Hi Neil
Basically what Wylie said!!
If you are going 4WD, I would suggest there are probably most Schumacher SXs at the club by a small margin although there are quite a few people trying the Durango cars now and several Tamiya cars, couple Kyosho cars, Losi, Associated and now one Caster car. Whilst they might all look a bit "samey", there is actually a fair bit of choice - currently got single belt and dual belt cars, shaft drive cars and the durango has geared diffs - all with their own benefits. It's almost impossible to get unbiased advise as so many people will tell you their car is best for whatever reason but if you have raced before then I am sure you know that.
I would normally suggest that you pop down and have a look at a few cars in the flesh. Unfortunately as we are re-building the track there is a bit of a break in racing for probably at least another couple of weeks (weather is not helping). We are track building most sun mornings at the moment so if you want to pop down for a chat, I'm sure we will be glad of the break!! If you let us know you are coming down, I am sure a few of us would bring our cars slong so you can have a look.
Tyres - in the dry schumacher mini-spikes on the rear (I run blues but think some run yellows) and thin staggered ribs on front (they are meant for 2WD but seem to work on our track. In the wet, ballistic mini-spikes in either pink or green (pinks are softer and will wear out quicker but give a bit more grip) on the back and either schumacher or ballistic mini-spikes on front. Tyres and inserts are normally available for sale trackside.
We do not currently run the short course trucks - sure we could run a heat if there was enough interest but I'm not aware there is much interest at the moment so you are probably better off getting a buggy so at least you can be sure of a race.
Hope to see you at the track soon
Rob