[MetalMan]

Yep, it's that rear chassis brace. If I had a standard 36mm diameter motor as opposed to the 42mm Neu finned can I have I could drop down to a 12t pinion if I wanted. Smooth finned Neus are 39mm OD, so you should be able to go down to a 15t pinion with the stock 44t spur. I'm almost tempted to order a Kyosho 46t spur gear to see if it would fit... that would allow a better range of gearing.

Funny thing about the steel spur gear, my buggy is very quiet compared to other buggies running steel spur/pinion. Don't know if it's because all of the gears are still relatively new or if it's something else.