Hondy City Turbo Questions

[Pukadon 0]

I just ordered a Honda City Turbo (shortly before Tamiya adjusted the prices to meet its new minimum here), and I have a few questions I'm trying to determine for parts:

1) Is the wheelie bar the same for the WR-02 and the WR-02C (i.e. the Wild Willy 2 vs. HCT) or are they different? I'm trying to figure out if I get a hop-up from GPM (or Yeah Racing) that was made for the WW2 would it work for the HCT. 

Links:

WW2 - http://www.rcmart.com/gf333ro-aluminum-wheelie-gf01-tl01-orange-p-61590.html?cPath=595_744_1656

HCT - https://www.gpmparts.com/tamiya-honda-city-turbo-wr02c-aluminium-wheelie-bar-1set-gpm-wrc2333r-p-90071975.html?options={33}171 

2) Can I buy good foam inserts for the HCT? (Or make them?) Thinking of these: https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEYPX&P=ML

3) I like Madbee's offroad wheels/tires as an alternative, but I know they were done with vintage Kyosho wheels. Has anyone else done this with current/newer wheels?

FYI - other hop-ups:

I'm obviously going to buy metal bearings.

I think I'm going to buy a set of oil-dampers (the Tamiya TRF Big Bore, because in this post they appear to fit: https://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-road/891661-tamiya-wr-02c-chassis-honda-city-turbo-2.html)

I might also buy a few other GPM aluminum parts but I'm going to try to focus on the essential first. 

As a total aside, this is my second RC build and my second Tamiya kit. Last summer I built a Lunchbox, and this year I agonized for months over which kit to get next (HCT, WW2, CC-01 - all completely different). In the end maybe the only benefit of the price hike was that I was forced to pull the trigger. In the end I made the decision with my heart, and chose the least practical. 

[IBIFTKH 1369]

I can't answer all your questions but yes, the wheelie bar is exactly the same. The only difference is that on the HCT it's fitted with spacers so it clears the body. The spacers are included in the kit (and with the wheelie bar in your second link).

The big bore shocks are nice but expensive. The HCT isn't known for its handling, there's probably no real advantage over a set of  cheaper CVA dampers (except the TRF ones are much prettier  ).

If you're going to run it, a steel pinion gear and alloy servo mounts are worth considering.