I expect you'll find this as mind blowing as I did. This came from the Rodders Roundtable site. Enjoy. Acceleration Explained > > > * 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 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 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 lockup at full throttle. > > > * At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane the flame > front temperature measures 7050 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 an 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 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 enough sufficient 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 9500 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 > > > A 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 current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.420 seconds for the > quarter-mile (2004, Doug Kalitta) > > > 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 seares 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 > 1320 foot long race!!!! > > > That, my friends.....is acceleration.
sound like your describing my 210, ya she's bad I know,........................................uh ya?????? a few facts myself: a topfuel engine is not only fueled over the blower but most fuel is injected directly in the head, and a top full cam in comparison to other cars is quit small, as for hydrolock, it only takes one misfire to kill the motor, thats why they run secondary ign.. Theres alot more fun facts to these engines someone please tell me more. thanks for the post I'm all excited
I have seen the O.G. post a bunch, but yeah there has to be more cool facts out there. I also would love to hear some.
Truly amazing considering where the NHRA was speed wise when it started. I've heard that the cylinder bores vary from front to back, but don't remember exactly why. Some one needs to post the facts about how much all that power costs. That too, is amazing.
If anyone has ever stood at the finish line when these go by, it's pretty amazing. The 'chute opens with a huge BANG! -Brad
This puts things into perspective. Thats why those drivers will never understand why we think 130 is fast.
Bigchuck: I have not heard of anyone running different bore sizes in the same engine, however they do run different length rods in different holes to change the compression ratio in trouble cylinders. A long block (no manifold,injector, blower, fuel pump) would run around $40K. Not as expensive as one might think but there is no gaurantee that it will last for one second. BTW: a set of valve covers are over $5000. (Titanium)
This is always fun...earlier list noted that a top fuel engine has more horsepower than the first 7 rows of a NASCAR Sprint Cup race....(or something like that)
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