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Topic starter
16/12/2023 7:32 am
This has been around a while but it is fascinating.
Drag racing must be one of the most expensive hobbies on the Planet ! A single barrel of fuel is over $750.00 U.S., and here is what you get from that :
What 10,000 horsepower does to a top fuel tire at launch.
TOP FUEL ACCELERATION PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE
* One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower (10,000 HP) than the first 5 rows at the Daytona 500.
* Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1.2-1.5 gallons of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced.
* A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to merely drive the dragster's supercharger.
* With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle.
* At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.
* Nitromethane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.
* Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug.
This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.
* Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.
* If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.
* Dragsters reach over 300 MPH before you have completed reading this sentence.
* In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate an average of over 4 G's. In order to reach 200 MPH well before half-track, the launch acceleration approaches 8 G's.
* Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!
* Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.
* The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.
* THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, & for once, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimated $1,000 per second.
0 to 100 MPH in .8 seconds (the first 60 feet of the run)
0 to 200 MPH in 2.2 seconds (the first 350 feet of the run)
6 g-forces at the starting line (nothing accelerates faster on land)
6 negative g-forces upon deployment of twin ‘chutes at 300 MPH An NHRA Top Fuel Dragster accelerates quicker than any other land vehicle on earth . . quicker than a jet fighter plane . . . quicker than the space shuttle.
The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.420 seconds for the quarter-mile (2004, Doug Kalitta). The top speed record is 337.58 MPH as measured over the last 66' of the run (2005, Tony Schumacher).
Putting this all into perspective:
You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z06. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged & ready to launch down a quarter-mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line & pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment.
The dragster launches & starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums & within 3 seconds the dragster catches & passes you.
He beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile away from where you just passed him. Think about it - from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 MPH & not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race!
That's acceleration!
Image above: what 10,000 HP does to a racing slick
John Kuvakas
Warrenton, VA
16/12/2023 8:38 am
I have always been fascinated by the incredible statistics of the Top Fuel drag machines. I watched the drags on TV when Brittany Force went 3.641-seconds at 338.94 mph in her 11000-horsepower AA/F car.
I have also read, from time to time that a rocket sled was faster and it's true. But is was not manned in 2003 when one, "attained a speed of Mach 8.5 (6,416 mph / 10,325 km/h) on April 30, 2003. This was achieved by a four-stage rocket sled at Holloman Air Force Base; the highest speed ever attained by a land vehicle."
16/12/2023 10:36 am
It is incredible what it costs these days to be in the top echelon of any motorsport. Drag racing is near the top of the scale. Thanks John.
John Kuvakas and Tony Perrone reacted
16/12/2023 12:12 pm
Some of my chums and I go drag racing quite cheaply. We get our outfits from charity shops (thrift shops), or sometimes we go around stealing ladies' clothes from washing lines.
Granted, the acceleration figures may be less impressive, but it's good fun on a tight budget.
Graeme.M. Ogg
London U.K.
16/12/2023 12:50 pm
My daughter, son and grandson checking out the sticky starting line after the recent Dallas drags.
David Vandermeer
Corinth, Texas
Tony Perrone and John Kuvakas reacted