Acceleration explained.
* One Top Fuel dragster outfitted with a 500
cubic-inch replica Dodge (actually Keith Black,
etc) Hemi engine makes more horsepower (8,000
HP) than the first 4 rows at NASCAR's Daytona
500.
* Under full throttle, a dragster engine will
consume 11.2 gallons of nitro methane per
second; a fully loaded Boeing 747 consumes jet
fuel at the same rate but with 25% less energy
being produced.
* A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce
enough power to merely 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 lockup at full throttle.
* At the stoichio metric 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. Which is typically the output of an
electric arc welder in each cylinder.
* Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed
during a pass. After 1/2 way thru the run, the
engine is 'dieseling' from compression and the
glow of the 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 enough
sufficient force to blow the cylinder heads off
the block in pieces or split the block in half
!!
* Dragsters reach over 300 MPH +... before you
have completed reading this sentence.
* In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, a
dragster must accelerate an average of over 4
G's. In order to reach 200 MPH well before
reaching half-track, at launch the acceleration
approaches 8 G's.
* 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 9500 RPM.
* THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment
is paid for, the pit crew is working for free,
& NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run will cost an
estimated $1,000 per second.
0 to 100 MPH in .8 seconds (the first 60 feet
of t he run)
0 to 200 MPH in 2.2 seconds (the first 350 feet
of the run)
6 g-forces at the starting line (nothing
accelerates faster on land)
6 negative g-forces upon deployment of twin
'chutes at 300 MPH
An NHRA Top Fuel Dragster accelerates quicker
than any other land vehicle on earth . .
quicker than a jet fighter plane . . . quicker
than the space shuttle....or snapping your
fingers !!
The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time
record is 4.420 seconds for the quarter-mile
(2004, Doug Kalitta). The top speed record is
337.58 MPH as measured over the last 66' of the
run (2005, Tony Schumacher).
Let's now put this all into perspective:
Imagine this...........You are driving a new
$140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered
Corvette Z-06. Over a mile up the road, a Top
Fuel dragster is staged & ready to 'launch'
down a quarter-mile s trip as you pass. You
have the advantage of a flying start. You run
the 'Vette hard, on up through the gears and
blast across the starting line & pass the
dragster at an honest 200 MPH.... The 'tree'
goes green for both of you at that exact
moment.
The dragster departs & starts after you. You
keep your foot buried hard to the floor, and
suddenly you hear an incredibly brutally
screaming whine that seares and pummels your
eardrums & within a mere 3 seconds the dragster
effortlessly catches & 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 it not only caught,
but nearly blasted you off the planet when he
passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race
!!!!
That, my friends.....is acceleration
