Woah, who knew you had all this lot! I think the 144001 is still one of the best value RC cars under $100, other brands have tried copying it, but have failed, because of friction shocks, weak drivelines, underpowered, ect. The 144001 isn't meant to be bashed like an Xmaxx, it's only 1/14 scale after all, and $80! I love my 144001, it has some LC-R hop-ups too (my own abbreviation!), and hey, we're both rocking the TBR front bumpers, they're awesome right!? I will say the metal is on the softer side, but that also means most bent metal parts can bent right back in shape with vise grips, and pliers or maybe a hammer. I straightened out my front shock tower after my uncle crashed it, with a pair of vise grips and pliers. There are now a few little gouges from those tools, but it's as straight as stock. You can also get stronger versions of some metal parts, from Wltoys or LC-Racing, though with the latter, do check for fitment. Some LC-R parts will need to be shimmed in Wltoys cars.
Of course, the LC-R stuff is like the Rolls Royce of the 1/14 and 1/12 scale cars, you just can't beat them! Bear in mind, the Wltoys is almost 1/3rd of them price of the LC-R cars. If you have the $$, get the LC-R cars. If you're on a budget like me, get the Wltoys cars and hop them up a little. I have a budget basher-oriented brushless system in mine, click my "Build Thread Contributor" badge to check the conversion out. I'm considering throwing in the "final" ultimate basher system in there eventually, a HobbyWing ESC and a 2838 or 2845 can size motor for maximum bashing, but it's fast and agile with the current 2440 motor I have in there. I also gotta get some better tires, mine are a bit worn, and I'll also be getting some metal knuckles, front caster blocks, and rear hubs eventually. I drive more conservatively, I don't go flat out all the time, so I haven't actually really broke anything in my 2+ years of owning my 144001. I've tinkered on it a lot, and changed a fair amount of stuff, and added some homemade upgrades too.
Run LC-R CVDs in the front, and LC-R dog bones, or better yet, CVDs all round. You'll need slightly thicker bearings to take up the extra slop, or shims to do the same thing, thicker bearings are the better route, more effecient, and more secure. I would take the LC-R EMB-1 over the Reflex, granted, I haven't seen many reviews on the Reflex yet. The EMB-1 just seems to handle sigificantly better, and it's more tuneable (I think) as it's built like a race car.
BTW I haven't bent any driveshafts yet on my 144001, and it's still running the stock ones, they'll get upgraded eventually, so many things I want
I'm all "waffled out" now (Kevin Talbot reference), you get the point, the Wltoys stuff isn't as bad as you make it out to be. And yes, the stock gearing on them is too high, it's really geared toward getting max speed.
Edit: I'm not trying to get into an argument here, I just want to share my two cents, and I think I'm pretty qualified to do that as I've had the car for over 2 years, and know a fair bit about these cars IMO
