Dragster Facts

[Guest UVETTYA]

I don't know how much of this is true but it's fun to read.

Steve

-----Original Message-----

Subject: Dragster Facts

Things to ponder....

Subject: The definition of acceleration.

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 1-1/2 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 (stoichiometry: methodology and technology by which quantities of reactants and products in chemical reactions are determined) 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 ½ 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 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 redline is actually quite high at 9500rpm.

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 $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 200 mph 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

Also, two Top Fuel dragsters or two fuel Funny Cars at launch register 2.5 on the Richter scale.

[nort99]

Yep, a good read. :D

[Bigfoot]

Wow, talk about getting the blood pumping.

[MOTV8]

Awesome. Great stuff. But I'm gonna show what a NHRA-geek I am by nitpicking.

Tony Schumacher reset his own record in the last round of the last race this past season, clocking a 4.428, and thus taking the season title from Kalitta. Tony also still holds the highest trap speeds with an official 336.15 in May of '05, and is mythologically said to have hammered thru at 337.58 in testing or something.

All this after the NHRA has stepped in trying to slow these guys down with less nitro, and Goodyear f***ing with the tires.

I also dig the Pro Mod class that usually runs with the IHRA circuit. 5 second '63 'vette-bodied beasts!

[quadracr]

I went to my first NHRA event out here a couple of years ago. We got lucky and got seats about 20 feet past the start line and 10 rows up. The dragsters pulled up and did their burn out. No big deal I thought. That was until they actually launched. I thought someone hit me in the chest with a hammer. As I was watching the cars travel down track it was like they were in a time warp. An absolutely unbelievable experience. I will be going back this year.

[Grayeagle]

Yes.

Not knowin any better .. I stood at the finish line at Pomona durin a big NHRA meet .. Kenny Bernstein .. John Force .. even Shirley Muldowny were runnin that day. It was awhile ago for sure.

I have never heard/felt anything like it when a top fuel car goes by.. much less a pair workin hard.. and I useda work the end-of-runway when an F-4 Phantom 4-ship launched .. and I was there when the B-1b's launched outta Plant 42.. even the B-1 litin up all 4 doesn't grab ya like a top fuel car at the end of the quarter.

Needless to say . my son and I only stayed for one pair .. it was sensory overload .. we went back to the bleachers mk thx!

-Frank

[Bigfoot]

Yes.

Not knowin any better .. I stood at the finish line at Pomona durin a big NHRA meet .. Kenny Bernstein .. John Force .. even Shirley Muldowny were runnin that day. It was awhile ago for sure.

I have never heard/felt anything like it when a top fuel car goes by.. much less a pair workin hard.. and I useda work the end-of-runway when an F-4 Phantom 4-ship launched .. and I was there when the B-1b's launched outta Plant 42.. even the B-1 litin up all 4 doesn't grab ya like a top fuel car at the end of the quarter.

Needless to say . my son and I only stayed for one pair .. it was sensory overload .. we went back to the bleachers mk thx!

-Frank

Depends how close you are Eagle.

I've stood no more than 20' from an F-16 on the trim pad with all stages lit...standing still, strapped to the ground...and it feels like you can't even breathe. And I used to work B-1's for six years...and cannot imagine being that close to one of those during a pad run like that....SCARY. Also, during one of the airshows at my B-1 base, one did a fly-by directly overhead and full burner...thought somone hit me over the head with a sledge...and HE WAS IN THE AIR!!!

[ICULUKN]

Awesome. Great stuff. But I'm gonna show what a NHRA-geek I am by nitpicking.

Tony Schumacher reset his own record in the last round of the last race this past season, clocking a 4.428, and thus taking the season title from Kalitta. Tony also still holds the highest trap speeds with an official 336.15 in May of '05, and is mythologically said to have hammered thru at 337.58 in testing or something.

All this after the NHRA has stepped in trying to slow these guys down with less nitro, and Goodyear f***ing with the tires.

I also dig the Pro Mod class that usually runs with the IHRA circuit. 5 second '63 'vette-bodied beasts!

If I remember correctly, Tony did that at Firebird raceway....

I remember meeting Tony Schumaker at the friday night drags, when I had old blue.. He was SUPER cool to talk to and at the time owned a Z06... I asked if he wanted to trade seat time... He told me it wouldnt be any fun for ME!!!. .. I said let me be the judge of that... just keep the truck ready to pull me out of the kitty litter.... LOL