I'm not much of a dragster fan, but the performance and specifications demand
attention.
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 3:20 PM
Subject: Acceleration specs ...
Try this on for FAST:
1. One Top Fuel dragster 500 ci Hemi engine makes more hp than the first 4
rows at the Daytona 500.
2. Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1.5 gallons of
nitromethane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate
w/25% less energy being produced.
3. A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the
dragster supercharger.
4. 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.
5. At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitromethane the flame
front temperature measures 7,050 degrees F.
6. 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.
7. Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an
arc welder in each cylinder.
8. 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
1,400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.
9. If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in
the affected cylinders & then explodes w/sufficient force to blow cylinder
heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.
10. 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.
11. Dragsters reach over 300 mph before you have completed reading this
sentence.
12. Top Fuel Engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to
light!
13. Including the burnout the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under
load.
14. The redline is actually quite high at 9500 rpm.
15. The Bottom Line; Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked
for free, & 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 1/4 mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher). The top speed
record is 333.00 mph 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 & ready
to launch down a 1/4 mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a
flying start. You run the 'Vette hard up thru the gears & blast across the
starting line & past the dragster at an honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green
for both of you at that moment. The dragster launches & starts after you. You
keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears
your eardrums & w/in 3 seconds the dragster catches & passes you. He beats you
to the finish line, a 1/4 mile away from where you just passed him. Think
about it, from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 mph & not
only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you w/in a
mere 1,320' long race course.
That, folks, is acceleration!!!
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