can anyone verify this info on acceleration

Submitted: Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 15:19
ThreadID: 23759 Views:2412 Replies:11 FollowUps:4
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A lesson in acceleration:

------------------------------------

First, some useful info:

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

* Under full throttle, a Top Fuel dragster engine consumes 1½ gallons 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 1.7:1 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. This is the output of an
arc welder in each cylinder.

* Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way,
the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust valves at
1400 degrees F. Cutting the fuel flow can only shut down the engine.

* 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 at 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 9500 rpm.

* The Bottom Line; 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
4.441 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 US$250,000 Honda MotoGP 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 and blast across the starting line and
past the 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.

You keep your wrist cranked 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 1320 foot long race course.

That, folks, is acceleration.

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Reply By: Des Lexic - Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 15:26

Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 15:26
To quote the late Graham Kennedy "Faaaark"
AnswerID: 115257

Reply By: Member - Beatit (QLD) - Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 15:27

Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 15:27
G'day Nudie,

The off spring could take a lesson here right? But even such raw speed pales into insignificance on the final hooter in this place, the peole here are capable of breaking the sound barrier on their way out on a long weekend - in in the space of their desk and the exit.

Kind regards
AnswerID: 115259

Reply By: Member -Dodger - Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 15:38

Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 15:38
Nearly as good as my 4.2 Nissan....he, he.

Imagine the jaw drop when he was passed....fwaaa

I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

Cheers Dodg.

Lifetime Member
My Profile  Send Message

AnswerID: 115261

Reply By: Exploder - Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 16:01

Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 16:01
That is some serous acceleration.

At 7050 degrees F, that would be just about be melting the turbines in the Rolls Royce RB Engines

Just to give you an idea of the sort of power he is talking about, the Rolls Royce engines on a 747 develop 58000 pounds of thrust each.
AnswerID: 115265

Reply By: Member - iMusty (VIC) - Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 16:43

Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 16:43
Truely mindblowing stuff Nudey.

AnswerID: 115268

Reply By: Tonester - Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 16:53

Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 16:53
Saw em once at Calder Park. Truely unbelievable. Your words are the best go I've seen at describing what it looks like.
AnswerID: 115269

Reply By: Member - Athol (NSW) - Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 17:24

Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 17:24
Truely awesome, would love to have a ride but might have to wear a nappy .

Athol
AnswerID: 115273

Reply By: Nudenut - Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 17:47

Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 17:47
guys...the mini I had back in the 70's was blown...but the numbers above would make make it look as though it used a rubber band as its power plant
AnswerID: 115274

Follow Up By: Mad Dog (Australia) - Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 18:04

Friday, Jun 10, 2005 at 18:04
Yeah nothin like being blown.

Don't talk too loud Nudie, If the word gets out that these dragster guys are having fun some miserable mob will want it banned.
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FollowupID: 371012

Follow Up By: Member - JohnR (Vic)&Moses - Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 at 07:40

Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 at 07:40
Sounds like fun Nudie and agree with Ray that the misery mob will want it banned. The statistics you gave up the top are mind blowing.....
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FollowupID: 371049

Follow Up By: Nudenut - Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 at 13:22

Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 at 13:22
I have no idea if their (stats) true John....sounds impressive but!
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FollowupID: 371061

Reply By: fisho64 - Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 at 02:26

Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 at 02:26
Just one little anomaly there, assuming the figures are correct, the amount of energy produced by nitro methane and Jet A1 is hardly a logical comparison. I would think that you would find the 747 far more efficient at producing power from its fuel source which isnt much different from diesel/kerosene?
AnswerID: 115327

Reply By: Member - Toonfish - Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 at 17:31

Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 at 17:31
a good read there.
makes the navara look like a snail on weed.
AnswerID: 115371

Follow Up By: Nudenut - Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 09:54

Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 09:54
a hippie on wheels
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FollowupID: 371108

Reply By: Whitbred - Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 21:58

Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 21:58
Mr Nudenut, truely inspiring. I work on a ship, 80 thousand tonnes displacement. We run on fuel which is the consistancy of liquified vegemite at 120 celcius called heavy fuel oil. You can literally throw an oxy acetalene flame at it and it will take a minute or two to ignite. The engine produces 15000 KW and around 1000000 Nm of torque at a full 85 RPM. That's going hard too. Mind you, the engine is about the size of a small block of flats. If only we could run them on nitro methane. I was at WIllowbak Raceway when the first sub 5 second pass was made by the Rocket Industries rail. They are truely awesome machines.
AnswerID: 115615

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