I say a sportmaxx, not too big, not too small, 2wd, simple, light, durable, humangus hop-up potential, ground clearence. I have one with RPM short arms all around (shorter=more durable, less leverage on the bulks), towers, bulkhead braces, XTM CVD's, a custom chassis layout, all kinds of stuff. Here's a pic of it I took while I was building it
I have an all FLM EXT chassis Pede, with the Mamba 5700 and I spend more time picking it up off it's back and I'm really tired of it. I didn't really notice that much more stability than the VXL stock pede that I am always picking up off it's back also.