This year, the University of Nebraska's quarter scale tractor team took home several awards from the International Quarter Scale Tractor Competition in Peoria, Ill. While the A Team took home first place overall, UNL's X Team also placed at the international competition, taking third overall.

The goal of the X Team competition is to build on a previous year's A Team model. "Last year's A-team did not do too well," says Roger Hoy, UNL biological systems engineering professor and director of the Nebraska Tractor Test Lab. "This year's X-team did more than any X-team we've had. There's very little that resembles last year's A-team tractor."

X TEAM BUILD: Devon Vancura (left) and Keith Kopcho inspect this year's X Team tractor build. The goal of the X Team competition is to build on a previous year's A Team model.

This year's X Team tractor took a considerable amount of remodeling, notes Keith Kopcho, UNL Ag Engineering major who will be a junior this fall. "This year's X-team tractor was about a 60% remodel," Kopcho says. "We completely scrapped the old frame, and shortened it up – the old one was about 16 inches longer than it is now. We used thicker 10 gauge steel, and used notched welding that makes it easier to put together, and a U construction so it's more durable and cost-effective."

COMPLETE REMODEL: Keith Kopcho (left) with Devon Vancura in front of the X Team build. This year's X Team tractor took a considerable amount of remodeling, notes Kopcho. "We completely scrapped the old frame, and shortened it up – the old one was about 16 inches longer than it is now. We used thicker 10 gauge steel, and used notched welding that makes it easier to put together, and a U construction so it's more durable and cost-effective," Kopcho says.

The 2015 A-team tractor featured an attempted improvement on the traditional continuously variable transmission (CVT), but Devon Vancura, a UNL Ag Engineering major who will be a sophomore this fall notes it had too much bulk, too little horsepower. This year's X Team scrapped the transmission for a traditional CVT. "The whole transmission was completely redone. Before it was a CVT, but it was our own special version," says Vancura. "We went back to a traditional CVT. CVTs are effective for a wide range of speeds and to have the power you need to pull. If you perfect them, they're very efficient for puling."

This year's X Team, like the A Team, followed a schedule to finish the build by December, and used the remaining time to fine-tune and prepare for competition. "We tested for maneuverability, we got 20 pulls in because we knew it worked and then we had some adjustments in," Kopcho says. "On one of our test runs our front axle went out, so that was a good thing that didn't happen at contest that we got fixed here."

"I think the whole team was much better organized compared to last year," Vancura adds. "That's what really helped us this year."

This article is the second in a two-part series on this year's UNL quarter scale tractor design. Read about the A Team tractor build here.