Hey there Blunten!
Yup, agree with everything you say. Nothing new there. I've geared it for about 40mph for bashing and everything seems fine. Motor holds steady at about 140*F and ESC at about 130*F.
I have changed back to the steel diff gear and the ratio now is 16/50.
BTW, I took out the mechanical brakes because the messy wiring was driving me nuts. So looks won over great brake feel:
