I was running a Tekin RSX in my 21.5 car and an RX8 in my 1/8 with a couple of RS Pro and an RS Gen 2 in my Buggys, then the RX8 smoked, contacted Tekin, and it was painful, was on a budget so chucked a cheapy Trackstar in my 1/8. It's been a rock. So I have changed everything to the Trackstar, I've been racing for 10 yrs, and they are no slower than the Tekins, the warranty is 1 yr instead of 90 days, they are 1/3 the price, and instead of fighting you on warranty, a picture or video showing the ESC doesn't work is sufficient for a claim in most cases.
So why would I buy another $100-$200 esc?
I can now afford a spare esc in the pit bag as a just in case, but looking like I won't even need it, but it's made things a lot less stressful. We rationalize the higher cost for better support / service etc, but sometimes thats complete bs.