I will put my 2-cents in on this one having run "Stock" pan car for many years before taking an extended vacation. A few years ago I decided to get back into RC and looked around. I went and paid a little more up front for my Tekin RS esc and Tekin Reddline 17.5 after researching what was out. I run 17.5 & 13.5 dirt oval, and its very competative. With the new esc, I got a lipo cutoff, software upgrades, small size, and a Team that supports and races its own products. I had always previously owned Tekins exclusively and liked what I saw with the new ones.

Two and half years later, and all the other esc's that have come out since and I am still running the same Tekin Redline 17.5 and Tekin RS esc today in some of the most competitive racing ever, and they are still as competative as ever. The software improvements have pushed the speeds up, and the motor temps down. The upgrades have also made the throttle smoother, and easier to drive fast. Yes there is a learning curve with the software and setup, but that's part of racing and goes with the teritory. I have had to re-learn a lot of stuff, and a few new tricks with each new software version. Need help, ask you will get lots of support from any of us here. The Team Tekin site also has posted set-ups to help get you going as well.

Put a Tekin motor and esc in it and be done with it the first time around. Sure beats the old days of cutting brushes, comm's, and buying new batteries every 2-3 weeks and then zapping the crap out of them, or in today's world, buying the latest off brand esc only to see a new software upgrade come out from Tekin and be available and free to the public and get your doors blown off again. I can now spend more time on car set-up and less time worring about how to find more speed. Buy it once and be done with it.