schovil69
16th September 2007, 11:29 PM
This never gets old as many times as I have read it.
One top fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower
than the first 4 rows of stock cars at the 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's supercharger. With 3,000 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 of nitro methane, the flame front temperature
measures 7,050 deg 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 ofan
arc welder in each cylinder. Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed
during a pass. After halfway, the engine is dieseling from compression,
plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1,400 deg 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 9,500 rpm. Assuming all the equipment
is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP,
each run costs an estimate $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, picture this scenario: 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 pass 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 1,320 foot long race course.
... and that my friend, is ACCELERATION
One top fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower
than the first 4 rows of stock cars at the 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's supercharger. With 3,000 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 of nitro methane, the flame front temperature
measures 7,050 deg 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 ofan
arc welder in each cylinder. Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed
during a pass. After halfway, the engine is dieseling from compression,
plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1,400 deg 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 9,500 rpm. Assuming all the equipment
is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP,
each run costs an estimate $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, picture this scenario: 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 pass 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 1,320 foot long race course.
... and that my friend, is ACCELERATION