RC Newbie looking for advice

[Stevolab]

I'm new to the RC scene sort of ... i used to have a tyco turbo hopper when i was a kid... wanted a grasshopper when that broke .... all i got was the cheap Radio Shack specials... turned me away. A co-worker gave me his old Traxxas Rustler (RTR) to play with for awhile for my birthday i got a Tamiya Little Gear Max Climber (had it a couple of years, need to build yet) ... the advice i need is where is a good place to go online (because the local hobby shops treat me like i'm an idiot) to get parts to change gear ratios and get info on what kind of torques i can get without causing any damage to my car and truck. My car i'd like to slow down to be able to handle rougher terrain as well as give my max climber as muck torque as it can handle ....