Top fuel dragster info

[freedhardwoods]

I got this from someone on another forum. The one that really gets me is - How do you push 11 gallons of fuel through a 500 cu in engine in a second?

Ever wonder why a Top Fuel dragster gets a rebuilt engine after each run?

* 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 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 stoichio metric 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 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 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 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

*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 current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.420 seconds for the quarter-mile (2004, Doug Kalitta).(I think the time is now closer to 4 seconds, M.)

*The top speed record is 337.58 MPH as measured over the last 66' of the run (2005, Tony Schumacher).

*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 1320 foot long race !!!!

[Darrell]

Very Cool info !!

[MarkEagleUSA]

My first top fuel experience was in 2007 at the Summernationals in Englishtown, NJ. We were sitting at about 1,000 ft in the upper row of the grandstand. *** This was a year before Scott Kalitta was killed and they were still running the full 1/4 mile. I was there in '08 when Kalitta's car grenaded (right in front of us) which forced the change to 1000'. ***

The 1st pair staged and my buddy (a lifelong drag racer) told me to get ready. They were down the track to where we were BEFORE I even heard them launch. The percussion when they went by literally threw me back against the fence behind us and I dropped my brand new camcorder.

I have never felt or heard anything like a top fueler... you need to experience it in person to appreciate it... TV does it no justice.

And, yes... I have cried nitro tears. Stood right at the rope for the entire time a funny car was being run in the garage area. Tears like Niagara Falls, lungs burning... ahh... it was great.

What I want to know is what was the discussion like when the thought of running nitro was discussed? Most certainly a "hold my beer and watch this" kinda moment I'm sure...

[j4c11]

Originally Posted by freedhardwoods

I got this from someone on another forum. The one that really gets me is - How do you push 11 gallons of fuel through a 500 cu in engine in a second?

* 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.

That doesn't sound right, you'd need a 50 gallon drum of nitro for a 4 second run. You can't dump 11 gallons a second out of a bucket. It's probably 1 1/2 , not 11.2.

[olds45512]

Originally Posted by j4c11

That doesn't sound right, you'd need a 50 gallon drum of nitro for a 4 second run. You can't dump 11 gallons a second out of a bucket. It's probably 1 1/2 , not 11.2.

I agree, I've been to many races and the fuel tanks on a dragster don't look that big. And if a Boeing 747 used 11.2 gallons a second then a 2 hour flight would require over 80,000 gallons of fuel.

[freedhardwoods]

Originally Posted by j4c11

That doesn't sound right, you'd need a 50 gallon drum of nitro for a 4 second run. You can't dump 11 gallons a second out of a bucket. It's probably 1 1/2 , not 11.2.

I never checked on it before. Several sources say they burn 11-12 gallons per run. Some of the other info may be off a little also.

[DoubleO7]

And all that g-force and speed via traction using bald tires.

Went to many U.S. Nationals in Indy in the 1990s.
Five solid days of drag racing in a row.
Need to relive that trip some day.

[jimbob200521]

Incredible information to think about here.

[cubby102]

I seen this a while back it may help put it into perspective for some people https://youtu.be/xGTbQuhhluY

[olds45512]

Originally Posted by cubby102

I seen this a while back it may help put it into perspective for some people https://youtu.be/xGTbQuhhluY

that's impressive but its still not 11.2 gallons per second.