Top Fuel Dragsters are just mind numbing

[Revlis]

OK, Guy breaks it loose and shuts it down at about 330'... He then proceeds to pretty much caost through the traps at 5.85 seconds, at 149MPH... WTF... Just plain sick. On the throttle for just over a second and can coast through the traps at over 140MPH...

Kinda puts the ole' Busa and bikes in general in perspective...

Oh yeah, we are fast... But dayum, these fools are running 4.50 at over 330MPH just amazing. Hey, do they make a 2 seater Top Fuel Dragster? I'm up for a ride.

 

[BulletTrain]

Yeah, TF dragsters are the definition of sick & twisted power and speed. I love standing at the fence and feelin' the earth shake as they pass by.

 

[Charlesbusa]

Strap me to the nose of one of those things, I'll pay money!!!!

 

[tedbiele]

REV -
Back in '88 or '89 (??) I witnessed the first ever 4 second run. It was done by Eddie Hill in Ennis, TX at the Texas Motorplex. Man what a sight to see. The record stood too because he backed it up. I still have a t-shirt signed by him on that day. 4.98 @ 288 mph. Crazy stuff.
Its wild to me that in the last 15 years or so, they've only picked up a half second, but added 50 mph! Wild stuff.
I'm a huge NHRA fan. Have been since I was a kid. My uncle and Dad ran a top-alcohol car back in the day. When the engines were still in front of the driver. Crazy.
Gotta love it.
A few years ago I ran a single digit foxbody Mustang on the west coast. But life takes you in different directions. You know how that goes. Am planning to build another classic musclecar pretty soon. Soon......???

 

[jwcfbd]

I've only seen them on TV but they are very impressive.

 

[Revlis]

Yeah, I haven't been to an NHRA event in probably 15 years. I gotta get back. I mean when I was watching closely last the Top Fuel Dragsters were making about 3000HP. Now, they are pushing 6-7000HP!!! WTF?

I'm sitting here watching ESPN2 and the NHRA Winter Nationals, just remembering myself how hard it was to breath standing near the Burnout Box getting you chest pounded and Nostrils Burnt with Nitro... Mmm, Good Stuff...



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[PACIFICBUSA]

yep...wicked fast, wicked crazy. Gotta love it.

 

[monsterspeedfreak]

WTF....racin at SIR already....no....where did ya see that Rev.
Been there many times, and you are understating when you say they are sick.
They are absolutely...mentally outta control!!!

Ok ya seen it on TV......yer so close to SIR....you can go every weekend......Oh to be you

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[monsterspeedfreak]

Just wait till yer 60' away and yer eyes and nose start runnin from the fumes....not to mention temporary deffness, and your entire body feeling like pudding for 3 seconds as they blast past at 330 mph

 

[monsterspeedfreak]

Double post



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[IL_BusaBoy]

Definitely some sick automobiles. Wonder what it would be like to be in the driver seat?

 

[fstbusa]

I ran across this "article" awhile back. I know most of you have seen it.



True Acceleration


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 dragster engine consumes 1 gallon of nitromethane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced. A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the dragster 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 nitromethane the flame front temperature 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. 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 9500rpm.

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 US $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 (533km/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 and 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 and blast across the starting line and past the dragster at an honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment. The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your foot down 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.

 

[BA BUSA]

OK, Guy breaks it loose and shuts it down at about 330'...  He then proceeds to pretty much caost through the traps at 5.85 seconds, at 149MPH...   WTF...  Just plain sick.  On the throttle for just over a second and can coast through the traps at over 140MPH...

Kinda puts the ole' Busa and bikes in general in perspective...  

 Oh yeah, we are fast...  But dayum, these fools are running 4.50 at over 330MPH just amazing.   Hey, do they make a 2 seater Top Fuel Dragster?   I'm up for a ride.

I think there would be alot of people that would want a ride in one of those....where do I get in line.

 

[monsterspeedfreak]

I was lucky enough to be able to sneak into the pits at the Jolley Ranchers Candy's Nationals at SIR late at night about 12 years ago.
We ended up staying for a bbq with Eddie Hill and his crew.....super nice people.....once in a lifetime thing that I'll never forget.
I asked Eddie if he could describe to me what it felt like to drive a fuel rail.
He thought for a second and replied......Imagine you're sitting at a stoplight in a Chevy Chevette and a semi truck comes along and rearends you at 100mph.....that would be the launch....the rest is a blur....I will never forget those words....branded in my mind forever!!
Sounds pretty damned scary to me.
I honestly think that most of the people who want to go for a ride in one have absolutely no idea how harsh of a ride it actually would be.
If you sit back and think about how violent a ride from 0-330 mph in a hair more time than it takes a Busa to get to 60mph you may rethink.
These guys just don't jump into these things and hit the loud pedal.....they work up to them over a number of years.
Hill said he feels like he just barely maintains any sort of control every time he makes a pass.
I'd like to think I'd have the nuts to go for a ride, but sit me down in front of that 6500hp nitro methane burning monster of flame throwing unreliability, that's shaking your whole damned body so violently that you think you're going to explode (just a guess here) I'll probably jump out of the damned thing and run cryin for my Moma.....I'm bettin the rest of ya would too

 

[tedbiele]

Frank Hawley Drag Racing School.......
Top Alcohol anyways.....
Top Fuel!
Awww man. I'm going to an event here in Houston March 13th for the finals.
I can not wait.

REV - the picture you paint got me all teary eyed! LOL! my buddies out in Cali and I used to Drag Race at the track every friday night..... man. Missin the Strip!

 

[monsterspeedfreak]

I have a good friend that raced a very low 6 second alc funny car for two years, that is until he hit the rail about a year and a half ago, and wrote the car off......luckily he was unscathed.
To put it in better perspective, it took him 2800 hp to go low 6's.
Nowdays....modern fuel rails are running in the neighbourhood of 8000hp to run mid to high 4's.

So.......to go from running say a 6.15 to running a 4.65, which is only 1.5 seconds faster it will take you a mere 5000hp more.
Gives you a very good idea of how comparable an alchy car is to a fuel car!!!

 

[Revlis]

Man. I know the Top Fuel Safety Record, and you couldn't hold me back to ride, or Given an hours lesson and few trial runs chance to drive. Hell I would be skeered, but I would want to feel that thing fly... I'd Love a two seater Top Fuel... That would be the cats ass... None of that Pussy assed NASCAR "WWE of Racing" Give me real serious fury...

 

[shenoyp]

fstbusa...

 

[Mikey D]

We're going to the NHRA race here at Firebird at the end of the month.

I get to take 14 kids to the races and compete in the pit crew challenge.

One of the few perks of being an auto shop teacher.

 

[BulletTrain]

You know, I'm so with ya on the Top Fuel thing and would give a testicle to drive one even if they blocked the throttle at half power, but the kind of drag racin' I really, REALLY enjoy watchin' is the 1/8th mile country track, grass roots, run what ya brung 10..5" tire outlaw classes. I'm talkin' the class where the only rule is that the rear slicks can't be more than 10.5" wide.

I've seen a '78 Camaro with a blown alky funny car motor and 10.5" slicks run sub 4 second 1/8th mile times and thought my heart was going to explode from the excitement of watchin' that thing skate down the track on the edge of control. I've seen 87-93 model Mustangs with insane supercharged motors carry the front tires past half track and hit sub 9 second 1/4 mile times with me on the sidelines screamin' "YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!! HOLY SH*T, YEEESSSS!!!" with goose bumps as big as ball point pen tips on my arms. I go absolutely monkey stupid when I see that kind of racin'.