[coolclouds]

Esteem and Gypsy continue to perform well in Indian rally scene without a replacement even after several years. Balenos and Hondas found doing good in the meantime but have seen more Cedias doing the job these days.

Why teams prefer Esteem and Cedia though there are too many cars available to choose from?

Read somewhere that even a driver with less talent can take Esteem beyond the limits and it’s a cost effective entry level car in rallying. What are the other reasons why Indian teams don’t go for other cars? Is it because these manufactures may sponsor vehicles and others don’t?

I am not good enough to compare reliability and capability of machines in dirt track.

Mods: Couldn’t find similar thread hence posting here. If found inappropriate, kindly move/delete.

[suhaas307]

The underpinnings of the Mitsubishi are derived from the world famous Mitusbishi Lancer Evolution (VII). The Evolution had been on the WRC circuits for ages, and is a proven rally car with a great record. It ruled the roost, once upon a time, when ace driver Tommi Makinen was behind the wheel of the Lancer Evolution (notably the II, III, IV, V, VI, and the IV.5 generations of the EVO)

The Lancer is a popular road car which benefits from a fantastically sorted chassis and suspension, a strong engine and a brilliant 'box, add to that a communicative steering.

Similarly with the Esteem. The Maruti Esteem that was sold in India is nothing but a mid '90s Suzuki Swift, with a boot, of course. This car was blessed with brilliant internals and a light aluminum engine that made it quick. The same Suzuki Swift (Esteem w/o boot) was also re-badged as the Subaru Justy and also came with 4x4 for added traction. (for other markets)

The Suzuki Swift took part in the JWRC (Junior World Rally Championship), where it was applauded for it's light-weight engine and body and it's grippy nature.

EDIT: The Esteem is very popular in the Indian rally circuits owing to it's light-weight construction, high-strung engine, and cheap spare-parts. It is relatively easy to repair too.

[GTO]

Here's a thread you might want to read : link

Some off the top of my head:

- Cheap to buy, cheap to prep.

- Plenty of used Esteems available in the market.

- Great knowledgebase of what works on the Esteem (and what doesn't) amongst those preparing the car. Basically, the level of familiarity.

- Engine responds well to tuning.

- Simple engineering & internals.

- Light weight, and hence a great power to weight ratio. Currently sold cars have to comply with various safety regulations and hence, add on the kilos. Heck, the Esteem weighs lesser than even the Hyundai i10.

- Spare parts readily available. And aren't expensive either.

[KiloAlpha]

Apparently (and this needs confirmation from an authoritative source) any make/model of car that is intending to be entered for a competitive rally in India needs to be separately homologated with FMSCI.

Esteem, Cedia, Gypsy are all homologated.

Which is probably why cars like the Fiesta 1.6 aren't seen in the Indian rally scene - they haven't been homologated with FMSCI.

[sgchaudhuri]

Hello All,
I took up rallying about a year ago, I had a tough time in selecting the right car for me, the details of which can be found here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...orts-pics.html

After months of research, I finally settled for an Esteem. The reasons for which are explained below:
-Cheap. Fit my budget perfectly and had some spares for basic Stage I Mods.
-Parts. Easily Available and Cheap.
-Homologated.
-Tried and tested.
-My mechs were habituated and extremely comfortable working with an esteem.
-Stratergy. In case of long distance rallies/international Rallies/Interstate Rallies, a group of 2 or 3 participating esteem owners could contribute and have common and usually bulky spares, carried by a common service team. (i.e. Gear Box, Clutch Plates, Sump Guards, Springs, Shocks, Tires etc)

This is what I learnt as a Rookie-Rally-Driver and this is what I can pitch in! Hope it answers your question!
Cheers!

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by sgchaudhuri

After months of research, I finally settled for an Esteem. The reasons for which are explained below: Cheap, Parts, Homologated, Tried and tested, mechs habituated, Strategy

As a non-rallying Esteem owner, I can tell you that if you want to buy a pre-owned car that can clock the miles, the Maruti Esteem is what you are looking for. I have a 2006 Esteem Di that has 5 digits on its odometer but has already gone further than the odometer can record. The car still starts at the first turn of the key every morning and can live up to highway speeds of up to 120 km/hr (although the diesel engine struggles to accelerate beyond 80 km/hr). On a stretch of road with no traffic on NH-7, the car did get to 160 km/hr but stability becomes a concern beyond 120 km/hr.

The downside of the Esteem is night driving. The lights cannot deliver the performance that the Swift lights do and you will need additional fit-ons, which would have to take the form of fittings onto the bonnet or the bumper (I prefer the bonnet because it isn't the first thing to make contact while parking, but I haven't got any fit-ons other than the fog lights).

[vzamindar]

I still cant understand why is the swift not used in rallying, suzuki gloted about the "rally based suspension" , What happened after that? What if i want participate with the swift in INRC? Is it able to take beating in DS, i read somewhere that swift's participate in DS, if yes how do the economics work out?