Originally Posted by greenpea76

Nothing else you'll need to purchase. I checked the chassis' this morning and the holes ALL line up on the lower deck for the motor mount. Only thing extra is the location tab and extra hole on the newer chassis' for the single point servo mount. Get the newer V5 chassis, it works great on carpet. The other aftermarket stuff is nice, but you'll have a harder time finding those now. Smokem doesn't seem to be in operation anymore since the beginning of the year.

As for the 419 gear diff... it's nice, but I've seen just as many of those leak as the gear diff II. You just have to build them properly and shim them so they don't leak. They're very smooth though when done well. You really don't need the new diff. It looks nice because it's black and the teeth are larger, which makes it more durable.

If you're planning on spending quite a bit of money, I'd tell you to go ahead and get a 419. The prices are dropping on those fast. They're about 90-100 USD more than a brand new 417V5 kit, as I saw this at a TCS sale. You'll spend quite a bit to get a chassis and motor mount to update the 417 to V5 status, but the motor mount is still different from the first 417 to the final version. That's another expense to update.

I would honestly advise you to just drive the 417 as-is and get more track time along with setup experience. I do not know your RC or track experience, but these goodies and updates won't do you much good if one can't drive the car well enough and be consistent with it. If and when one does get consistent, upgrade to a better car! You won't feel like you've wasted money to update the older car if you've only driven on it for a short time and finally decide to upgrade.