Thanks guys. I Know it won't be cheap but 3-500 isn't too bad. I have talked to Mike at rc world and they don't usually have a big turnout for the mini so maybe in the winter they will start running the class. I don't want to build one up all the way if I do not have a place to race it. I traded a crawler I had for one so once I get it I will go through it do a little bit and a brushless set up and have some fun untill it gets more popular.
-if you aren't racing your M-- competitively then you don't really need many of the upgrades we are discussing here. My recommendation would be just to get the steering corrected, then maybe some true shocks. Otherwise the car is quite fun and capable for a parking lot basher in stock form. The upgrades we are discussing are to shave weight and increase performance to get an edge over the competition. These tweaks combined may only amount to 0.5 - 2.0 sec's at most of savings per lap ...hardly noticeable for parking lot fun.