First off, I'm currently a ROAR member, and this is the type of thing that will GREATLY influence my decision to re-up. This has been a civil and semi-productive discussion, so now I'm here to muck all that up.
I'm always concerned with the feeling that we need to "dumb-down" a hobby that I have been passionate about for 2/3rds of my life.
A problem that I see currently, is that MOD has become undrivable for the masses, leaving us with only spec classes for the majority of the On-Road community. In this scenario we have tried to find a simple solution to suit the VASTLY different skillsets of the racers who populate these classes.
Add to that the issues that arise from having 2 different voltage levels for the two different scales of car w/in the On-Road segment. Some say 7.4v boosted 17.5 TC is too fast, and that's possibly true. I would contend that 3.7v 17.5 spec 12th scale is about as fun as watching grass grow, and my home track is only 63'x33'.
IMO, the best solution is to leave BOOSTED 17.5 as the "stock" or "Super-Stock" etc. class for TC and 12th scale. The existing equipment can still be utilized by the racers who'll continue to run these classes.
Now to make racing more attractive to the NEW racer: Institute a NEW 21.5 ZERO speedo AND motor timing class. Require NEW non-updatable speedos and NEW 21.5 motors for this class. The motors should be sealed, as this would prevent the use of tuning rotors,ceramic bearings, or any shady internal mods. I would also implement a max C-rating, and capacity rule to limit the amount of overall power available, in the hope of curbing the "gear it to meltdown" syndrome.
Note that NEW equipment is only necessary in the NEW class. If there are racers that want to step down to the NEW class, they can purchase the NEW equipment, which they would have to do anyway if they supported the current proposal by ROAR. The racers who choose to continue running the 17.5 boosted class (which I believe is the majority), could continue on, business as usual.
Under my proposal, a new class for more casual, and brand new racers has been introduced without alienating the existing racer base.
Just a thought.