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Until you've stood and watched a top fuel dragster, or nitro 'funny car', at about 50 yds from the start you just can't comprehend the noise or raw power. Forget ear defenders, the noise travels through your body.
Facebook suggested I might be interested in this. The main text relates to price, power and acceleration Top Fule Dragster stats as they were in 2004 and I found them mindblowing. At the end, I have added an update on the latest record and a video of the record holding run - Brittany Force in 2022
From Hoonhub
You think your car is expensive to run.... Drag racing must be one of the most expensive hobbies on the Planet !
A single barrel of fuel is over $750.00 U.S., and here is what you get from that :
(2004)TOP FUEL ACCELERATION PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE
* One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower (10,000 HP) than the first 5 rows at the Daytona 500.
* Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1.2-1.5 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 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 lock at full throttle.
* At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane 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.
* Dragsters reach over 300 MPH before you have completed reading this sentence.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)* In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate an average of over 4 G's. In order to reach 200 MPH well before half-track, the launch acceleration approaches 8 G's.6 g-forces at the starting line (nothing accelerates faster on land)6 negative g-forces upon deployment of twin chutes at 300 MPH. A Top Fuel Dragster accelerates quicker than any other land vehicle on earth . . quicker than a jet fighter plane . . . quicker than the space shuttle.
* 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 current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.420 seconds for the quarter-mile (2004, Doug Kalitta). The top speed record is 337.58 MPH as measured over the last 66' of the run (2005, Tony Schumacher).
THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimated $1,000 per second.Putting this all 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 & 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 & pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment.The dragster launches & starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums & within 3 seconds the dragster 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 & not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race!That's acceleration!
Update on the latest stats on fastest quarter mile
Brittany Force made the fastest run in Top Fuel history and reset the national speed record to 338.48 mph in her Flav-R-Pac dragster in the opening round of the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Force defeated teammate Austin Prock with a pass of 3.665 en route to resetting her own record, which had stood at 338.17 since the fall of 2019.
Here's a video - blink and you'll miss it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrwTWXyIIqM
Until you've stood and watched a top fuel dragster, or nitro 'funny car', at about 50 yds from the start you just can't comprehend the noise or raw power. Forget ear defenders, the noise travels through your body.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I remember watching them at Santa pod in the 90s the noise and vibration was incredible and the exhaust fumes were still stinging my nose when I got home
Yes and T-shirts from Dick’s Place.Originally Posted by Michael 38
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Top Fuellers at Santa Pod is something everyone should experience. It's so weather dependent though so it could all be a wasted journey if the rain comes.
When they do a run though. It's amazing.
It's also amazing people watching the regulars who live for the sport.
Reminds me ... I need to go again soon.
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They are certainly a sight to behold, and feel! 😂
Yeah, did 2 days at Santa Pod about 3yrs back, it was totally awesome !!
Fascinating and great technical detail! Thanks for posting!
We used to take our bikes/cars to run what yer brung - great legal fun even if they weren't really drag ready !
Agreed with the Top Fuel stuff it really defies all explanation - you literally can't follow the cars with your neck from the stands they are that fast.
I remember watching Roz Prior stall her top fuel dragster when the christmas tree went green back in the late 70's!
I can add another couple of facts ...
The clutch discs weld themselves together after each run and have to be replaced. Crazy
If you had a 200mph running start at 1/4 mile race, and went past a stationary top fuel car who started when you went past, he would beat you to the finish line...
Last edited by alzone; 24th May 2024 at 15:48.
As was pointed out in the original post!
I helped on a team running a top fuel Fiat Topolino in ‘97.
Nothing like having the team next door fire up their car at 6am to wake you up!
Time for a thread resurrection...link?
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