I need advice from Gelande owners

[Maxwedge]

Hey guys, I have the RC4WD Gelande drivetrain in my Class 2 scaler and need advice on what engine to use. The 16:1 tranny and 2.1:1 t.case are really geared down, and while I really like it on slow technical courses it's embarassing on long sections, trail runs, hill climbs and in mud. I'm using a 45t Novak motor that was good in my Axial rigs, but too slooooooooooooow now. Several people have told me to get a 27t, but when I look at motor builders like Holmes I see 7t, 10t, 14t, etc saying they have incredible speed and torque. By the way, I want to stay brushless and keep my existing Rooster esc and 2s lipos. What are you Gelande owners running, and can you keep up with the Honchos at comps?

Also, I tried the "overdrive" .75:1 transfer case and was very disapointed. Yes it was faster but it lost all it's grunt (I couldn't climb up onto a red brick with 2.2 tires).