Well you have opened a can of worms when you ask about 17.5 motors and what one is best. You will have a lot of different answers, so here is my ideas.... you have Reedy which makes a great motor and a lot of people run them, then you have Tekin Gen 3's not the Gen 2's.. those are great motors also like the Reedy. The motors I have been really happy with id the R1 Wurks V11 motors.. they are fast and great quality but you will pay for it. So if I was you I would go to the track and ask around and see what they are running so you have some setup help with them and run that brand. That is just my 2 cents.