zx12richard
Pro
The Green Monster..
Posts: 1133
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posted December 18, 2003 11:05 AM
Interesting topic I found posted.. Drag racing..
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.
  
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jonwright
Needs a job
Posts: 2416
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posted December 18, 2003 11:09 AM
Holy crap!
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matt sterbator
Pro
Hiding in the bushes
Posts: 1367
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posted December 18, 2003 11:58 AM
There was something else like this posted a while back. It had a few more tidbits. Something about how the cranks twist like 20 degrees or something, and they sometimes grind the cams to be in phase with the twisted crank. Nutty stuff 
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Some day, you're going to run out of some days
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
Posts: 9660
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posted December 18, 2003 12:18 PM
that shit is damn near unbelievable eh? makes u wonder how they keep the things together for an entire run.
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MadMike
Moderator
FEAR THE BLACK FLAG!!!!!!!!
Posts: 6579
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posted December 18, 2003 12:41 PM
Aint that just so Freaking Cool!!!!! man I love Dragracing!!
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200-MPH CLUB MEMBER!
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VincentHill
Needs a life
Posts: 6520
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posted December 18, 2003 02:59 PM
But who can afford it?
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Made History @ Daytona and still one fast old man!!
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bagster
Zone Head
Posts: 630
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posted December 18, 2003 03:27 PM
Not me!
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02zx12rbob
Expert Class
Posts: 496
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posted December 18, 2003 04:27 PM
Good read...Fuelers are the most exciting racing to watch I've ever seen.
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necro
Needs a job
My Grandma Is A Virgin
Posts: 2148
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posted December 18, 2003 05:55 PM
I've seen this before. It's amazing.
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3829
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aliveagain
Needs a life
Posts: 5033
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posted December 18, 2003 08:34 PM
Thought I heard some of the TF drivers had eye strains from the negative G force of twin parachutes opening at speed.
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I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
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CrotchRocket
Moderator
Bracket Racing with Betsy
Posts: 8038
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posted December 19, 2003 06:31 PM
Thats why I DragRace stock Motorcycles!!!
Its cheap speed!!!
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Jason Miller StreetBike Seminars
*****DragRacers do it better, because they dont cut Corners*****
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TurboBlew
Moderator
BUSY DOING THE SCHIAVO
Posts: 4590
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posted December 19, 2003 11:13 PM
For those of you TopFuel nuts.... you must visit Don Garlits museum in Ocala, FL.
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Official Charter Member of the RIDERS OF KAWASAKI MEMBERSHIP REVOCATION CLUB
Also a BadAss Internet Forum Moderator 4 Hire!! Come at me brah!
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