No Tiger content, unless of course someone out there has a top fuel beast
I'm not aware of, but fascinating nonetheless. As posted on the VSCCA
list.
>
>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 within a mere 1,320 foot
>long race course.
>
>..and that my friend, is ACCELERATION!
Joe Parlanti
B382000026
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