FSD or Fuel Scoop ? Bigger is better, but which one ?

[Stealthie]

I don't really see how there might be a conflict.
It's not like the scoop and the FSD are competing for the same slot in a ship.

If it's a ship which has the primary purpose of travelling, I always use the biggest slot the ship has for the best scoop I can afford.
If it's a multi-role ship I'll use one of the mid-size slots for a scoop.
In a combat ship, I'll fit a scoop in whatever small slot remains after I've finished adding anything else, just as a "get you home" in case of unforeseen circumstances (such as an emergency high-wake to another system).

 

[Straha Yeagar]

I don't really see how there might be a conflict.
It's not like the scoop and the FSD are competing for the same slot in a ship.

If it's a ship which has the primary purpose of travelling, I always use the biggest slot the ship has for the best scoop I can afford.
If it's a multi-role ship I'll use one of the mid-size slots for a scoop.
In a combat ship, I'll fit a scoop in whatever small slot remains after I've finished adding anything else, just as a "get you home" in case of unforeseen circumstances (such as an emergency high-wake to another system).

In the case of the OP, the conflict was a large cabin to take two sets of passengers with the drawback of a much smaller scoop.

 

[kenworth]

I don't really see how there might be a conflict.
It's not like the scoop and the FSD are competing for the same slot in a ship.

If it's a ship which has the primary purpose of travelling, I always use the biggest slot the ship has for the best scoop I can afford.
If it's a multi-role ship I'll use one of the mid-size slots for a scoop.
In a combat ship, I'll fit a scoop in whatever small slot remains after I've finished adding anything else, just as a "get you home" in case of unforeseen circumstances (such as an emergency high-wake to another system).

Yep. I think it comes down to what are you trying to do. I have a 6A fuel scoop in my AspX which is used strictly for exploring. It times perfectly when jumping into a system, scanning the primary star while scooping and running the ADS for the rest of the system. I usually finish scooping within 1 second of the scanning activities so can proceed immediately to the next jump.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

How much of a hurry are you in?

That's really what it boils down to - if you're in a big hurry for some reason, then you want the biggest scoop you can get. If you're not in a big hurry, any scoop will do.

Fuel scoops of any size and class add no mass to your ship, so that's not a factor.

The only real factor at all is the size (and/or quantity) of fuel tank(s).

Yes, you can fill a size 8 Fuel Tank with a size 1 scoop, if you have a couple hours.
You can also fill a size 3 Fuel Tank with a size 8 scoop faster than the voice can tell you that the fuel scoop has been deployed.

 

[Straha Yeagar]

How much of a hurry are you in?

That's really what it boils down to - if you're in a big hurry for some reason, then you want the biggest scoop you can get. If you're not in a big hurry, any scoop will do.

Fuel scoops of any size and class add no mass to your ship, so that's not a factor.

The only real factor at all is the size (and/or quantity) of fuel tank(s).

Yes, you can fill a size 8 Fuel Tank with a size 1 scoop, if you have a couple hours.
You can also fill a size 3 Fuel Tank with a size 8 scoop faster than the voice can tell you that the fuel scoop has been deployed.

As a dedicated explorer, I don't have to worry about what needs to go into my ApsX's size 6 slot, and while I go pretty slowly most of the time, having the 6A scoop affords me the luxury of full mobility at any given time.

 

[Stealthie]

In the case of the OP, the conflict was a large cabin to take two sets of passengers with the drawback of a much smaller scoop.

Even if we ignore the fact that neither of those things conflicts with which FSD you fit, the same thing applies.

If it's primarily a ship for going places, the passenger cabin should be a low priority.
If it's primarily a passenger ship, the fuel scoop should be the low priority.

I'm still a bit baffled by the whole "fit a smaller FSD" thing.
Do people really deliberately fit a small FSD (thus crippling a ship's capabilities) just so they don't have to spend a long time scooping with a small scoop? [where is it]
If it was me, I'd rather just fit the best possible FSD and then set the route-planner to "most efficient" rather than "fastest".
At least, that way, you'd be able to make long jumps should the need arise.

 

[Straha Yeagar]

Even if we ignore the fact that neither of those things conflicts with which FSD you fit, the same thing applies.

If it's primarily a ship for going places, the passenger cabin should be a low priority.
If it's primarily a passenger ship, the fuel scoop should be the low priority.

I'm still a bit baffled by the whole "fit a smaller FSD" thing.
Do people really deliberately fit a small FSD (thus crippling a ship's capabilities) just so they don't have to spend a long time scooping with a small scoop? [where is it]
If it was me, I'd rather just fit the best possible FSD and then set the route-planner to "most efficient" rather than "fastest".
At least, that way, you'd be able to make long jumps should the need arise.

I agree...no sense I can make out of ever downsizing the FSD. That said, it appeared to me that the OP may have just had some clumsy wording as they did mention a grade 5 upgrade, so I took their mention of "smaller" fsd to mean no upgrade, as opposed to say fitting a grade 4 into the grade 5 slot. That is the only interpretation I can make any sense of what so ever.

 

[Morbad]

Fuel scoop modules are massless. There is never any reason to use anything less than the best one you have room for, unless you can't afford better. They most certainly can't hurt jump range.

If long distance travel is the goal, you want to be able to fill your tank and be moving away from the star before the FSD cooldown is complete, so you can start the FSD charge as quickly as possible. A big scoop and good timing can mean averaging 40-45 seconds a jump.

 

[aRJay]

If you have to fit a smaller scoop but want to keep the short scooping time fit a size smaller fuel tank, half as much fuel means half the scooping time plus the mass reduction improves jump range.

If for some reason you find yourself somewhere with no scoopable stars there is always the Fuel Rats to help out.

 

[Gunnet]

A scoop one class smaller than the FSD is my lower limit for anything intended to travel a lot. Matching classes is preferable, especially if leaving the bubble. One class larger is the goal for exploration ships.

Two classes larger if I feel like being a bit silly in a T9 or Clipper

 

[CMDR CODY]

I went with the DBX also, does 54ly & a 4A scoop takes seconds to fill. Good enough for what I do.

 

[kofeyh]

Anaconda? 8B Fuel scoop and about 2 extra fuel tanks.

Fascinating; I have a half-size fuel tank, one 8 ton fuel tank (this assures 3 jumps at 60ly before the tanks are empty) and a class 7C (can't afford the B on my second account) fuel scoop. I am thanking my lucky stars already that I don't have to spend 12 minutes at a random star tanking on fuel because I've run dry.

Instead, I can skim (top up on each jump) and rapidly cover distance between interesting locations. Which, weirdly, gives me more time to screw around enjoying the scenery, goofing off in the Imp Fighter, or rolling around like a low-rider in a scarab, on surface.

I spend less time in the in-between and more time actually exploring. I highly recommend. At 60LY jump potential, it really opens some doors.

As for taking passengers; Orca is pretty legit with a single passenger module used (for those super-long-distance exploration runs) and then lightweight everything, can take a decent scoop and is similar to Asp on range. It also sounds cool as heck.

 

[Bit.Slade]

I stuck a very large fuel scoop on my AspX and the largest FSD I could find; I just can't handle long scoop times and now it's like 494/s, I think.