[JimboJames1972]

Hi,
A couple of questions for you - what budget do you have, what size track will you be running on, what rules does your local club have (especially regarding cells and motors) and what time scale are you looking at to get fully setup?

Diff. More necessary on small, tight twisty tracks than open sweeping tracks. If your track is small and tight then not having a diff will be a disadvantage. If your club is larger and if you are on a tight budget you can save the cost for later. Mardave diffs are just fine - one of mine is over a year old now, had never been cleaned or rebuilt and still works just fine!

Alloy chassis. Perfectly fine to get you going but a new GRP one might offer you more grip. Carbon one will be slightly stiffer and both offer useful front tuning options.

Damper. A great upgrade option over a "standard" alloy chassis kit. This really smooths the car down, especially when combined with a diff. You can run one on the alloy chassis but you will need to drill one hole in the chassis for the damper post to mount on to and another in the plastic pod.

Adjustable pod. My thinking is that being able to adjust your ride height independently of the rear pod droop angle is extremely important. The alloy pod is a relatively expensive upgrade, but well worth it!

Power. If your budget and club rules allow it, go for a LiPo/brushless setup over NiMH/brushed. Again, a relatively large outlay but lower maintenance and running costs.

Hope this helps. Let us know your budget/time/club rules and we can advices more. Alternatively, PM me your contact number and I can call you.

James