I'd like to know about the drilled pistons as well,

I did some checking and the #1's were already #54 sized. I was thinking of another hole as well. Hopefully we'll get the scoop

the pinion depends on what spur you are running? are you running the stock one or a 78 or 75 or something even smaller?

I drilled 3 holes on the black option pistons.

i am running stock spur

I've been out of rc racing for about 8 years or so. I'm actually getting back into it and am confused on what really makes the difference. I see many top manufacturers like AE, Losi, Kyosho, Durango, Tamiya, etc have top notch 1/10 scale off-road race cars. Most range between $250-$400 for the kit. Since most of these top cars are race quality, what makes one better than the other? Basically for durability...don't hit walls at speed, don't t-bone other cars, don't land jumps wrong and the car will pretty much hold up. Is it availability of parts that makes your decision on which to buy?
Just curious on how you guys/gals make the decision on what car to buy.

I am running stock spur 81t and 18 pin with an 8.5t and overheating what should i run with an 8.5t which spur and pin i run on small track tight turns rythem sec and 1 straitway? any help would be appreciated THANKS!

Well if you're running an 18 and its hot go down 2 teeth. Go to a 16 and see what the temps are. If you are still hot go down another. Idk what size will be too small to fit, or what size spur is too big. I run 17.5 and 10.5. 17.5 i go to a 30 or 32 and a 72 or 75. 10.5 i run stock spur and 18 or 20 pinion. Usually on small tracks you don't need a big motor. Id try 16 or 15 and check temp. Speed should be there 8.5 is plenty fast.

You might also want to cut vent holes in the body for aire and even put a heat sink on your motor. When I went from the 44 to .1 I ran same gears and my motor was warmer bc there is no hole below the motor so air doesn't go around it and the heat gets trapped.

I started as an ae fan when I got my team t3 when they first came out. got the 44 when I got back into racing bc its full cf. I like kyo stuff over ae bc of the quality. I stayed with the 44.1 bc of the cf. I run kyo bbs on my 44.1. As far as getting parts everything is easy to come by just order it.

So I'm going to buy this truck and thought I would start picking up the parts little by little. I have a new Sidewinder V2 sitting on my self. Would this be ok to use? I'm using a like ESC in a Slash and I know they can hand a Slash 4wd so I'm thinking we are all good here. It has a pretty small foot print as well so it should fit nice. Now for the motor, any thoughts here on a Castle motor for this truck using this ESC?

I would also check for binding first. I run a 81/19-20 with no issues. Also are you running it for like 10 minutes?

Really depends on how big the track is and whether you are running stock or mod. If you're going to bash thats another story there. So how big of at track and what do other guys run at your track?

Good points. The track is not that large. Here is a link to a YouTube video of the track.

I have no intention to bash this truck and even the other tracks I run at are not much larger. I'm really not looking for blazing speed here, just handling. There is just not enough room here to go all out without nailing a wall or something.

Stock or mod? See what else other guys are running and go from there. I would say tekin rs with a 10.5 for a track that size.

8 -10 min i tried putting holes in the body i will try a fan on the motor what motor r u running with stock spur and 19-20 pin?