Seen it all.

I have seen so many owners in your predicament, it's sad.

You seem to understand your options now. It's too bad you did not understand what classing requirements meant when you made a 20V choice for racing.

I always advise those wanting to enter racing to thoroughly understand the rulebook BEFORE they start modding their cars.

These days to win in racing you build your car to the very edge of the rules. In fact when in doubt contact the head Technical Inspector of the sanctioning body you intend to compete in. His word is final.

Most of all, use the stickyist tires (treadware #'s) you can afford since all those mods mean NOTHING if you can't get the power to the track surface.

30 year racer.

 

Agree with mr2tim but with one addition. Before you start down a given path with the sport and car, decide where you want to go and how far you want and are willing to take that path. Time and cost are two of the important factors.

Once you answer that simple question then you can consider your car and what you want to do in the near term and long term.

And while I agree with mr2tim there is still one other consideration, the driver. Before you start spending money on modifying the car, you really need to work on the driver. So the car is in SSM and it would be a lot of work to either move to STS or make it competitive in SSM. Well, before you are competitive in either of those classes you will likely need to work on your driving. A fast car is still slow if driven slowly.

I suggest you spend a full season working on your driving and looking at where you want to go. Do you want to stick with that car? Do you have he engineering capability and shop space required to pursue SSM? Or is STS better suited to your budget and skill set.

A simple step by step guide to getting where you want to go is:

What do I want to get out of the sport? If the answer is to just have some fun with my car, you are already doing that. If you want to win championships then continue reading.

What am I willing to commit to in terms of cost, time and effort to achieve my goals?

What technical and mechanical resources do I have or am willing to obtain?

How "fast" do I want to go? (street stock ~ SSM)

What class best suits my criteria as established by my answers to the above?

What car is the best tool to compete in that class?

That's the proper order to proceed. Far to many people do this backwards. They choose a car or class first, then run smack into; cost, time and resources. As a result they get frustrated and waste their time and money on a doomed project.

Take my DP car as an example. If you want to win a National Championship in a DP MR2 you will need: A truck and trailer, a garage, a considerable stock of tools and equipment, the ability to build (or the money to buy) competitive engines and transmissions. The ability (or the money to pay somebody else) to tune that engine. The engineering ability to design and fabricate parts. The ability to develop and setup suspension systems. The ability to buy $1200/set racing slicks. You get the idea. SSM is much the same.

Street Stock is a much simpler category to compete but you much choose your car well there too and even then you may find you have to buy a new car every year or two. And that ain't cheap.

 

Hey Noah - sorry I forgot to check tires with you Sunday!

Glad I found you here, though. Look for a PM coming soon.