I tried sand mode in the rain to see if it would work better, but it sure felt like it was only spinning the front just as far as normal mode. Maybe it was all 4 spinning! I'll have to try that again. I thought sand mode was supposed to be 50/50. Yes, I have the gauge. It just doesn't feel like what it is displaying. The harder I launched it, the worse the 60ft. Around 2k seemed to be the best. It went over 2.00 with about 2500rpm launch and it hopped the front tires. Hopping causes breakage, so I backed off.