Top Fuel Dragsters.

> Top Fuel Dragster 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 200 miles per hour before you have read this
> sentence.
> * Top Fuel Engines ONLY turn 540 revolutions from light to light!
> * The redline is actually quite high at 9500rpm
> * To give you an idea of this acceleration, the current TF dragster
> elapsed time record is under 4.000 seconds for the quarter mile. This
> means that you could be coming across the starting line in your average
> twin-turbo Corvette at 200 mph (on a FLYING START) and the dragster
> would BEAT you to the finish line FROM A DEAD STOP in a quarter mile
> distance!
> * Top Fuel dragsters are slowed by a reverse force more than seven times
> that of gravity when both parachutes deploy simultaneously?
> * Top Fuel dragsters consume between four and five gallons of fuel
> during a quarter-mile run, which is equivalent to between 16 and 20
> gallons per mile?
> * Top Fuel dragsters use between 10 and 12 gallons of fuel for a
> complete pass, including the burnout, backup to the starting line, and
> quarter-mile run?
> * Top Fuel dragsters travel the length of more than four football fields
> in less than five seconds?
> * Top Fuel dragsters can exceed 280 mph in just 660 feet?
> * A fuel pump for an Top Fuel dragster delivers 65 gallons of fuel per
> minute, equivalent to eight bathroom showers running at the same time?
> * The fuel-line pressure for Top Fuel dragsters is between 400 and 500
> pounds, about 20 times greater than the pressure on passenger-car fuel
> pumps?
> * Depending on size and angle, the large rear wing on an Top Fuel
> dragster develops between 4,000 and 8,000 pounds of downforce?
> * The 17-inch rear tires used on Top Fuel dragsters wear out after four
> to six runs, or about two miles? Some brands of passenger-car tires are
> guaranteed for 80,000 miles.
> * It takes just 15/100ths of a second for all 7,000 horsepower of an Top
> Fuel dragster engine to reach the rear wheels?
> * It's desirable for a 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.
> * The nitromethane used to power the engines of Top Fuel dragsters costs
> about $30 per gallon?
>