Dragsters...

[boraxman]

Got this on email today

Subject: Acceleration

Maybe you've seen this. I can't vouch for the "facts" but if they are true it is kinda mind boggling.

Z06 TT vs Top Fuel Dragster

One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows at the Daytona 500.

Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1? gallons of nitromethane 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 drive the dragster 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 nitromethane 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.

In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at an average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph well before half-track, the launch acceleration approaches 8G's .

Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have completed reading this sentence.

Top Fuel Engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!

Including the burnout the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.

The red-line is actually quite high at 9500 rpm.

The Bottom Line; Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimated US $1,000.00 per second.

The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.441 seconds for the quarter mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher).

The top speed record is 333.00 mph (533 km/h) as measured over the last 66' of the run (09/28/03 Doug Kalitta).




Putting all of this 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 and 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 and past the dragster at an honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment. The dragster launches and starts after you.

You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums and within 3 seconds the dragster catches and 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 200mph and not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race course.

That, folks, is acceleration

[dubie]

dragsters are cool

[old Rusty C10]

pretty nice flame job on that vette i know i love to go to the raceway park here and watch the dragsters

[Slams_58]

That's the color scheme I want on my shorty.... when I get all the parts for it

[PHOENIX]

I have many videos of dragsters going down firebird raceway, but have no way to post them. If you have never been to a top fuel, funny car drag race you are missing a lot. TV does not do these monsters any justice at all. Go see it in person, you will not be disappointed.

[casey]

nothing like dragsters, I'm totally bummed out I haven't had NHRA on cable for like two yrs now I don't know why they dropped it, I'd love to see that corvette and top fuel race in real life that would be something to see, the idle of a top fuel dragster just turns my crank

[landon4421]

Originally posted by dubie_72
That's the color scheme I want on my shorty.... when I get all the parts for it

sweet choice !

[N2TRUX]

Originally posted by PHOENIX
.... If you have never been to a top fuel, funny car drag race you are missing a lot. ....

If you think watching from the stands is awesome, try it from the line.

For several years, I supplied support crews for TNN and Diamond P sports in Houston & Dallas. I worked with the camera man on the line a few times. You just can not imagine the feeling of having a Top Fuel dragster do a burn out just inches away from you. It is beyond insane.

BTW- They are talking about a Top Fuel Dragster. The pic that dubie posted is a Funny Car.

[dtlilly]

Originally posted by boraxman
...The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.441 seconds for the quarter mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher).

That, folks, is acceleration

He did that record here in Memphis a day after he took to the air and blew-up. That was something to see from the RV section of the west fence trackside.