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The definition of acceleration
This was posted on one of the motorcycle forums and was fowarded to me by my youngest son. Watching a top fuel dragster make a successful run is probably one of the most impressive things you will ever see if you ever get a chance to see it.
Enjoy: 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 1= 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 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 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 1/2 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 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 red-line 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 $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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Jim |
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Quote:
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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman |
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Actual horsepower is not known as there is not a dyno that can measure that much HP. Your mileage may vary.
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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K 07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K 02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K 05 F150 Silver 44K |
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wow...
intense |
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LOL! That's funny, considering the context.
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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman |
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Thanks for posting!
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1959 Gravely LI, 1963 Gravely L8, 1973 Gravely C12 1982 380SL 1978 450 SEL 6.9 euro restoration at 63% and climbing 1987 300 D 2005 CDI European Delivery 2006 CDI Handed down to daughter 2007 GL CDI. Wifes |
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Interesting points I did not know about top-fuel dragsters! I enjoy watching them race, and seeing the outcome less than 5 seconds later at over 300 mph!
I DID know from other sources that the engines are designed to last no more than six seconds under load. Each pass is followed by a complete engine teardown and rebuild...pistons are completely melted following a run!
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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle 2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car 2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver 2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car |
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What's amazing is the chassis torque. The thing bows just like in the cartoons.
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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman |
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I drive super comp dragster. The best way to explain the sensation is it's like being strapped to a giant arrow on a bow. The first second of acceleration is incredible. I have yet to experience a top fuel run, twice as fast equals twice the fun! I'm going for top alcohol when I can afford it.
If you've never been to a national drag race event.... GO! Being there is way different than watching it on TV. The sound a fuel engine makes is absolutely amazing, it shakes the ground. Even the idle is unbarrably loud. And ofcourse the smell.... The best way to explain that is tear gas. Here's some more interesting fuel car facts: During the last few rounds of elimination, a team can tear down and rebuild an engine in less than 90 minutes. Engines are estimated to make over 8000HP. (DSR has a dyno for testing it, I've seen it, it's huge! They are not releasing any numbers.) Superchargers consume a little less than 1000hp. (They are actually ice cold after a run due to evaporation of the nitromethane.) Engine blocks and heads typically last 30 runs. Cylinders, pistons, rods, cranks and valves typically last 1 event. about 6 runs. Spark plugs, head gaskets, clutches and oil are changed every run.
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Current Stable: 01 ML55 AMG 92 500E (a few mods) 87 300E (lots of mods) 00 Chevy 3500HD Diesel Box Truck 68 18' Donzi Marine 06 GT i-Drive7 1.0 Mountain Bike (with GPS!) PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320 |
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Now thats fast!
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
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insane. absolutely insane.
pretty much u have an arc welder igniting the fuel... head gasket every run hahahahaa .
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Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out. Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability! (4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!) 82 300SD 145k 89 420SEL 210k 89 560SEL 118k 90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010 90 560SEL 154k 91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k 93 190E 3.0 235k 93 300E 195k |
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I have heard that the G forces can start to detach the retinas in the drivers eyes after a while. Seems plausible, but how in the heck can John Force, and Kenny Bernstein still see after all these years ?
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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K 07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K 02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K 05 F150 Silver 44K |
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That right there is a beautiful sight...
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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process." 2012 SLK 350 1987 420 SEL |
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That calls to mind the old film of the test pilot's face during the test where he is subjected to increasing G forces and his face becomes all distorted.
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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century OBK #55 1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles 2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles 2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles |
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I've been to a few drags and the sound from the top fuelers is incredible!
Some things I observed (don't know for sure though)- I think they burn out on gasoline or alcohol and race on fuel. You can hear them switch to the fuel on the starting line when the engine gets that characteristic crackle. They also leave on idle rather than at high RPM's. There's no transmission per se. The engine is linked directly to the rear end through a clutch pack with several disks that progressively engage as RPM's climb. Kind of like a giant version of your old centrifugal go-kart clutch...!
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-Evan Benz Fleet: 1968 UNIMOG 404.114 1998 E300 2008 E63 Non-Benz Fleet: 1992 Aerostar 1993 MR2 2000 F250 |
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