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1,091 Posts
My buddy sent me this article. Interesting!
> Acceleration: Put Into Perspective
>
> * 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 11.2 gallons of
> nitromethane 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
> 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 nitromethane, the flame
> front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.
>
> * 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.
>
> * 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. Under 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.
>
> * In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate an
> average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph 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 approximately 540 revolutions from starting light
> to finishline light!
>
> * Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions
> under load.
>
> * The redline is actually quite high at 9500rpm.
>
> * 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
> quarter mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher). The top speed record is 333.00
> mph. (533 km/h) 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 quarter mile strip as
> you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette
> hard up through 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 & 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 course.
>
> That, is acceleration!
> Acceleration: Put Into Perspective
>
> * 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 11.2 gallons of
> nitromethane 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
> 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 nitromethane, the flame
> front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.
>
> * 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.
>
> * 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. Under 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.
>
> * In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate an
> average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph 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 approximately 540 revolutions from starting light
> to finishline light!
>
> * Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions
> under load.
>
> * The redline is actually quite high at 9500rpm.
>
> * 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
> quarter mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher). The top speed record is 333.00
> mph. (533 km/h) 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 quarter mile strip as
> you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette
> hard up through 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 & 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 course.
>
> That, is acceleration!
