2WD buggy will help you become a better driver as a whole. They are a little harder to start out with but when it all comes together I find them much easier to drive. I agree with starting with stock 17.5 like you planned. It is also typically a more competitive class then 2WD SCT. After having both for a while I recently decided to sell all my SCT stuff because I don't really enjoy the style of driving. I will stick to cleaner open wheel racing.