[narayan]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Infact, the reason I hear you don't see many people do up Baleno's is because it looks ugly to most. .

dude - we are discussing the drag potential of the baleno and not about any "good looking car contest " here !!

anyway - take this as a wake up call to bring ur car to the next drag.....u cud have given a serious run for the money to many of the OHCs in the race

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by narayan

dude - we are discussing the drag potential of the baleno and not about any "good looking car contest " here !!

Narayan, the fact that one will have to LIVE WITH a car for a longer time than just the occasional two drags (and thus look at the mod potential factor only) that happen a year is one of the major contributing factors. Do also note that when you have another car that goes like a stink and looks awesome, not many would want to turn to other alternatives.

anyway - take this as a wake up call to bring ur car to the next drag.....u cud have given a serious run for the money to many of the OHCs in the race

Car was not in a position to be dragged. So had to drop out. We might have a similar event at Kari in September.

[v1p3r]

IMHO you don't see Palios in competition scenarios because they are not reliable. From experience, a Palio burst a hose during a routine track day. If I'm not mistaken, there was a similar incident during the previous track day. Then there's the obesity, and the lack of parts. Even OE parts are hard to come by, forget performance parts.

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Another point to add is that Jap engines revv more freely and smoothly than their american or european counterparts.

You mean like them slow-revving Ferraris and Lamborghinis?

[fiery enzyme]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

One reason is that these cars have very good power to weight ratio being very light.

If you say power to weight ratio.. how about an 800? Is it not the lightest cars around?. Won't transplanting an esteem engine to an 800 and working out the transmission work out cheaper than buying an OHC and modding it out.

If RDkarthik's esteem can beat the Cayenne with an ecu only mod, just do that to the 800 along with the other frills and you get the best power to weight ratio.

And please dont tell me the OHC is preferred because it is socially on a higher class than the 800. IMHO that should be the last thing on a drag racers mind.

Whatever I have talked about the 800 applies to the Palio as well (Atleast the 1.6)

Originally Posted by theMAG

Japanese cars are more affordable to modify compared to US/Euro cars.

'Same as above ' But still I thought the parts for Honda were expensive when compared to the Maruti jap engines (Atleast a lot more than the 800)

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Never knew one could make a career out of being a motorsport spectator. So what's the qualification bala ?

Being a tbhpian is the first thing that comes to my mind

OT : Thanks John for dedicating the song for us.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

If you say power to weight ratio.. how about an 800? Is it not the lightest cars around?. Won't transplanting an esteem engine to an 800 and working out the transmission work out cheaper than buying an OHC and modding it out.

Yes, but are you willing to drive an M800 to the hottest new nightclub in town? Or can you afford 2 keep 2 cars, one for street and one to race?

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

If RDkarthik's esteem can beat the Cayenne with an ecu only mod, just do that to the 800 along with the other frills and you get the best power to weight ratio.

Please remember how the Cayenne launches, vs how the Esteem launches. And also how it was a 200m race, where most cars are just getting warmed up. Believe you me, a 400m scenario would have resulted in very different results, all across the board.

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

And please dont tell me the OHC is preferred because it is socially on a higher class than the 800.

You have NO idea what Honda engines are capable of. You can cross 150 hp quite easily on the Indian Vtec, without nitrous or any other form of forced induction. Then strip the car down to 800 kgs, and you're running the same PTWR as a Cayenne Turbo. That's without nitrous or anything, mind you.

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

Whatever I have talked about the 800 applies to the Palio as well (Atleast the 1.6)

How do you figure that? The 800 weight, IIRC, around 700 kgs. It's almost 400 kgs lighter than a Palio. Added to that, an Esteem engine in an 800 may actually make it lighter, since the original F8B is cast iron, while the G series blocks are aluminium. So how can you apply 800 mathematics to the Palio?

[fiery enzyme]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Yes, but are you willing to drive an M800 to the hottest new nightclub in town? Or can you afford 2 keep 2 cars, one for street and one to race?

If I equate the money I would spend on an OHC to mod it after buying it to me buying an 800,transplanting it with an esteem engine and a few other frills, I'm figuring i would still have some money left for visual appeal like some nice alloys, tyres and ice. Of course those would be taken off for the drag. In that case I think i will prefer taking the 800 to the nightclub since I'm sure a creatively modded 800 would attract more attention than a modded OHC (which is a very common sight nowadays)

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Please remember how the Cayenne launches, vs how the Esteem launches. And also how it was a 200m race, where most cars are just getting warmed up. Believe you me, a 400m scenario would have resulted in very different results, all across the board.

I accept that, actually i never questioned that however my question was about those short drags only. I do have a fair idea of capability of the V8 in the Cayenne.

Originally Posted by v1p3r

You have NO idea what Honda engines are capable of. You can cross 150 hp quite easily on the Indian Vtec, without nitrous or any other form of forced induction. Then strip the car down to 800 kgs, and you're running the same PTWR as a Cayenne Turbo. That's without nitrous or anything, mind you.

Again I never questioned the capability of a Honda VTEC engine nor did I say that Honda's are suited for this. My question is does no other car fit the bill?

Originally Posted by v1p3r

How do you figure that? The 800 weight, IIRC, around 700 kgs. It's almost 400 kgs lighter than a Palio. Added to that, an Esteem engine in an 800 may actually make it lighter, since the original F8B is cast iron, while the G series blocks are aluminium. So how can you apply 800 mathematics to the Palio?

Ok! So a palio engine cannot be boosted to a higher power output like the honda?

[Ford Rocam]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

You have NO idea what Honda engines are capable of. You can cross 150 hp quite easily on the Indian Vtec, without nitrous or any other form of forced induction.

No Akshay its not that easy to make 150 hp N.A in indian 1.5 vtec block unless you intend to do some serious work. it will still be very difficult & car wont be streetable imo. dont expect much in N.A form, from a pony 1.5 single cam block.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

If you say power to weight ratio.. how about an 800? Is it not the lightest cars around?. Won't transplanting an esteem engine to an 800 and working out the transmission work out cheaper than buying an OHC and modding it out.

Does the 800 have that big an engine bay? Also, doesn't an used zen make more sense than the 800?

Why do people work on the Zen? Its cheap, light weight, reliable with good enough looks, and the engine bay can accomodate esteem and baleno engines under the hood.

[fiery enzyme]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Does the 800 have that big an engine bay? Also, doesn't an used zen make more sense than the 800?

Why do people work on the Zen? Its cheap, light weight, reliable with good enough looks, and the engine bay can accomodate esteem and baleno engines under the hood.

I was just trying to make a point. A used zen sounds good enough too.

[mclaren1885]

Fiery, like I have already mentioned almost all of these racers use the very same car for daily drive too. Maybe in a slightly less powerful tune up. To some, its a question of having a fast drag car which also doubles up as a quick street car and at the same time upholds their status in the society as well. Do note that a lot of them spend over 2L just for an engine build every year. So buying another car like an 800 or a herald or a dolphin is out of the question. Unless, some serious enthusiasts like the Jayram's decide to work on a custom build.

Also, do note that the process of stripping a 800, fitting a esteem engine, strengthening the chassis etc takes a lot of work, patience and more importantly time. That is not something many have or a car they would want to own. They would rather leave their OHC or Esteems or Zens for a couple of days and get done with it.

Having said that, yes cars like zen, m800, OHC, Lancer serve as a very good platform to achieve much more. They are the kings when it comes to PTWR and the ease with which you can fit different engines into them. At the end of the day, its all about priorities.

[fiery enzyme]

Ok that said, It is only a case of following the trend then. OHCs and esteems alike. Any car could take its place then.

[flipsyde]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

............ cross 150 hp quite easily on the Indian Vtec, without nitrous or any other form of forced induction.

will you be kind enough to educate us as to how you suppose this is possible?

the stock engine comes with 106 horses your talking about an increase of 44 horses!!! as rocam said the kind of mods that'l have to go into making such a good increase in power will make the car impossible to use on the street.

[esteem_lover]

I just hope he meant nitrous as in our dear mahendra, as a jest & not too seriously.

[fiery enzyme]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I just hope he meant nitrous as in our dear mahendra, as a jest & not too seriously.

I coudn't help

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

Ok that said, It is only a case of following the trend then. OHCs and esteems alike. Any car could take its place then.

Don't follow any trend here. If you feel the M-800 is good enough for you, why don't you try just that ? Just let me know, i will bring a M-1000 to counter you.