N
Neil Brownlee
Guest
Definition of Acceleration
One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than
the first 4 rows of
stock cars at the Daytona 500.
Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1-1/2 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 Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the
dragster's supercharger.
With 3,000 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
nitro methane, the flame
front
temperature measures 7,050 deg 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 halfway, the
engine is dieseling
from
compression, plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1,400 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 9,500 rpm.
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, all within a mere 1,320
foot long race course.
.......and that my friend, is ACCELERATION!
--
Neil
One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than
the first 4 rows of
stock cars at the Daytona 500.
Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1-1/2 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 Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the
dragster's supercharger.
With 3,000 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
nitro methane, the flame
front
temperature measures 7,050 deg 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 halfway, the
engine is dieseling
from
compression, plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1,400 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 9,500 rpm.
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, all within a mere 1,320
foot long race course.
.......and that my friend, is ACCELERATION!
--
Neil
