Would a shortie fit in there too?

Problem with that might be the batteries not sitting flat but still should work. I don't think saddles are lighter than shorties unless run time is an issue for you.

You can do all that normally with a shorty and top deck esc. Cars never felt better in my years with it. I was ready to toss this car in the trash until i did the +8 and top deck esc. Went a step further and built a spacer for the RX in front of battery. Transponder on top of RX, just gotta tidy up the transponder wiring and.....well clean my counter and wash the tires.

wI cut the back portion of my body off (where the body clip is) so my
body would sit lower so if I ran the wires any other way my body wouldnt fit right lol

Running saddles the way you desire is gonna give the car the same ratio front to back as a shortie but increase side bite and chassis roll. I run mine sideways front to rear. They fit perfectly on the flat spot on the chassis so there is no weird angle to compensate for. I run my esc behind the batteries and reciever above on a deck. I can adjust my battery hold down(SC10 4X4 saddle setup) from the most reward to 5mm forward and to 10mm forward. My setup is as adjustable as running a shorty. Saddle packs weigh about the same as a full pack but the weight is very centralized making the car very nimble and easy to adjust.

Carbon fiber is very conductive, I would suggest some heat shrink on your battery plugs or your asking for a fire.

Side note because we have a few Australians here. Some guy in Australia won a lot of tires I had on ebay. I sent him an invoice for $55 shipping...lol. But I am wondering if I should just refund him and relist. I cant seem to find out for sure what my protection level is with paypal.

I bought me one of these about a month ago. The only mod that I have do.e is change out the plastic steering rack with aluminum and bearings and playing around with different tire compounds. I'm loving it so far especially since I'm new to off-road.

The 4.2 should come with the aluminum steering rack and bearings.

Anybody out there running a Mach 2 8.0?

I might be getting a 7.5 or 8.0 soon.

Is it true that the Mach 2's are a half a turn faster?

popular package is 8.5 with the shorty

Or 7.5,8.0 with wolf 25c

Just put in my order for one. I can't wait till it gets here. I haven't built a kit since I had the original RC10T. I'm super excited.

For now the Hobbywing sc10 will be the power plant until I can talk wife into approving the purchase of a tekin system. I really want to get into racing. I know the hobbywing will work for now, I just won't something a little better. And sensored.

Good choice! The kit is a really easy build!
Box stock setup is pretty good, unless you run at a groomed high bite track, then a couple modifications are helpful.

Does AE make flat CNC pistons? I only see the taper ones

ASC91308 is the only flat 12mm piston set AE makes, which is the 1.5/1.6/1.7s on the parts tree.