Top Fuel Fun Facts

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Longgone

John/68 Barracuda & Dart
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Check out these fun facts about top fuel dragsters......... interesting stuff. Subject: Fwd: A lesson in physics and dragsters



Acceleration Lesson


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


Under full throttle the dragster engine consumes 1 1/2 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 cannot produce enough power to 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 (stoichiometry: methodology and technology by which quantities of reactants and products in chemical reactions are determined) 17:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane, the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.


Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw, burning hydrogen, dissociated from the 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 plugs electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After halfway 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 plow the cylinders 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've completed reading this sentence.


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



Including burnout, the engine must survive only 900 revolutions under load. The redline is actually quite high at 9500 rpm.


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



The currant Top Fuel dragster elapsed time is 4.441 seconds for the quarter mile (10/5/03, Tony Shumacher). The top-speed record is 333.00 mph, (533 kn/h) as measured over the last 66' of the run (Doug Kalitta).


Putting all of this into perspective:


You're 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 pass the dragster at an honest 200mph. 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 of a 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 you, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot-long racecourse!!



THAT FOLKS IS...ACCELERATION!!!
 
Good info longgone. And anyone who has witnessed a top fuel car run knows it is an amazing thing....4.5 second explosion, blurred vision, ground shaking......man I can't wait till Gainsville! 8)
 
Minor nit, the air/fuel ratio on a top fuel engine is 1.7 to 1, not 17 to 1. Gasoline is actually MORE volatile that nitro, but can only be run @ ~14.5 to 1 a/f ratio, but with nitro, you can get 8 times the fuel into the cylinder, thus mucho more power.

I also thought that the stat of the engine only turning over 540 times in the qtr mile was wrong, but as top fuelers are limited to 8400 rpm, I did the math, and on a 4.43 second run(qtr mile, which is not even done right now, 100 feet is the current length) time the 8400 equals about 600 revs.


Amazing facts, thanks for posting them

FF
 
That is amazing. Makes you wonder how much faster they can physically go.
 
That is amazing. Makes you wonder how much faster they can physically go.

they will go faster. I'm sure 30 years ago people thought they were running as fast as they would ever go.

Amazing facts Longgone, I never thought about the rpm in that way.
 
Truly amazing. This past fall I was invited and went to the top fuel NHRA event at Memphis. I wasn't really that excited about going.

Glad I went. It's one of those things you have to see and feel to believe. I've seen Nascar superspeedway races, and the Indy 500. The power of the top fuel cars is more awe-inspiring than either.

I stood near the tree and it vibrates your guts and eyeballs when they take off.
 
Yeah BABY! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Can you feel it? Can you feel the P-O-W-A-H??? I'd give part of my anatomy to drive a top fueler. Seriously, take it, I ain't usin' it. I have yet to see and feel a race up close, but a friend of mine tells me that those things really make the ground vibrate on take-off. Great, it's 9:44am and I'm all excited now. :cheers:


Wylde1.
 
That's some great info Longgone,thanks.Yes they truly are an awesome spectacle.Ground pounding is putting it mildly.Was talking to my buddy couple weeks ago and are starting to plan a trip back to the Lucas Oil Nats to see the big boys.If I'm not mistaken I heard they accelerate to 100mph in 1 sec,not bad.I guess that's where your 8 G's come from.

Quote: I'd give part of my anatomy to drive a top fueler.


Not your manhood Wylde,lol. Dude you have to make a point of getting out to some top fuel racing.You cannot imagine it until you have witnessed it.Cya at Brainerd in August,lol.8)
 
0-100 in as little as .7 seconds.

Been to National Trail raceway a couple of times for NHRA Nationals, Maple Grove Raceway for what used to be called the Keystone Nationals, went there at least 3 times, and went to Gainesville a few years ago for the GatorNationals(my cousin lives near there, maybe have to look into going there this year).

When a TF car, or a Funny Car(basically a short wheel based TF'er with a body leaves the line, there is NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING like it in the world. Always had decent seats somewhere ~ the 60 ft mark, and it's almost as good as sex, but without the wet spot and the idle chit chat afterwards.

FF
 
cool facts, but words just cant do TopFuel justice it has to be seen,heard and fellt its such a complete experince nothing i know of can compete, as for testdriving one, no way im not putting my a$$ in one of those things unless i first lern to master alot slower stuff first doing it gradualy. btw my girl also love them she says they make her feel allmost like geting some action...
 
cool facts, but words just cant do TopFuel justice it has to be seen,heard and fellt its such a complete experince nothing i know of can compete, as for testdriving one, no way im not putting my a$$ in one of those things unless i first lern to master alot slower stuff first doing it gradualy. btw my girl also love them she says they make her feel allmost like geting some action...


I believe they have schools to learn how to drive and get your ticket to drive a top fuel. I might be wrong but I would think it would cost a fortuneprobably only in the States as well.8)
 
I believe they have schools to learn how to drive and get your ticket to drive a top fuel. I might be wrong but I would think it would cost a fortuneprobably only in the States as well.8)

Frank Hawley runs schools around the country, some right after national events.

Quite pricey, though, but you end up with your NHRA license.

http://www.frankhawley.com/

FF
 
I have that same deal hanging in my cube here at work. Pretty cool stuff. I've watched them in NJ once. There's really nothing that compares to them. My father is a retired Pratt and Whitney engineer and he thinks the jets on full afterburner are impressive. I've been next to both and the fuel dragsters is louder and sends a bigger pressure wave thru your guts. Wicked cool...
 
Cool facts, I have taken a lot of first timers to the Nationals, at first the dont want to go, "ah its boring, sititng in the sun all day, watchnig cars go down the strip"

The ones that have gone, havent regretted it. I think everyone needs to see a car do a 1/4 mile at 300mph or so in 4 sec. at least once in thier life.

Usually the first words after is Holy SH**T
 
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