Top Fuel Dragster Tidbits

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This list has been around, at least 5 years on various internet forums, but which ones aren't true, if any?

* 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°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°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 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?

… 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?

… that an NHRA Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than .8-second?

… that an NHRA Top Fuel dragster leaves the starting line with at nearly 5g?

… 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 more than four hundred yards 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?

… 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?


… 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?
 
I love the smell of nitro.....NHRA time trials at firebird is in less then 3 weeks, I'll be there
 
Originally Posted By: Johnny
And I might add, standing behind one of these on the starting line is the true definition of "shock and awe".


....and 'hearing loss'.......

:p
 
How much HP do TF motors put out? The first 8 rows at a NASCAR race put out about 13,600hp. I'm sure those 500 CID engines are powerful, but not THAT powerful.
 
bret,

Well, one line says 7,000 HP & one line says 750 HP/cylinder x 8 = 6,000 HP. Has NASCAR HP increased in the last 5 years? If so, that may explain some of the discrepancy.
 
Originally Posted By: bretfraz
How much HP do TF motors put out? The first 8 rows at a NASCAR race put out about 13,600hp. I'm sure those 500 CID engines are powerful, but not THAT powerful.


Read CAREFULLY ;-)

It says the first 8 rows AT DAYTONA. Daytona is a restrictor track, NASCAR restrictor engines produce around half what "open" engines do. So halving your 13,600 number gets you down to about 6800 horsepower, which agrees with the rest of the Top Fuel facts.

Yes, I tripped over that the first time I saw this a few years ago too... :p

I think its probably mostly true.
 
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NHRA drag racing...my favorite sport!!! Never miss a show on espn 2 and have been fortunate to have been to many national events at lots of different tracks. Can't wait for the season to start. Yes I have been on the starting line for top fuel and nitro funny car, it's quite an experience and really can't be described.
 
Acceleration; Put Into Perspective


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 & 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 & blast across the starting line & past 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 course.

That just freaks me out. Is that even mathematically possible? Sitting here trying to invision it...just blows my mind.
 
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And all those HP numbers are just extrapolated, there's not a dyno in the world that can test one of those motors.

I love Top Fuel. There is nothing like it, and my nose is gettin' itchy for some nitro irritation!
 
Well, considering that the 'Vette will be starting to top out at that point, and that it takes less than two seconds for the dragster to reach that speed, it makes plenty of sense mathematically.

Now, does it make sense intuitively? Is it easy to wrap your head around? That's another story.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Steve S
If you get a chance to observe the engine rebuild between matches the stress on the parts will be apparent.


I have a piston from TJ Zizzo's Top Fueler sitting on my mantle. Those engines are insane.

A good half of the pistons were severely dented in the middle from the pressure.
 
The size of the rods in a top fuel engine are insane. What's even more insane is the size of the valves and ports in the cylinder heads. They are absolutely enormous!
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: bretfraz
How much HP do TF motors put out? The first 8 rows at a NASCAR race put out about 13,600hp. I'm sure those 500 CID engines are powerful, but not THAT powerful.


Read CAREFULLY ;-)

It says the first 8 rows AT DAYTONA. Daytona is a restrictor track, NASCAR restrictor engines produce around half what "open" engines do. So halving your 13,600 number gets you down to about 6800 horsepower, which agrees with the rest of the Top Fuel facts.

Yes, I tripped over that the first time I saw this a few years ago too... :p

I think its probably mostly true.


HA! I missed that completely. Thanks for the heads up.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
The size of the rods in a top fuel engine are insane. What's even more insane is the size of the valves and ports in the cylinder heads. They are absolutely enormous!


You should see the guts of the superchargers. I've also witnessed a windowed block that was to be FIXED!
 
Originally Posted By: Schmoe
Acceleration; Put Into Perspective


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 & 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 & blast across the starting line & past 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 course.

That just freaks me out. Is that even mathematically possible? Sitting here trying to invision it...just blows my mind.


The article is a mish mash on numbers from different sources. Mostly sort of right. If the Corvette maintained a steady 200 mph, it would take 4.5 seconds to cover the 1/4 mile. If the Corvette managed to accelerate to 206 mph by the end, it would beat the dragster.

I'm calling shenanigans on the 20 degree crankshaft twist. A crank stout enough to withstand a top fuel dragster amount of torque would be too stiff to twist that far without destroying it.

The most remarkable number to me, which I didn't see in the article, is that from the time a top fuel dragster leaves the line to the 1/4 mile traps, the engine only turns about 500 to 600 revolutions.
19.gif
 
JF told me face to face they are way over 7000hp. his team has a dyno that goes that big. they have many many patents on it too.

yes the "pit" pass and availability of access to the teams is 2nd to none in nhra. usually you can be close enough to touch some parts.

i got under the body of TP's castrol car when he was with team F after he blew the blower. the holes were "nice". then we all watched them patch it up right there.
 
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