Here's another analogy. Do you have a personal transponder or do you use the clubs? I payed $75 for the convenience of a personal. I wouldn't care if the brushed system was free, it's more work, less fun.
I sometimes wonder why we all put tire compound on. Doesn't that just cancel out each others gain? Isn't that just a wasted cost? We could all save money (and maybe sense of smell) if we all agreed not to use tire compound. It's just extra work and a waste of money in my view.
When I say competitive, I mean that a .6 oz ESC is going to be better than a 1.5 oz ESC. An ESC with .001 ohms is going to be better than one with .005 ohms. A freshly turned comm is going to be better than one with several runs on it. New brushes are going to better than cooked brushes. Spec racing is what I call competitive.
My Novak runs the same race after race, week after week. The same.
Just remember I am probably looking at this differently than most. I wanted to do a spec class, but nobody was interested in that either. I just want to race you, not your pocket book (or your black magic guru tuning ability). I want to compete with your driving skill. Maybe this is the wrong hobby for me, because there is so much tinkering involved.
I know you play LAN games and such. What was the worst thing to plague online gaming in the late 90's? Hackors. Why? Because it's not fair, it's not an even playing field. Even if you are playing on a LAN without cheaters, there can still be advantages to the guy with the latest greatest hardware.
I just think 1/12 scale 4 cell Novak 4300 would be the holy grail of RC racing. And I'm obviously not going to get it.