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nosliw
12-04-2004, 08:08 PM
Real Acceleration

Some of us may think we have experienced acceleration g forces, but read
this to get a grip of what real acceleration is.

But first, some useful info:

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

Under full throttle, a 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 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 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 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 one pass. After
half-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 Shumacher) 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 ncredibly 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.


COURTESY OF-
DIESELPLACE.COM

Ericthered rdr
12-04-2004, 08:18 PM
:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:
I thought I was bad *** with a 10 second Monte carlo back in the 90's but what the top fuel drivers are going through is a mildly controled rocket launch:huh :macho

nosliw
12-04-2004, 10:29 PM
Originally posted by Ericthered rdr
what the top fuel drivers are going through is a mildly controled rocket launch:huh :macho

i know it's incredible.... soon it's not going to be about how much power can we get out of this engine, it's going to be about how much the driver can take:scary:

FasstMidnightZ
12-04-2004, 10:31 PM
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_213.gif

SGA
12-05-2004, 12:55 AM
That was a great article!
If any of you have never been to a top fuel race, then go.
Not alcohol, but a top fuel (nitro methane) NHRA event.

Words or TV cannot describe the power you feel when they go down the strip.
If you do go, make sure you take the time to walk down even with the finish line. You hear a whine coming, then its like a loud explosion when they go by. Totally cool. Friday or Saturday is the best day to go. Ticket prices on sunday for the final are kind of expensive.

cletusEX
12-05-2004, 01:29 AM
It's amazing what money will buy!

Quad18star
12-05-2004, 11:22 AM
Originally posted by SGA
That was a great article!
If any of you have never been to a top fuel race, then go.
Not alcohol, but a top fuel (nitro methane) NHRA event.

Words or TV cannot describe the power you feel when they go down the strip.
If you do go, make sure you take the time to walk down even with the finish line. You hear a whine coming, then its like a loud explosion when they go by. Totally cool. Friday or Saturday is the best day to go. Ticket prices on sunday for the final are kind of expensive.

I agree with you on this one . There's nothign like standing there and you feel the rumble in the ground and in your chest . I'll advise everyone to wear earplugs ..... trust me ... from spending the last 10 or 15 years at the track and wearing earplugs only 20% of the time ... my hearing isn't the best .

But the smell of nitro and burnt rubber .... oh man ... better than sex ( well almost) .

There's more G force when a top fuel launches than there is when the space shuttle takes off . :D

Quad18star
12-05-2004, 11:25 AM
Originally posted by cletusEX
It's amazing what money will buy!

Ya .... money will get you the car , the rig and the crew ...... but reaction times are what get you the money . I'd love to get into the pro stock class , but we don't have the sponsors ( and the points/wins) to make it into the class .

So until we do , we'll just keep running the semi pro and super pro classes in bracket racing . :devil:

FasstMidnightZ
12-05-2004, 11:32 AM
Originally posted by SGA
That was a great article!
If any of you have never been to a top fuel race, then go.
Not alcohol, but a top fuel (nitro methane) NHRA event.

Words or TV cannot describe the power you feel when they go down the strip.
If you do go, make sure you take the time to walk down even with the finish line. You hear a whine coming, then its like a loud explosion when they go by. Totally cool. Friday or Saturday is the best day to go. Ticket prices on sunday for the final are kind of expensive. whats the diff in alcohol buring ones

Scott-300ex
12-05-2004, 11:55 AM
if you go to a race, do wear earplugs, i've seen them a few times and you shake like hell when they fly by you. And they are so loud, the sound and shake doesn't even reach you till like .7 seconds after they take off, thats how long it takes for the sound to reach you cause its so loud. I don't know how some people around me don't have any hearing protection, i was at a tractor pull and had my ears open for a tractor that had 5 426 hemis, supercharged and all that and i held my ears open for that, my ear drums were shaking, about to pop, i don't know how you could do it for a top fueler.