Is it legal to add a 9th V5 motor that is not connected to a brain purely for balancing purposes?
I do not believe so. It states you are only allowed 8, therefor you are only allowed 8.
My personal advice is to redesign your robot so its balanced. If you need steel is pretty heavy. So is is the brain and battery.
If the robot tipping over is your problem, you can have an anti-tipping mechanism deploy at the start of the match using rubberbands so you don’t fall over. This is a common practice within VRC teams.
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< R17> Robots use one control system. Robots may use either:
Option 4: A V5 Robot Brain, up to eight (8) V5 Smart Motors, and no pneumatic components, excluding pneumatic tubing.
Nowhere does it state that motors can’t be used solely for balancing, but what @PortalStorm4000 said was right. If you legitimately need the weight of a motor to balance something, consider using steel plates or something dense, or changing up your design.
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This is a good question.
<R12> Decorations are allowed.
d. VEX motors, or components of VEX motors, may not be used as non-functional decorations.
I would assume, that because the ninth motor is “functional,” it is not allowed.
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There is nothing that states whether or not the motor is connected in order to be considered part of the motor limit
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do note though that the rules only state 8 motor limit and that is technically a 9th motor and is having a purpose.
As stated before due to R12, even if it didnt serve a purpose you still cant use it.
Well @AlienTech23 also made a similar topic about balancing using decorations, yes it would be functional but not serving the purpose of a Vex part.
still serving a purpose.
I would like to amplify this statement - if an object or decoration serves a function, It can not be deemed “non-functional”.
Allowed for ballast in Legacy system was the use of a second batter as long as there was a power expander attached.
In this post’s example of 9th V5 motor to serve as ballast for the very reason stated by many - it is serving a function of keeping the robot stable. Moreover, the Game Manual explicitly limits the number of motors on the robot. As such, the robot should NOT pass inspection with 9th motor present. Similarly, you are prohibited from putting 393 motors on a V5 system.
As for any decorations that are not-VEX parts, please be ready to have the inspector ask you to remove them at inspection.
As with all topics on VEXforum, these are NOT official answers, if you wish an official ruling for this season ask on RobotEvents.com Official Q&A as prior seasons Q&A do not apply to this season. If a Q&A applies to your particular implementation, be sure to bring a copy of the Q&A to tournaments as well as the current Game Manual.
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i have asked this question before, the answer i got was regardless of usage even decoration, its not allowed. you can only have 8 motors
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cant u literally use like a 2.5 pound weight and just say its “decoration”
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Have are you programming it correct, or do you have the wrong wire.
Why would you have to do that? Just use a 2.5 pound weight and call it counterweight.
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if u call it counter weight it serves a funtional purpose but if it is decoration it can pass inspection
Any decoration with non-zero weight is counterweight!
The real question is: who has so many extra V5 motors that they want to use them as counterweights?
What’s next - buying 100 V5 brains to use their covers as fridge magnets?
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If you’ve got that much money in the budget mind sharing a little with our team lol
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Or you could just screw a ton of steel on the bot, call it counterweight, and have it pass inspection 
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Get some steel slides and get the longest screws you have and mount them by putting on as many locknuts on as possible.
This is legit one of the biggest flexes I’ve ever seen lol
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