Cost of STX VS. SSC build

[steverife]

Originally Posted by Breadman

correct me if im wrong but wouldnt getting a 5lb battery save just as much weight as a catback at 1/4th the price? So id you were trying to minmax wouldnt it be best to skip the exhaust?

...if weight is your goal, yes.

Or if budget/simplicity is your goal, skip both.

...but I think a lot of folks spend money on a catback with the idea of balancing power gains with passing sound easily, and not with the idea of dropping weight. That's certainly my plan once I get a header in my hands.

[Clutch Dog]

Originally Posted by steverife

...if weight is your goal, yes.

Or if budget/simplicity is your goal, skip both.

...but I think a lot of folks spend money on a catback with the idea of balancing power gains with passing sound easily, and not with the idea of dropping weight. That's certainly my plan once I get a header in my hands.

Id counter your argument with the exhaust.

I feel most guys get an exhaust for the noise.. i loved my nameless single tips

[steverife]

Originally Posted by Clutch Dog

Id counter your argument with the exhaust.

I feel most guys get an exhaust for the noise.. i loved my nameless single tips

I did the Nameless delete for SSC for that reason, but there is no way I can pass sound with that once I get a header on the car....so I gotta buy a heavier more expensive exhaust or run stock.

[Clutch Dog]

Originally Posted by steverife

I did the Nameless delete for SSC for that reason, but there is no way I can pass sound with that once I get a header on the car....so I gotta buy a heavier more expensive exhaust or run stock.

I had this exact same issue with a header, and stock resonator. ended up getting a HKS Hipower single tip V2 and that somehow passed.


its one of the biggest parts that sold and i regret selling it.. now im back on the muffled single tip and it doesnt look nor sound as cool as the HIpo

[Dadhawk]

Complete aside but every time I see this thread pop up with "SSC build" I think of the Thrust SSC:

[Breadman]

Originally Posted by steverife

...if weight is your goal, yes.

Or if budget/simplicity is your goal, skip both.

...but I think a lot of folks spend money on a catback with the idea of balancing power gains with passing sound easily, and not with the idea of dropping weight. That's certainly my plan once I get a header in my hands.

i like to believe that anyone that is autoxing this car knows that catbacks have essentially 0 gains and anyone concerned with money wouldnt be spending money for just sound

[M0nk3y]

Wow this got out of hand quickly...lol

I have an exhaust that's probably heavier than OEM...but my car blows less than 90dB and doesn't annoy course workers /shrug

Also, $5k prep car wins Nationals and an $12k+ prep car places 3rd. But hey at least I won another Pro Championship that literally no one cares about? lol

(I'm also the stupid one that wastes money on their car)

[ka-t_240]

Originally Posted by steverife

FYI, the SSC tire for 2020 is undetermined. There is some kind of webinar at idontcare o'clock, so you might want to wait for that before determining a path forward buying tires.

"Brad" from Tire rack made a post on a number of FB pages which linked to a 225.45.17 RT660 posted on TireRack today with information on preorder and to email him your SCCA member #/order # etc for these tires. Pretty good sign that the RT660 will be the spec tire. Especially when thats the only size tire they are listing for the RT660,

[conehead]

Originally Posted by M0nk3y

I'd argue that trying to work around a compromised setup with inherit rear bar bind on tires that don't like multi-tasking is more frustrating.

Controversial opinion. There have been a number of top drivers within this sport that have jumped into an SSC car and struggled hard at finding speed. SSC requires a specific driving style that does not translate to any other class.

Not really, you just have to view the rear bar as not adjustable and leave it on stiff, which seems to be the right setting anyway. It is a spec class, the point is to take the car out of the equation and focus on the driving, and to that point I would have just as much fun if we were all racing on the stock primacy tires. That is a matter of personal preference, but the question was cost. The entry cost and running cost for SSC is significantly cheaper.


I will also say that the SSC setup is about the limit for mods on a car that you still use everyday. I could daily a built STX car, but it would not be so great for road trips and most girls would not enjoy getting picked up in it for dates.

[M0nk3y]

Originally Posted by ka-t_240

"Brad" from Tire rack made a post on a number of FB pages which linked to a 225.45.17 RT660 posted on TireRack today with information on preorder and to email him your SCCA member #/order # etc for these tires. Pretty good sign that the RT660 will be the spec tire. Especially when thats the only size tire they are listing for the RT660,

Falken is flying in a specific allocated sets ahead of the boat so this is mostly why it is one size as of now. They still may not be here for beginning events, FYI

Originally Posted by conehead

Not really, you just have to view the rear bar as not adjustable and leave it on stiff, which seems to be the right setting anyway. It is a spec class, the point is to take the car out of the equation and focus on the driving, and to that point I would have just as much fun if we were all racing on the stock primacy tires. That is a matter of personal preference, but the question was cost. The entry cost and running cost for SSC is significantly cheaper.


I will also say that the SSC setup is about the limit for mods on a car that you still use everyday. I could daily a built STX car, but it would not be so great for road trips and most girls would not enjoy getting picked up in it for dates.

So use the rear bar at it's stiffest position is NOT an optimized setup. You realize most people in STX either 1. Use OE Bar, 2. Install Mann Engineering rear Bar (which is softer than OE), or 3. Rip out and disconnect the rear bar.

We don't need to use massive rear bar to sacrifice grip to get the rear to rotate, as what you're required to do. The correct, conventional setup is that bar on soft. But in current form creates bind because no one who developed the rules thought that adjustment endlinks was a smart idea.

Anyways - my STX car on 400/350 MCS suspension rides better than an SSC car would ever do on Konis and lowering springs. Lets not be making false assumptions

[strat61caster]

I Daily my STX Megans, my wife is fine with the car and we've come to the conclusion it's better for trips than the Acura we have because the seats are more supportive.


MCS certainly soak up bumps brilliantly if you can spend the extra thousand bucks. KW V3 is pretty well mannered on the street as well and can put you into the trophies when set up decently.

[tony_r]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

I Daily my STX Megans, my wife is fine with the car and we've come to the conclusion it's better for trips than the Acura we have because the seats are more supportive.


MCS certainly soak up bumps brilliantly if you can spend the extra thousand bucks. KW V3 is pretty well mannered on the street as well and can put you into the trophies when set up decently.

Yeah the Megans were better than the OE ride for a while. I put the OE shit when I sold it and the rear bounce was like, jesus who the fuck said shipping the car like this was OK? SSC was much the same.

[KevBRZ]

When it comes to cost, I think it all boils down on how competitive you want to be and prob how good of a driver you are....some people could win stx local with no parts on the car but maybe a sway bar especially if they are racing against me. lol i think stx makes the car better for a daily in some ways ie header and tune for power and torque dip removal and my coilovers i believe ride better than the stock ones which is saying alot because I'm old lol , searching for used parts or parts on sale helps or doing work yourself (which i am getting burned out on) , i imagine buying the best parts and paying to get all of them installed and going full in could be enough to buy another new car but i think you can build a budget stx that could do well. I think i am in the $5k realm ish on parts some used some new. and you can raise your coilovers during winter.... i am not too much lower than stock at the moment, but def don't have that hella wheel gap i used to have

[conehead]

Latest about the new tire sounds like kind of a mess:


https://www.scca.com/articles/201342...ction-for-2020


They are $10 more per tire, but hopefully prove more popular as tires seemed to be the biggest complaint in the class.