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Raw Power

  • Thread starter Thread starter bill89saleen304
  • Start date Start date May 19, 2006

bill89saleen304

Member
Oct 2, 2005
176
1
18
Everett Wa.
May 19, 2006
#1
  • May 19, 2006
  • #1
Hey I thought you all might enjoy a little story about some Raw Power!!!!
Enjoy



Subject: FW: Raw power





Definition of Acceleration.

* One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows of NASCARS 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'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 nitromethane, the flame front temperature measures 7,050 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 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 within a mere 1,320 foot long race course. ... and that my friend, is ACCELERATION!



See Ya Bill
 

smittyb

Member
Oct 16, 2005
134
1
19
Marysville,wa
May 19, 2006
#2
  • May 19, 2006
  • #2
This is still way cool, but it did go around some time ago. I like to tell people about the 200 mph vs. standing start part, pretty wicked.
 

SMOKEDYA

20+ Year Stangneter
Jul 13, 2003
3,637
8
79
Tucson AZ
May 20, 2006
#3
  • May 20, 2006
  • #3
LOL killer man! first time i heard this. But they forgot to mention that in the pits when breaking in the clutch as they blip the throttle people jump out of there skin damn near well atleats i did and as they are passing you you get blur'd vision! do you go to see the guy's run in seattle ? we did last year and again this year! There is nothing like it in the world!!!! We got our tickets about 3 months ago and they were $141 each for all 3 days and we got to pick our seats Dam it sucks not having cable cause now i cant watch them on T.V peace




john
 
5

5.0 MoJo

New Member
Oct 25, 2003
75
0
0
Newport, OR
May 20, 2006
#4
  • May 20, 2006
  • #4
Its cool to imagine all that power, but the other side of it you dont hear much about is stoping the damn thing!! I heard the largest amount of G's placed on a top fuel driver is when they throw the chutes, which is around
-8G's.
 

SMOKEDYA

20+ Year Stangneter
Jul 13, 2003
3,637
8
79
Tucson AZ
May 20, 2006
#5
  • May 20, 2006
  • #5
5.0 MoJo said:
Its cool to imagine all that power, but the other side of it you dont hear much about is stoping the damn thing!! I heard the largest amount of G's placed on a top fuel driver is when they throw the chutes, which is around
-8G's.
Click to expand...
Very true! The one driver for top fuel (i beleive it was kenny bernstein?)from all the years had to get eye surgery cause the G's from the shut down was tearing his eye's out of his head peace





john
 

smittyb

Member
Oct 16, 2005
134
1
19
Marysville,wa
May 20, 2006
#6
  • May 20, 2006
  • #6
Yes, lots of drivers have had to have surgery to reattach their corneas.
I love it in the pits when they fire em up and unsuspecting masses go running like someone dropped a mace bomb.
 

wythors

Get off my lawn!!!
Founding Member
May 17, 2000
2,277
35
69
C Addle
May 20, 2006
#7
  • May 20, 2006
  • #7
smittyb said:
Yes, lots of drivers have had to have surgery to reattach their retinas.
Click to expand...

Fixed.
 

smittyb

Member
Oct 16, 2005
134
1
19
Marysville,wa
May 20, 2006
#8
  • May 20, 2006
  • #8
Wow, I was really drunk last night.
 
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