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And for all you Speed Freaks ...

Mustanger

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
1,974
Location
So Cal
Definition of Acceleration...

> > One Top Fuel
> > dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower
> > than the first 4
> > rows of NASCARS at the Daytona 500.
> > *
> > 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.
> > *
> > At the
> > stoichiometric (stoichiometry: methodology and technology
> > by which quantities
> > of reactants and products in chemical reactions are
> > determined) 1.7:1 air/fuel
> > mixture for nitromethane, the flame front temperature
> > measures 7,050 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. After
> > halfway, the engine is
> > dieseling from compression, plus the glow of exhaust
> > valves at 1,400 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 light to light!
> >
> > *
> > Including the
> > burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions
> > under load.
> >
> > *
> > 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 estimated $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). 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: Imagine
> > 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 past the
> > dragster at an
> > honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green for both of
> > you at that moment. 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!
 

Doug

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
558
Location
Valencia, California
Definition of Acceleration...

> > One Top Fuel
> > dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower
> > than the first 4
> > rows of NASCARS at the Daytona 500.
> > *
> > 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.
> > *
> > At the
> > stoichiometric (stoichiometry: methodology and technology
> > by which quantities
> > of reactants and products in chemical reactions are
> > determined) 1.7:1 air/fuel
> > mixture for nitromethane, the flame front temperature
> > measures 7,050 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. After
> > halfway, the engine is
> > dieseling from compression, plus the glow of exhaust
> > valves at 1,400 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 light to light!
> >
> > *
> > Including the
> > burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions
> > under load.
> >
> > *
> > 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 estimated $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). 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: Imagine
> > 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 past the
> > dragster at an
> > honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green for both of
> > you at that moment. 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!

Thanks very interesting and I don't think you are describing the speed of my Prius. Doug
 

66hcs-conv

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Messages
360
Another prospective:

If you had 5 - 1 gallon buckets of water in a line, and walked along that line tipping each bucket over as you passed by it, thats the amount of fuel a top fuel car burns in the same amount of time!

I worked part time at Bandimere drag strip as a certified NHRA tech inspector,
It was just about too much fun!

Have fun, Dave
 
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