorry I wasn't clear.

I meant a USB game-controller wheel for the drivers station.

[Sperkowsky]

Why do you want a usb driving wheel. As a driver who has a wheel at home I can tell you driving an frc robot with that would be difficult. They are made to have you feel like your driving in a car but I always found controllers easier. Wheels are fun but your driver will probably be able to perform better with a joystick or an Xbox controller.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

Why do you want a usb driving wheel. As a driver who has a wheel at home I can tell you driving an frc robot with that would be difficult. They are made to have you feel like your driving in a car but I always found controllers easier. Wheels are fun but your driver will probably be able to perform better with a joystick or an Xbox controller.

Someone should tell that to 16...

[tickspe15]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Someone should tell that to 16...

Or 971

[s_forbes]

I'm pretty convinced that an RC style controller is about as good as it gets. We did an experiment a few years ago where all the potential drivers tried to use the RC controller vs the traditional dual joystick approach, and everyone preferred the RC controller. It's hard to go back to tank drive after you use a wheel.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by s_forbes

I'm pretty convinced that an RC style controller is about as good as it gets. We did an experiment a few years ago where all the potential drivers tried to use the RC controller vs the traditional dual joystick approach, and everyone preferred the RC controller. It's hard to go back to tank drive after you use a wheel.

Any suggested models? I'm game to try it as they aren't terribly expensive but I'd like to cut up one that might work instead of just getting plastic shards all over the place for no reason.

[s_forbes]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Any suggested models? I'm game to try it as they aren't terribly expensive but I'd like to cut up one that might work instead of just getting plastic shards all over the place for no reason.

The lower end Futaba controllers are what we've used in the past. They are all pretty similar; plastic housing with a potentiometer for the throttle and a potentiometer for the wheel. The ones used in the hobby go up in price as features are added, but you just need the housing and the throttle/steering sensors, so cheaper models tend to work ok. (watch out for really really cheap ones though... we had an absurdly inexpensive brand X USB one to play with that we got online, and the resolution for steering and throttle was extremely low. I think it used an IR sensor and a stepped gray-scale pattern on the throttle/steering wheel. It was very unpleasant to use.)

We've wired the pots into analog inputs for the OI in past years. Last year we took an approach that the Bit Buckets came up with, and wired the potentiometers into two of the joystick channels of a gutted logitech gamepad, so we had a USB steering RC controller.