Interesting stuff, eR1c. Almost seems like you want to do a free wheel derby test. Remove pinion, place it on your chassis, and let your RC with body free wheel down the driveway with just steering control to see how far it will coast vs your other m-chassis.
Ha, I am already there! Slightly different technique I am using, but I am measuring the difference in length of time I get w/ wheel roll and gear resistance in the gear box from the previous setup to the new setup.
...getting down to the nitty gritty in terms of tweaking my mini. But at this point I am only about a 1/2 lap behind the top driver and a few turns behind the #2 spot. ...little by little i'll get there!