Thread: Top Fuel Facts-Wow Jerry

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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 1½ gallons of nitromethane per second;
a fully loaded 747consumes 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 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 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 333.25 mph (533 km/h) as measured
over the last 66' of the run (11/09/03 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.

Hadn't seen that in quite some time now. You can tell it's age 'cause now they run 1000 feet.
It's pretty amazing when you think about it! The things a bunch of hot rodders created! 8-)

One thing I am curious about is the dual mags.Heck even one mag.On a top fuel car,how do they time the engine after a round tear-down??. Are the mag's synchronized to fire at the same time or is one altttle delayed for a complete burn?With that kind of voltage,I would think you don't hook up your Snap-on timing light.

How do that run those??.

Originally Posted by 1gary

One thing I am curious about is the dual mags.Heck even one mag.On a top fuel car,how do they time the engine after a round tear-down??. Are the mag's synchronized to fire at the same time or is one altttle delayed for a complete burn?With that kind of voltage,I would think you don't hook up your Snap-on timing light.

How do that run those??.

I don't believe anyone racing today will tell you the answer! call it a trade secret!

But maybe Jerry will tell us how he did it!?!?

Yepper- maybe Jerry can tell us how the dual mag deal is timed.Ya know,I have looked at the battery packs before for starting them up,but never gave it much thought.Those starter have to have some torque to them if the similar forces come into play even from a starting the engine position.I have seen them take tape off the injector/hat area after a burn out.Maybe that is a different fuel curve to the burnouts vs the run.

For the burnouts they do not let the butterflies open.

Certainly the class created a whole separate market for parts.

The magnetoes aren't removed to work on the car between rounds---

Back in the day--we ran a single mag--set the timing with the degreed crank hub and a buzzer---mags fire when the points close, so you put the crank where you want it and turn the mag til the buzzer buzzes----

The MSD deals today have some timing retards /rev limiters in them so as to limit the speeds they run--this actually then will retard timing on wheel spin and help the traction occasionally(alltho they all will deny it)

I believe they fire the cars on alcohol then let the NITRO flow?

I think the divers on those crews really earn their money between rounds.

Originally Posted by blwn31

I believe they fire the cars on alcohol then let the NITRO flow?

True and the burn out is on one mag and one fuel pump.

Originally Posted by 1gary

I think the divers on those crews really earn their money between rounds.

Why?? 'cause they pack their own chute and sign autographs!

Originally Posted by 34_40

Why?? 'cause they pack their own chute and sign autographs!

Nope.Divers not drivers.The divers are the guys that service the bottom end of the engine between rounds.Hot oil dripping all over them etc.When a engine blows they are the first guys that people look at.

HAH, just trying to get your goat!

Do they call'em DIVERS 'cause they dive-in and get it done?!?! I'll admit to never hearing that term used within a race team.

Actually, now that I think of it. The first person everyone looks to after an engine blows up, is the crew chief. He's the one who does the tune-up settings.