Top Fuel facts

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andyman
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Top Fuel facts

Post by andyman »

Read this on another site. If I didn't know what a top fuel drag car is after i read this, I would say that they aren't possible.
Some interesting information regarding the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel class of drag racing.
Some of the data is mind boggling.

*One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows of cars at the Daytona 500.

*Under full throttle, a Top Fuel dragster engine consumes 4 liters 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 426 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 to 1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane, the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F. (Our cars have a stoichiometric 14.7 to 1 air/fuel mixture.)

*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 down the track, the engine is dieseling (no need for spark plugs) 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 down the track, unburned nitro methane builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the engine block in pieces, or split the block in half.

*In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate at an average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph well before half-track, the launch acceleration approaches 8G's.

*Top Fuel dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have completed reading this sentence.

*Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions while traveling a quarter of a mile! Including the burnout before the run, the engine must only survive about 900 revolutions under load.

*The engine red-line is actually quite high at 9500 rpm.

*To bottom line money wise: assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run down the track costs an estimated $1,000 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 riding the average $250,000 Honda MotoGP racing bike. 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 RC211V hard up through the gears, blast across the starting line, and past the Top Fuel dragster at an honest 200 mph (293 ft/sec). The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment.
The dragster launches and starts after you pass. You keep your throttle cranked in hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums. 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 you, but nearly blasted you off the track when he passed you on a mere 1320 foot long race course.

edit: primaltheory....there is no need for you to post about the firebird here k?
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PhoeniX
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Post by PhoeniX »

Meh car racings more fun, it lasts longer for one :p

and I don't mean nascar :p
andyman
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Post by andyman »

PhoeniX wrote:Meh car racings more fun, it lasts longer for one :p

and I don't mean nascar :p
lol

I like watching them mostly because the speed is just incredible.

I don't like nascar very much either. Formula 1 and rally is more my type.
Kills On Site
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Re: Top Fuel facts

Post by Kills On Site »

andyman wrote:
*Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.
Does it mean each supplies 44 amps, because using the smallest electrode we used in Welding we used 90 amps, that was for a 6013 electrode, for the 7018 which we used more more we used 125 amps. SMAW, aka stick welding, if you are curious.
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booker
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Post by booker »

If loyalties must be broken, If the lines must be crossed, do it fast, do it Furious
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PhoeniX
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Post by PhoeniX »

andyman wrote:Formula 1 and rally is more my type.
Yeah :). I prefer rally out of the two as the skill of those drivers is amazing, like when you see them throw it around a corner at 100 mph when theirs 200ft drop to their left :D
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Post by Guest »

I wonder what it feels like to do a 0-480km/h in 4.5s on land.
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plained
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Post by plained »

it probly feels gut-worblying , good , but gut-worblying
andyman
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Post by andyman »

ToxicBug wrote:I wonder what it feels like to do a 0-480km/h in 4.5s on land.
it probably feels like getting punched in the face by Tyson (in his prime), if i had to guess..

no doubt it puts extreme strain on the body. Does anyone know what g-forces the astronauts endure when the shuttle lifts off?
primaltheory
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Re: Top Fuel facts

Post by primaltheory »

andyman wrote:Read this on another site. If I didn't know what a top fuel drag car is after i read this, I would say that they aren't possible.

[quote
edit: primaltheory....there is no need for you to post about the firebird here k?
Lol, why would i post about the firebird here? that only gets a 10 second quartermile at tops
Why not?

[i]Jenny: lol, i'm not changing the whole harddrive directory structure for a mod. Do it proper like other mods please.[/i]
andyman
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Re: Top Fuel facts

Post by andyman »

primaltheory wrote:
andyman wrote:Read this on another site. If I didn't know what a top fuel drag car is after i read this, I would say that they aren't possible.

[quote
edit: primaltheory....there is no need for you to post about the firebird here k?
Lol, why would i post about the firebird here? that only gets a 10 second quartermile at tops
hehe .... any time the word 'car' or 'engine' is mentioned, you post about the bird :D
zewulf
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Post by zewulf »

ToxicBug wrote:I wonder what it feels like to do a 0-480km/h in 4.5s on land.
Just back your car into a concrete wall at 10 mph or so :icon32:
Dukester
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Post by Dukester »

PhoeniX wrote:Meh car racings more fun, it lasts longer for one :p

and I don't mean nascar :p

They race two road courses a year. Sears Point and Watkins Glen.

The 8-10 drivers out of 40 who know how to turn right leave everyone else in the dust (or by the side of the road lol)
AmIdYfReAk
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Post by AmIdYfReAk »

i thaught the nitro/alchol mixture burned white,

interesting. :/
HM-PuFFNSTuFF
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Post by HM-PuFFNSTuFF »

burning all that Saudi oil makes you a terrorist son.

repent
losCHUNK
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Post by losCHUNK »

its all fun n games till you reach a slight curve
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primaltheory
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Re: Top Fuel facts

Post by primaltheory »

andyman wrote:
primaltheory wrote: edit: primaltheory....there is no need for you to post about the firebird here k?
Lol, why would i post about the firebird here? that only gets a 10 second quartermile at tops
hehe .... any time the word 'car' or 'engine' is mentioned, you post about the bird :D[/quote]

lol, I guess, but only if the bird is faster....


and yes, rally racing is fucking sweet, I MAW talk about the stock 2005 jeep, it has a hemi...(like 325 hp, not bad for a jeep!), and the 4 weel drive is sweet, my neighborhood is a giant oval and when it snows, i go nuts! (nobody does the speed limit in our sub, i can't wait for some lil kid to get massacred)
Why not?

[i]Jenny: lol, i'm not changing the whole harddrive directory structure for a mod. Do it proper like other mods please.[/i]
Guest

Post by Guest »

You don't even have a liscence, why the hell are you driving?
losCHUNK
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Post by losCHUNK »

shhhh, hes doing illegals
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andyman
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Post by andyman »

maybe he has a permit
Don Carlos
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Post by Don Carlos »

losCHUNK wrote:its all fun n games till you reach a slight curve
lol w3rd
Where were you when the West was defeated?
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RLucky82
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Wast"O"money

Post by RLucky82 »

yeah but you can't run from the cops if you can't turn left and right!Image
Guest

Post by Guest »

andyman wrote:maybe he has a permit
He said that he didn't have the papers because his parents didn't let him.
Guest

Post by Guest »

And now he's nowhere to be seen...
andyman
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Post by andyman »

Off to the 1/4 miles strip friday...maybe sunday too. Saturday is dyno day :D

I'll post results
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