Out of the box, the only thing I changed from the kit carpet setup on Xray's website was 1000cSt in the rear diff.

On low/medium grip carpet the handling was superb, perhaps a bit too safe, but very easy to drive

sounds good...so other than a few diff oil weights to play around with, what other parts should I buy ahead of time? im speaking primarily tuning parts, sway bars, springs, etc?

You may not need much. A number of guys who have driven the car, me included all think the car is really good on carpet with kit settings. Consensus seems to be go up on the rear diff oil to get the car to rotate a little better. X-ray did good with this one.

The only other parts we've been testing with are the springs.

So far, we have found we've gone faster running 2.7 springs at the back as well as the front.
Perhaps a Speed 6 and an LTC-R depending on grip levels.
Haven't found any roll bars yet that are available, so just get the diff oils and some springs.... job done

T4 Option parts
& STD Shock Spring

Loved my first T4 so much I thought id replace my 009 VTA with another T4!

money bags

On asphalt i have never found the speed 6 doing a quicker lap, just hard to do 15 of them with the ltcr

Are you running the same setup on both cars? Another local racer is getting a T4 for VTA and wondered if the kit setup will work for VTA.

Neither of my cars are running the kit setup now, but ya its a good starting point for vta

I too strayed away from kit set up. A little too safe for me. On carpet and asphalt. I went with 50mm front axles, 2.5 rear springs, split front suspension holders, and thicker gear diff oil(1000wt). All in all the car now rotates more.

Neither have I, but he didn't specify which surface.

I always use the LTC-R outdoor as it gives me slightly more aggressive steering.

Skiddins

Just a heads-up: RC Market does indeed have sway bars and other T4 goodies in stock if anyone is having trouble finding them in Europe/stateside.

I ordered a bunch of stuff yesterday.

how is the original finish on the chassis edges? sanding and CA required?

Yes, but no more than from any other manufacturer