But there is more...

I FINALLY took it out today! Now I live on a dirt road, the dirt this time of year is actually very much like the racetrack surface. As soon as I dropped the truck down I noticed the servo was reversed - no biggie - a quick change on the radio and it was pointing in the right way. I slowly crept up on the driveway (which is paved) and did a few low speed turns to just work out the diffs and check the turn radius, very impressive. I couldn't wait anylonger. I headed to the dirt road and gunned it. A-freaking-mazing.

During my build I've been checking the weight of the truck and totally ready to run, with battery and cables, everything (except body, my body is out being painted by AXM) it weighs 4290g (9.46 pounds) which sounds heavy but is almost a full pound lighter than my old CRT. With the weight savings and the free drivetrain on the 8T 2.0 the brushless power is just disgusting. It throws the truck around like a rag doll. I did gear up by 1 tooth (14t on my pinion) and the truck was the fastest I've ever driven. The sound was totally different too (and I've been using a plastic spur for years) it just sounded free-er. More like the whistle you hear on a 1/10th truck. I tore up and down the road for a while, roost tails were flying everywhere. Then I started to hit some bumps and driveway lips. Granted, these were not as big as typical track jumps but the truck was just WAY more composed than the CRT over the same obstacles.

It's always hard to judge the performance on a 10-12' wide road vs a narrow track but I'm much more impressed than I thought I'd be. I can't wait to get it on the track and start getting to know the handling characteristics of this truck. I'm sure given the way it accelerates alone it is going to shave several 10th's off my lap times!