8000hp + .. how do these Top Fuel's get to the 8000 hp range?

BigRed460 said:
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 11.2 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 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 nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F ( 3900 degrees C ).
Nitromethane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapour 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 RPM's from light to light! but stop & ponder the fact that the engine is only used for apx 4 to 5 seconds.
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 Shumacher). 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 $25,000 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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Wow I am totally overwhelmed. It seems Like Rocket Science:rock:
 
Big Red,thanks, you went into more and correct detail than my retarted fingers would let me ,
Also, fuelers exhaust fumes will cause rain over the track if a certain type of cloud is nearby,sorry i forgot the name of this cloud,i'll remember in a minute.
 
V10 BULLET said:
Big Red,thanks, you went into more and correct detail than my retarted fingers would let me ,
Also, fuelers exhaust fumes will cause rain over the track if a certain type of cloud is nearby,sorry i forgot the name of this cloud,i'll remember in a minute.
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Um, a rain cloud?:p
 
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Another cool thing i found out is that fuel cars only actually use spark plugs for the first 1.5-2 seconds after that they burn out the elctrodes and diesel, that is also why they use three sets of injectors. One set at the top and bottom of the intake manifold and another set directly in the cylinder. I also hear from brad anderson, that he said he has to wait 20 minutes in between dyno pulls (at half load there isn't a dyno around that can take full load) on a motor for the water brake inside to stop turning, along with the special room he has to refill with air, due to the vacuum it creates.
 
Silverback said:
Come on Jack. Step in here and set these boys straight.:D
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John,

I wouldn't know where to start.

For those of you that don't know, I am a crew member on a nostalgia Top Fuel Funny car team.

Nitro methane is made from propane, and has a very high BTU content. it weighs over 10 LBS per gallon. Gasoline is 6 Lbs per gallon.

Beacuse of the high BTU content Nitro is able to realease a tremendous amount of energy when atomized, compressed, and burned.

The NHRA has been slowing the TOP Fuel cars down for years now.

Currently 85% Nitro. (Methanol (methyl alcohol) is the other fuel mixed with nitro to achieve the 85%. It is not mixed by volume, but by specific gravity. This ratio also changes with temperature and must be temperature corrected.

The compression ratio is increased and the blower overdrive is turned up to try and compensate for the reduction in nitro percentage.
(This makes the engine much harder to tune as the tuning window is smaller) AFR has to be spot on all the way.

There is an RPM limiter fixed to the ignition systems to hold top speed down.

There is a mandatory rear end gear ratio for Top Fuel cars, to slow them down.

A Top Fuel car is going in the 280 + MPH at the 1/8 mile, the crew chief is just trying to keep the motor alive for the last half of the run. Dieseling , burned electrodes, High Valve temps, ect. as has been stated earlier in this thread, are trying to kill the motor before the end of the 1/4 mile.

There are blower dyno's that are used to test and evaluate superchargers.
The largest blower Dyno that I know of, is powered by a 300 HP electric motor, that has never been run to the wall at full power to drive any blower. So the power required to run the biggest blowers in use today in Top Fuel take less than 300 Hp.

Drag racing is a great sport that I have loved all my life. The Pro side of the ladders are awsome to watch and participate in. It is really a dream come true for me to be involved in the sport that I love so much.

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the sportsman racer who finances, builds drives and maintains his own car/truck.
 
FSTJACK said:
John,

I wouldn't know where to start.

For those of you that don't know, I am a crew member on a nostalgia Top Fuel Funny car team.

Nitro methane is made from propane, and has a very high BTU content. it weighs over 10 LBS per gallon. Gasoline is 6 Lbs per gallon.

Beacuse of the high BTU content Nitro is able to realease a tremendous amount of energy when atomized, compressed, and burned.

The NHRA has been slowing the TOP Fuel cars down for years now.

Currently 85% Nitro. (Methanol (methyl alcohol) is the other fuel mixed with nitro to achieve the 85%. It is not mixed by volume, but by specific gravity. This ratio also changes with temperature and must be temperature corrected.

The compression ratio is increased and the blower overdrive is turned up to try and compensate for the reduction in nitro percentage.
(This makes the engine much harder to tune as the tuning window is smaller) AFR has to be spot on all the way.

There is an RPM limiter fixed to the ignition systems to hold top speed down.

There is a mandatory rear end gear ratio for Top Fuel cars, to slow them down.

A Top Fuel car is going in the 280 + MPH at the 1/8 mile, the crew chief is just trying to keep the motor alive for the last half of the run. Dieseling , burned electrodes, High Valve temps, ect. as has been stated earlier in this thread, are trying to kill the motor before the end of the 1/4 mile.

There are blower dyno's that are used to test and evaluate superchargers.
The largest blower Dyno that I know of, is powered by a 300 HP electric motor, that has never been run to the wall at full power to drive any blower. So the power required to run the biggest blowers in use today in Top Fuel take less than 300 Hp.

Drag racing is a great sport that I have loved all my life. The Pro side of the ladders are awsome to watch and participate in. It is really a dream come true for me to be involved in the sport that I love so much.

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the sportsman racer who finances, builds drives and maintains his own car/truck.
Click to expand...


So you coming to Memphis in two weeks for the Mid South Nats?
 
FSTJACK said:
Drag racing is a great sport that I have loved all my life. The Pro side of the ladders are awsome to watch and participate in. It is really a dream come true for me to be involved in the sport that I love so much.

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the sportsman racer who finances, builds drives and maintains his own car/truck.
Click to expand...

I'm brand new to participating in this sport, but my wife and I are absolutely loving it. I can see how this really gets into your blood, and stays there forever. I've enjoyed talking with you in the past, and I should make a point of having you share some of your experiences.;)

I hope that more members here choose to go to a test & tune or two at their local track with their trucks (or other rides, for that matter), modified or not, simply to experience this sport first hand.:rock:
 
vpr hler said:
how do they even dyno a top fuel dragster? and how much torque do they make too?
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To my knowledge the approximate HP is calulated, not measured on a dyno. I don't believe there is a dyno capable of measuring a TF motor.
 
Silverback said:
To my knowledge the approximate HP is calulated, not measured on a dyno. I don't believe there is a dyno capable of measuring a TF motor.
Click to expand...

Been out driving the Cobra, John?:p ;) :elefant:

D
 
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