i dont consider the hpi to be a car for competition i had a rs42 and it was fun to drive and helped me learn but when it came time to race i bought a mtx-2 then ntc3 and now mtx-3
i dont think any amount of time or money i could have sunk into my rs4 could make it as good as the others i had already spent a ton of money on stuff and it still wasnt near my mtx-2
they are good cars for novice class racing
i know a couple of guys who have them just so they can compete in the hpi challege but they race other cars when its time for other races