Well with my limited experience in TC, I will say that you don't need to buy the latest kit to be competitive in VTA/USGT. Guys are still racing with old Tamiya tub chassis and getting podiums so it's not unreasonable to get back into the swing of things without spending a million bucks. But that is about as far as my experience goes. I just have two hopped up TB03's that I picked up for cheap and they are my first proper touring cars. So I am still learning myself lol