[SEL] Acceleration Explained ...

Peter Lowe plowe at exemail.com.au
Wed Jul 16 03:16:35 PDT 2014


Interesting Stats, unlike our old iron these things rock big time. I went to my first top fuel meet last year at Willow Bank Raceway for the Winter Nats. The blast from these things from up on the hill nearly blew me off my feet, absolutely phenomenal, a must do if only once in your life.
Peter
....................................................................

Ever wonder why a Top Fuel dragster gets a rebuilt engine after each run?
 
 
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 merely 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 lockup at full throttle.      
 
* At the stoichio metric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane, the flame
front temperature measures 7,050 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 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 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 9,500 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      
 
 
 
An NHRA Top Fuel Dragster accelerates quicker than any other land vehicle on
earth.quicker than a jet fighter plane.quicker than the space shuttle.or
snapping your fingers!!      
 
The top speed record is 337.58 MPH as measured over the last 66' of the run
(2005, Tony  Schumacher).      
 
Let's now put this all into perspective:      
 
Imagine this...........You are driving a new $140,000 Lingenfelter
twin-turbo powered Corvette Z-06. 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 on
up through the gears and blast across the starting line & pass the dragster
at an honest 200 MPH.... The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that exact
moment. The dragster departs & starts after you. You keep your foot buried
hard to the floor, and suddenly you hear an incredibly brutally screaming
whine that sears and pummels your eardrums & within a mere 3 seconds the
dragster effortlessly 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.....and it not
only caught, but nearly blasted you off the planet when he passed you within
a mere 1,000 foot long race !!!!      
 
 
 
That, my friend...is acceleration!



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