mjosparky 3 #1 January 16, 2004 A comparison on "What is Fast", or,... How Fast do Want to Go?, well, How much money you got? * 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 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 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 (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 7050 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 ½ way, the engine is dieseling 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, 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 9500rpm. * 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 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 1320 foot long race course. SparkyMy idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JeffD 0 #2 January 16, 2004 pretty cool! Thanks for sharing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darius11 12 #3 January 16, 2004 I love speed. Now only if i could buy a dragsterI'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skipro101 0 #4 January 16, 2004 thats a great post. Im not auto fanatic, but that gives me some perspective and i can see why people like it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Ron 7 #5 January 16, 2004 I thought this was going to be a post about fast women"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites diablopilot 2 #6 January 16, 2004 Now that IS interesting. Cool stuff...---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites wzettler 0 #7 January 16, 2004 Maybe rehmwa can answer the question. Check his sig line. I think when Jesus said "love your enemy" he probably meant don't kill them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites rehmwa 2 #8 January 16, 2004 All I know is Slow is not fast. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SkydivingNurse 0 #9 January 16, 2004 That reminds me of something I saw to the effect of "NASCAR drivers are wimps, I can do 160mph standing on my head". Not that I personally can, of course, but it made me chuckle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites flyangel2 2 #10 January 16, 2004 Sparky, I read the first few lines and realized you were talking about cars. Sorry, didn't read the rest.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ChileRelleno 0 #11 January 16, 2004 Yeah? Well I can do 190mph sitting on my arse, without even trying! ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414 Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites rehmwa 2 #12 January 16, 2004 QuoteYeah? Well I can do 190mph sitting on my arse, without even trying! Depends on what I just ate. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites billymotox 0 #13 January 16, 2004 That is intresting stuff. For all of you who don't get to drive a top fuel car, they have a ride at Cedar Point called Top Thrill Dragster. 0 to 120 in 4 seconds, then straight up and down a 420 foot tower. It's the tallest and fastest in the world. I rode it twice, and i can't wait to go again! billy d------------------------- "Escape may be checked by water and land, but the air and the sky are free." (from the story of Daedalus and Icarus) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
Ron 7 #5 January 16, 2004 I thought this was going to be a post about fast women"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #6 January 16, 2004 Now that IS interesting. Cool stuff...---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wzettler 0 #7 January 16, 2004 Maybe rehmwa can answer the question. Check his sig line. I think when Jesus said "love your enemy" he probably meant don't kill them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #8 January 16, 2004 All I know is Slow is not fast. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydivingNurse 0 #9 January 16, 2004 That reminds me of something I saw to the effect of "NASCAR drivers are wimps, I can do 160mph standing on my head". Not that I personally can, of course, but it made me chuckle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #10 January 16, 2004 Sparky, I read the first few lines and realized you were talking about cars. Sorry, didn't read the rest.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChileRelleno 0 #11 January 16, 2004 Yeah? Well I can do 190mph sitting on my arse, without even trying! ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414 Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #12 January 16, 2004 QuoteYeah? Well I can do 190mph sitting on my arse, without even trying! Depends on what I just ate. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billymotox 0 #13 January 16, 2004 That is intresting stuff. For all of you who don't get to drive a top fuel car, they have a ride at Cedar Point called Top Thrill Dragster. 0 to 120 in 4 seconds, then straight up and down a 420 foot tower. It's the tallest and fastest in the world. I rode it twice, and i can't wait to go again! billy d------------------------- "Escape may be checked by water and land, but the air and the sky are free." (from the story of Daedalus and Icarus) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
