Staggering when you think about it for sure!!

Janice

saved an article a number of years ago re:top fuel facts,here are just a few>

1)top fuel 500cui hemi makes more power than first 4 rows of Daytona 500 combined
2)Under full throttle,fuel engine uses more nitro per second than fully loaded 747 uses jet fuel,and produces 25% more power
3)a stock Hemi doesn't make enough power to drive fuel cars blower
4)Fuel car reaches over 300mph before you have completed this sentence!

things that make you go.."Hmmm"

Not trying to trump yer Ace, Just wanted to add these facts;
* One dragster's 500-inch Hemi makes more horsepower then the first 8 rows at Daytona.

* Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1 1/2 gallons of nitro per second, the same rate of fuel consumption as a fully loaded 747 but with 4 times the energy volume.

* The supercharger takes more power to drive than a stock hemi makes.

* Even with nearly 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into nearly-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock.

* Dual magnetos apply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.

* At stoichiometric (exact) 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture (for nitro), the flame front of nitromethane 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.

* 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 off its fuel flow.

* If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in those cylinders and then explodes with a force that can blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or blow the block in half.

* Dragsters twist the crank (torsionally) so far (20 degrees in the big end of the track) that sometimes cam lobes are ground offset from front to rear to re-phase the valve timing somewhere closer to synchronization with the pistons.

* To exceed 300mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at an average of over 4G's. But in reaching 200 mph well before 1/2 track, launch acceleration is closer to 8G's.

* If all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs $1000.00 per second.

* Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have read this sentence.

Did you know …

… that the nitromethane-powered engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars produce approximately 7,000 horsepower, about 37 times that of the average street car?

… that one cylinder of the eight cylinders of a Top Fuel dragster or a Funny Car produces 750 horsepower, equaling the entire horsepower output of a NASCAR engine?

… that the gasoline-powered engines of NHRA Pro Stock cars produce about 1,200 horsepower, about eight times that of the average street car?

… that an NHRA Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than .8-second, almost 11 seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach the same speed?

… that an NHRA Top Fuel dragster leaves the starting line with a force nearly five times that of gravity, the same force of the space shuttle when it leaves the launching pad at Cape Canaveral?

… that an NHRA Funny Car is slowed by a reverse force more than seven times that of gravity when both parachutes deploy simultaneously?

… that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars consume between four and five gallons of fuel during a quarter-mile run, which is equivalent to between 16 and 20 gallons per mile?

… that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars use between 10 and 12 gallons of fuel for a complete pass, including the burnout, backup to the starting line, and quarter-mile run?

… that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars travel the length of more than four football fields in less than five seconds?

… that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters can exceed 280 mph in just 660 feet?

… that from a standing start, NHRA Top Fuel dragsters accelerate faster than a jumbo jet, a fighter jet, and a Formula One race car?

… that a fuel pump for an NHRA Top Fuel dragster and Funny Car delivers 65 gallons of fuel per minute, equivalent to eight bathroom showers running at the same time?

… that the fuel-line pressure for NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars is between 400 and 500 pounds, about 20 times greater than the pressure on passenger-car fuel pumps?

… that depending on size and angle, the large rear wing on an NHRA Top Fuel dragster develops between 4,000 and 8,000 pounds of downforce?

… that the 17-inch rear tires used on NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars wear out after four to six runs, or about two miles? Some brands of passenger-car tires are guaranteed for 80,000 miles.

… that it takes just 15/100ths of a second for all 7,000 horsepower of an NHRA Top Fuel dragster engine to reach the rear wheels?

… that it's desirable for an NHRA Top Fuel dragster to race with its front wheels inches off the ground for about the first 200 feet of the run? This ensures proper weight transfer to the rear wheels, a crucial part of a good launch and quick run.

… that the nitromethane used to power the engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars costs about $30 per gallon?

Sources: NHRA Communications and Technical Departments, NHRA race teams, motorsports equipment manufacturers (and boostedpimp)

Good post kid, great info there, building, running and driving one of those "Bullets" is a real science of it's own.

I remember reading WAY back, not sure what publication,, but the first dragster had broke the 100MPH mark, and some expert scientist, stated,, "That is the limit,, the human body cannot stand anymore pressure than that." Lol

Re: "Loosing ignition can blow the engine to pieces" :

The first time i saw that was at the nationals at Indy in i think 1969 or 70.

Half way down the quarter in the left lane one head blew off, up in the air probably 20 Ft?, then bounced end over end down the track, then skidded into the grass , hitting the chain link fence.

Can't remember now the dragster, but it was not a well known name. Thankfully he wasn't in the right lane or the head could have hit the other driver, not good, with the head weighing probably 50lbs or so.

A buddy of mine ran a top fuel dragbike for a few years. The fuel is being crammed into the cylinders so hard that some of it gets past the rings and into the oil and it turns a milky green colour. Mandatory oil changes and no "saving it for the daily driver" either - it's junk!

Here is a link talking about Hydrazine and the other links are videos.
Freaky stuff!!!

www.dragzine.com/news/flashback-friday-the-story-of-the-leathal-fuel-called-hydrazine/

www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/watch

Fordy Acres Car Farm wrote:

---

 The fuel is being crammed into the cylinders so hard that some of it gets past the rings and into the oil and it turns a milky green colour. Mandatory oil changes and no "saving it for the daily driver" either - it's junk!

---

 :-0 So, the Top Fuel car with 16 qts of contaminated milky green oil gets tossed every pass... at my guess of $10 / qt... but I have heard that oil is closer to $80 qt ... holy cow!  anyone here know what a qt costs?

also.. I have pulled a few plugs out of top fuel engines.. and I was surprised they really don't look like they "need" to be replaced,, but they can't risk one going bad on the next pass... 

also.. have you seen the "fuel line" that goes from the tank to the pump? on Leverich car with Smax driving,, the tank is up front, and the fuel line is about 2" in diameter! , you can see the tank vent snorkel between the front wheels.

The Stratford Spectacular Nostalgia Drag race weekend is worth the trip! Grand Bend Motorplex 

http://www.leverichracing.com/images/2013launch.jpg 
										

-- Edited by meester_jamie on Monday 11th of November 2013 10:44:44 PM

-- Edited by meester_jamie on Monday 11th of November 2013 10:52:26 PM

-- Edited by meester_jamie on Monday 11th of November 2013 11:15:34 PM

Meester, thanks for your post and pics, Smax is an interesting guy, he's had a few very close calls.
Not sure how much the oil is , but doubt it is anywere near $80.00. And yes, that oil when it is drained is a horrible looking colour, first time you see it, it's WTF??? Lol
When i met Smax, and was checking out his tools, it was interesting to see a few British brands i'd never seen, along with the Snap on stuff, which was a bit different from the usual Snap on we see here.

Just a little more;

* Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!

* Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.

do you mean 5400 revs and 9000 revs gwillyville?

Remember when Don Garlits retired from competitive Top Fuel Drag Racing? His Doctor told him to stop because the NEGATIVE G Forces were causing the retinas in his eyes to detach. Failing to retire would lead to blindness. Certainly a factor in short shutdown areas and amount of braking required to stop. One of the reasons why parachutes got smaller.

the Kid

Thanks for the facts guys,Im always amazed when I read them. Every once in a while on the internet daily face page they talk about the words fastest cars etc. Ive never once seen them mention top fuel drag cars. The dweebs don't have a clue!