[MetalMan]

This "Direct Drive to Diff" method definitely has plenty of advantages. But to keep everything in perspective, there are also disadvantages:

-harder on diffs, due to lack of torque control (slipper clutch) or a way of transferring power (center diff). But since the vehicle should be lighter this way, that means less mass to move.
-battery placement - I like to run a single pack on the opposite side of the chassis from the motor. However, unless you have a Losi 8 or 8t, the motor will need to pretty well centered, which can disrupt battery mounting on narrow truggy/buggy style chassis.

For my MT2, the chassis is way too narrow for the diameter of my motor to run a battery on each side of the chassis, along with the servo up front on one of the sides. So, I'm gonna offset the motor to the left, and stand the steering servo up (on the left). That way I have maximum space on the right for battery mounting. There will also be the brake servo and maybe the ESC at the left rear, behind the motor.