i personally do not think $450.00 is enough for a decent nitro truggy...i think at the price range your making too many compromises for it to be reliable and stable...Something like this TTR MT4 brushless truck would offer you a more robust product with a higher chance of success....I am not a big fan of RTR nitro`s, usually there are soo many little mechanical quirks that it makes it quite overwhelming for a novice to get running correctly...your initial $450.00 investment will quickly balloon to a much higher figure just to get the machine up and running reliably ......At that price I think your better to stick to electric..... I am a nitro guy too, but the nitro``s I see at the price point are nearly impossible to tune correctly, even for me ......
TTR MT4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tNGe6qnuJ0