I raced the car tonight for the first time at Wycombe and all I can say is WOW - it really drives just like a 1/10th scale 2WD buggy! Absolutely amazing.
In my opinion it has incredibly good steering (maybe all the alloy bits has something to do with it), jumps really well and is extremely, EXTREMELY robust (broken nothing all night despite 11.1v power and 6800kv brushless!!). Must get soft compound rear tyres though - the standard compound is OK once grip levels come up but the soft will be better!
There was a Mini-T there as well but unfortunately the guy had servo issues (no saver meant he kept breaking the gears) and so we didn't do a full race together. The Mini-T looked a bit smaller though.
Overall everyone that saw the Tamiya run commented on how well it seemed to go and was very impressed with lots of 'I can't believe how good it is and it's a Tamiya!' comments.
I was unsure about the 11.1v and 6800kv combo but it seemed very well suited to the car. I didn't once feel it was over powered. I'm going to fit the 4100kv for comparison anyway and will report back. I think the higher voltage theory has really proved itself tonight as the motor got barely warm and I felt I had good controllable power low down with none of the usuall stuttering at very low speed. Probably partly due to the fact that you can't hammer the 2WD as hard as a 4WD but still, very well suited.
As for all the alloy bits - I actually think this is one car that does really well with all the alloy bits as it adds a bit of weight which is no bad thing! Ready to race with all the alloy bits and the whole lot - 653gr - heavier than a RC18 and lighter than my Blaze. But, do you really need them - no, I don't think so - I recon all you really 'need' is the 3Racing steering assembly, maybe the front knuckles and c-hubs and then lastly nice oil shocks (and I don't recommend the Tamiya Aeration shocks as they are weird seem to work ok but they don't feel too good on the bench bounce test).
I am sold on 2WD micro racing - it is so rewarding to drive. It's totally different to 4WD driving (no surprise there ) and you have to think about your driving and be really smooth especially mid corner - no over revving or braking or even taking your finger off the throttle! Lots and lots of fun