bigblockbill
12-01-2005, 01:53 PM
A LESSON IN ACCELERATION:
> ----------------------------------------------
>
> First, some useful info:
> * One NHRA Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi
> engine makes more
> horsepower than all the cars in the first 4 rows at
> the Daytona 500.
> * Under full throttle, a Top Fuel dragster engine
> consumes 1½ 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.
>
> * 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
> 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
> 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 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 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 for you bikers:
> You are riding the
> average $250,000 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
> ----------------------------------------------
>
> First, some useful info:
> * One NHRA Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi
> engine makes more
> horsepower than all the cars in the first 4 rows at
> the Daytona 500.
> * Under full throttle, a Top Fuel dragster engine
> consumes 1½ 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.
>
> * 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
> 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
> 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 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 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 for you bikers:
> You are riding the
> average $250,000 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