Keith_C
26-05-2002, 12:25
Some Nitromethane Dragster trivia:
* One dragster's 500-inch Hemi makes more horsepower than 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 the stoichiometric (exact) 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture (for nitro),
the flame front of nitromethane measures 7050 degrees F. (It explodes! It doesn't really "burn")
* 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. :eek:
* Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way, the engine is dieseling from the heat of compression - plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting of it's 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.
* Launch acceleration is close to 8G's.
* If all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run still costs $1000.00 per second.
* Top Fuel Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you finish reading this sentence.
* The engine only gives about 600 revolutions before requiring a
complete rebuild after each run.
* One dragster's 500-inch Hemi makes more horsepower than 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 the stoichiometric (exact) 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture (for nitro),
the flame front of nitromethane measures 7050 degrees F. (It explodes! It doesn't really "burn")
* 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. :eek:
* Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way, the engine is dieseling from the heat of compression - plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting of it's 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.
* Launch acceleration is close to 8G's.
* If all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run still costs $1000.00 per second.
* Top Fuel Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you finish reading this sentence.
* The engine only gives about 600 revolutions before requiring a
complete rebuild after each run.