DEFINITION OF
ACCELERATION
>

> One top fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine
makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows of stock cars at
the Daytona 500.


It takes just
15/100ths (0.15) of a second for all 6,000+ horsepower (some
believe 8,000 HP is more realistic - there are no dynomometers
capable of measuring) of an NHRA Top Fuel dragster engine to
reach the rear wheels.


>
Under full throttle, a dragster
engine consumes 1-1/2 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 3,000 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.





>
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 one pass. After halfway, the engine is
dieseling from compression, plus the glow of exhaust valves at
1,400 deg 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. >



> The redline is
actually quite high at 9,500 rpm.


>
Assuming all the
equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once
NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimate $1,000.00 per
second.


>
The current top fuel dragster
elapsed time record is 4.428 seconds for the quarter mile
(11/12/06, Tony Schumacher, at Pomona , CA
). The top speed record is 336.15 mph as measured
over the last 66' of the run (05/25/05 Tony Schumacher,
at Hebron , OH ).


>
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 and 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 and pass the
dragster at an honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green for
both of you at that instant.


>
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 200 mph and not only
caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you
within a mere 1,320 foot long race
course.


>
...... and that my friend, is
ACCELERATION!

 

Great!!!!!

 

I have read that definition a number of times and some points are still hard to believe. I also struggle with things smaller than an atom and distances measured in light years.

 

Bad *** post.

 

Awesome post. Puts things in perspective...

 

Hey guys- while these "statistics" may sound cool, at least one of them is not even close to accurate... as per Boeing the range of thrust of the engines used on a 747-400 is from 56,750 to 58,000 pounds of thrust for each of the four engines. While there is no true correlation between the amount of thrust generated and horsepower, its pretty much accepted that even the lowest thrust engine combo on a 747 generates in excess of 80,000 horsepower... WAY more than a dragster.

 

Yerds, I think you mixed two of the points... the comment on the 747 was in relation to fuel consumed at the same rate and producing 25% less energy.... true, we don't know exact details of what the comparison was against for the fuel consumption statement.... But the dragster is still an AWESOME thing to watch.....(with earplugs on!)

It takes just
15/100ths (0.15) of a second for all 6,000+ horsepower (some
believe 8,000 HP is more realistic - there are no dynomometers
capable of measuring) of an NHRA Top Fuel dragster engine to
reach the rear wheels.


>
Under full throttle, a dragster
engine consumes 1-1/2 gallons of nitromethane per second; a
fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25%
less energy being produced.

 

A top fuel engine only makes about 2000 complete revolutions before being torn down again (including start up, burnout, staging and one run).

 

Those stats are hard to believe...

..until you've seen these monsters run in person. Those cars are a force of nature...

That track that tony Schumacher set the world's fastest 1/4 mile speed record (336.15 mph) at is National Trail Raceway, my home track. I won the sport compact class there 4 times last year.

 

Freakin amazing

 

Soooooooooo ....... how much money do I have to drop to Needswings to make my SRT hit those numbers?!?!

 

And then along came flight. Pulling 10 Gs in a Pitts Special, inverted is still the best ride yet. Guys, chime in... Does ground feel better than flight? If so, this post has made up my mind on what I'm doing next!

 

Ive got bad gyro's, did my first and last aileron roll in a t-6 and scrambled my eggs for sure. Flat and upright for me for now on. Got an aerobatic flight in a Stearman and did 4G's in a hammer head, scrambled eggs again. Cant win. Got vertigo in my challenger 440-6pac doing a really good take off in first, gotta just cool my jets with an occasional autocross here and there. Ground is 2D and works for me. Woody

 

That dragster sounds like every car that gets behind me at a traffic light! Right on my bumper and getting closer!

 

ok if there was a book of car **** this would be in it

 

Unless he has a contract with ACME rocket company, don't get your hopes up

If anyone wants to FEEL these things in action, come to Indiana for the NHRA Nationals, nothing like it in motorsports...

 

They are two very different worlds I'm with you on 2d...for now! And, until I can afford something that is aerobatic and flies!