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I'm sure most of you know this already, but just in case......some food
for thought, eh?!
ACCELERATION PUT
INTO PERSPECTIVE
*
One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more
horsepower (8,000 HP) than the
first 4 rows at the Daytona 500.
*
Under full
throttle, a dragster engine consumes 11.2 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 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 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 a pass. After
1/2 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.
* Dragsters reach over 300 MPH
before you have completed reading this sentence.
* In order to exceed 300 MPH
in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate an average of over 4 G's.
In order to reach 200 MPH well before half-track, the launch
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 off, the
crew worked for free, & for once, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs
an estimated $1,000 per second.
0 to 100 MPH in .8 seconds (the first 60 feet of the 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 onearth . . quicker than a jet fighter plane . . .
quicker than the spaceshuttle
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).
Putting this all 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 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 & pass 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 & within 3 seconds the dragster 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 & not only
caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you
within a mere 1320 foot long race!
That's
acceleration
Ron Evans
ExCalibur ThunderSports Inc.
N/FC & A/FA Drag Racing
NPCA Racing Members
SuperCharged Engines/Fuel Systems
Lovington, IL 61937
217.454.6640
"Our Lady of
Acceleration....don't fail us now!" Elwood Blues
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