Top Fuel Dragster ACCELERATION

[BullShifter]

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 1.5 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 supercharger.

With 3000cfm 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 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 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 degree F. The engine can only be shut down by turning off the fuel.

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 300mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at an average of over 4G’s. In order to reach 200mph 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 approx. 540 revolutions from light to light(start to finsish).

Including the burnout the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.

The redline is 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 $1000(usd) per second.

Putting all of this into perspective:

You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter TWIN TURBO Z06 Corvette. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged and ready to launch down the quarter mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the Vette up through the gears and blast across the starting line and past 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 mile away from where you just passed him. Think about it, from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200mph and not only caught you, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race track.

That folks, is ACCELERATION!

Info provided by Blue Bars

[JekylandHyde]

Interesting read, but a two things jumped out at me:

Originally Posted by jackasssi

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 $1000(usd) per second.

That sounds like a very low estimate to me.

Originally Posted by jackasssi

You run the Vette up through the gears and blast across the starting line and past the dragster at an honest 200mph. The tree goes green for both of you........ Think about it, from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200mph and not only caught you, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race track.

This is not true.

200 miles / hour = 3.3333 miles / minute

3.3333 miles / minute = .055556 miles / second

4.44 seconds [b](National record ET for a Top Fueler)

4.44 X .055556 miles/sec = .24666 miles

.2466 < .25

... and that is assuming the Top Fueler hits the national record.

[MR2Driver]

(Head Spins) So many numbers...

[BullShifter]

Here's some pic's & low quality video's from saturdays RECORD BREAKING event!
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=3319765093

[JekylandHyde]

"You Must Sign In to View This Album"

[Zgringo]

And that my friends is why some of us old AA/Fuel drivers aren't in the AA's anymore. Our eyes nerve get stretched so bad from the lanches well go blind if we don't or didn't stop. I personally know three other AA drivers that quit for this reason. Myself have taken up slower classes of drag racing

[BullShifter]

I always thought it was the parachutes killing the eyes. Back 10 yrs or so ago I remember Don Garlits eye popping out from the chutes at Union Grove, WI during an exhibition run.

[Zgringo]

Originally Posted by jackasssi

I always thought it was the parachutes killing the eyes. Back 10 yrs or so ago I remember Don Garlits eye popping out from the chutes at Union Grove, WI during an exhibition run.

Thanks friend. I din't say the whole thing. In reality it's the combination of both and the reason NASA has performed so much testing in this area. Compression and braking, which the human body doesn't loke much. Big Daddy is a personal friend of mine and his case was the extream example of the problem. Don, his wife and brother Ed are still into dragracing and have a museum in Florida. Myself I still run Pro import and street more as a hobby than a living now.
If anyone was interested or wanted to hear the story how orginized drag racing got started I could tell all, as I was there in the beginning and got to run with the best of them.

[fredjacksonsan]

Originally Posted by JekylandHyde

This is not true.

200 miles / hour = 3.3333 miles / minute

3.3333 miles / minute = .055556 miles / second

4.44 seconds [b](National record ET for a Top Fueler)

4.44 X .055556 miles/sec = .24666 miles

.2466 < .25

... and that is assuming the Top Fueler hits the national record.

Not to pee in cornflakes, but:

You've got the 200mph right at .055556 mi/sec. for the 'Vette.

However the dragster is going 1/4 mile in 4.44 sec, so
.25miles/4.44 seconds = .056306 mi/sec; slightly faster.

The dragster finishes at 4.44, the 'Vette at
.25 mi / .055556 mi/sec, or 4.49 sec, which translates to less than an inch and a half. Very close indeed! (So if the dragster left the light with any delay at all, 'Vette wins )

Hey Gringo, would love to hear the stories, so TELL!

[Zgringo]

Originally Posted by fredjacksonsan

Not to pee in cornflakes, but:

You've got the 200mph right at .055556 mi/sec. for the 'Vette.

However the dragster is going 1/4 mile in 4.44 sec, so
.25miles/4.44 seconds = .056306 mi/sec; slightly faster.

The dragster finishes at 4.44, the 'Vette at
.25 mi / .055556 mi/sec, or 4.49 sec, which translates to less than an inch and a half. Very close indeed! (So if the dragster left the light with any delay at all, 'Vette wins )

Hey Gringo, would love to hear the stories, so TELL!

If I was driving the Vette, I'd fart and makeup that 1 1/2". Good math Fred, Your my kinda guy. I like it when someone engages there brain before the put there mouth in gear

[JekylandHyde]

Actually I showed the math above (not to pee in your cornflakes):
If the Vette's speed is .055556 miles/sec
And it travels for 4.44 seconds
it will have gone: .24666 miles

The dragster already finished .25 miles.

.25 - .24666 = .00334 miles.
.00334 miles X 5280 feet = 17.6352 feet

That is way beyond a full car length.

[Zgringo]

Originally Posted by JekylandHyde

Actually I showed the math above (not to pee in your cornflakes):
If the Vette's speed is .055556 miles/sec
And it travels for 4.44 seconds
it will have gone: .24666 miles

The dragster already finished .25 miles.

.25 - .24666 = .00334 miles.
.00334 miles X 5280 feet = 17.6352 feet

That is way beyond a full car length.

Both of you guy impress me, ( taking a bow, and holding back some gas so not to fart)
Didn't want to take away from anyone where credit is do.

Fred go to 60ft times on street tires and I've posted some shit there.

[fredjacksonsan]

Dang. I'm wrong about the distance; sorry 'bout that Jekyll, you're right on the 17.58', and I misread your post. Guess it was the "This is not true" that threw me off...

Damn cornflakes anyway.

[fredjacksonsan]

Originally Posted by Zgringo

If I was driving the Vette, I'd fart and makeup that 1 1/2". Good math Fred, Your my kinda guy. I like it when someone engages there brain before the put there mouth in gear

Thanks; but I'd think you would need the custom installed fart pipe to divert the gasses out of the car, otherwise the thrust would be wasted.

[JekylandHyde]

No harm, no foul.
I don't like cornflakes anyway