Ever wonder why a Top Fuel dragster gets a rebuilt engine after each run?

[intocarss]

Stay with this - even if you aren't a 'car nut', this is stunning.






* 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 of cars 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 even 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 a small 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 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 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

[glassman]

I have this print out somewhere at home, and this data is a few years old, thats how amazing it is.

I've wondered just how far, we as a species, can take the combustable engine....

[intocarss]

[fleetus macmullitz]

Originally Posted by intocarss

Meanwhile, in Sherwood forest...


lol

[tones2SS]

Originally Posted by intocarss

* 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 even drive the dragster's supercharger.
* The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.

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

That is insane! Wow.

[EBMC]

And I think running 7's is pretty fast...

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by EBMC

And I think running 7's is pretty fast...

Steve,


The summer I worked for McCulloch and Whipple --- they set the National Record with a 7.19 - 211 MPH --- That's AA/FC for those that don't know. We were euphoric! It was epic!

I think Chevy sells showroom stock cars that can do that now.... HAHAHAHAHAHA

[EBMC]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Steve,


The summer I worked for McCulloch and Whipple --- they set the National Record with a 7.19 - 211 MPH --- That's AA/FC for those that don't know. We were euphoric! It was epic!

I think Chevy sells showroom stock cars that can do that now.... HAHAHAHAHAHA

Thats a summer you'll never forget. What a great experience!

[69hugger]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Steve,


The summer I worked for McCulloch and Whipple --- they set the National Record with a 7.19 - 211 MPH --- That's AA/FC for those that don't know. We were euphoric! It was epic!

I think Chevy sells showroom stock cars that can do that now.... HAHAHAHAHAHA

GW,
And they used to think it was physically impossible to break the 6 second barrier, then the 5 second barrier, etc.
7.19 for a AA/FC? Man, you ARE "experienced"! The Ace must been a kid!

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by 69hugger

GW,
And they used to think it was physically impossible to break the 6 second barrier, then the 5 second barrier, etc.
7.19 for a AA/FC? Man, you ARE "experienced"! The Ace must been a kid!

"Experienced" is a nice way to put it...has a nice ring to it. I was 17.... My job was to clean the tire rubber off the body --- and swab out the oil pan... and fetch oil from across the paddock. For that I think I remember them buying me a hot dog once. It wasn't a job - nobody had any money back then - it was "you can volunteer to help this weekend". It was never a full time deal. My much older roommate at the time ran Portland International Raceway drags - and that was my real job... and my best friend's brother was the local NHRA rep. So we got to hang out with people - that's all.

Remember these were the VERY EARLY 70's -- tires sucked by todays standards -- drivers actually had to "shoe" their way down the track -- they ran single magneto's... and there was a lot more to "know" and to guess about without the electronic data gathering of today. Just getting NEAR 7.00 was an act of god with all the planets in alignment...


PEACE! LOL