I wish I could be of more help, but I too just recently bought the Losi 8ight T . I was hardcore into nitro back around 2002 and sold everything off and abandoned nitro in 2008. Jump to present day and i've decided to jump back in. I also bought back my old modded Savage 25 from my nephew (whom I sold it to back in 2008) . My plan with the Savage is a complete restoration. I also bought a ton of upgrades , digital servos , tires and I bought an RCR modified LRP .32 spec4 engine. I'm SO saddened to realize that nitro is currently dead. Such a shame ! The Losi 8ight T RTR seems pretty well made but my only concern is the cheesy looking diff cups and dogbones. This will probably be my first upgrade. I also plan to add the 4 spider gears in the diffs and shim the diffs for good reliability. Many times the high end "race bling" parts are simply not necessary and your just wasting your money. I keep a close eye on chassis parts and when I see something wearing out quickly I upgrade then. I tend to stay away from aluminum upgrades unless again they are proven necessary.