In reality, I probably should have got a 7.5 or 8.5t motor. 6.5 is a beast and really, the races are won in the turns....

Yes I did. I switched to a vtx10rbe and it helped some. Im still having some temp issues on warm days. I played with the gearing some but started focusing on my 2wd buggy so I have nothing to report. Small (18t) pinion helped. I also messed with an 85t pinion and that helped some too.