I had my maiden voyage yesterday and it was nothing short of fantastic!
High traction carpet, albeit a very small track, but even so I got the 8.5 wound up, and even though I had a few spills including a couple cart wheels, the beast was solid as a rock and nothing broke. I did do a serious job of rounding the corners on my shock towers and three coats of CA sanding smooth between them.
It felt a little soft with the stock carpet setup with stock springs and oils. Since the springs aren't out yet would simply using heavier oil help stiffen things in the meantime?