Wheels traction & Motor gearbox ratio

Hi I have this question, currently I am building a minisumo robot that works with four solarbotics high traction wheels (pololu.com/product/642), and four pololu HP micro-motors.

When I started I used four 1:150 motors, that were really strong, but their limitation was wheel traction as them started to run in the air when pushing too much.

So I decided to try four 1:50 motors, and the result is the same, the motors can’t be stalled (what I think is a good protection) as the wheels tart to run in the air.

With four 1:30 motors together and even lower torque the same happens.

So, which robot has better total push? The one of biggest torque? or as the wheels traction is limited, they own the same maximum push?

thank you, I am a high school student and I don’t handle that mechanic/physics concepts.

Hello.

With the same amount of traction from the tires, there might be some small difference in the actual weight that the robot can push, but I expect it to be very close. If wheel traction is your limiting factor (which from my experience is typically the case in mini sumo robots), it becomes more about preferences. Some people prefer to have a faster robot that can get across the board quickly, build up more momentum, or try to catch the opponent in a weak spot (like the side or back). Slower robots might either roam at a slower pace, or spin in place and wait to detect the opponent passing by.

-Brandon