Drag car questions

"Ron Calls on his years of experience....and freezes at the controls" (internerdstuff)
02/11/2014 at 02:52 Х Filed to: None

How much HP are top fuel drag cars making these days? I've heard it's nearing 7000?

And how much of that can they put onto the track?I mean- are there sections of the run where they can put down more power due to various reasons?

DISCUSSION (11)

MtrRider Just Wants Doritos > Ron Calls on his years of experience....and freezes at the controls
02/11/2014 at 02:59

Nobody knows for sure. There is no dyno that can measure them. It's estimated they make over 7000 though.

GhostZ > Ron Calls on his years of experience....and freezes at the controls
02/11/2014 at 03:13

A lot of that power gets put down on the track, otherwise, there is no reason to make so much. The tire size, massive gearing (and precise transmissions), and good downforce generally converts that rotational energy into forward energy very efficiently. A lot of math and physics goes into making sure that they don't blow up. You can't really do trial and error with those cars.

samssun > Ron Calls on his years of experience....and freezes at the controls
02/11/2014 at 03:21

They can put a fraction of it down at the start, then progressively more as they go from standstill to moving to high speed (with dramatically increased wind resistance). They're slipping the clutch for most or possibly all of the race...

Top Fuel might be the one case where you actually have "enough" power, where enough is defined as the ability to spin the tires at the end of the straight. They are very much traction limited.

Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French > Ron Calls on his years of experience....and freezes at the controls
02/11/2014 at 03:28

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_horЕ

Todays NHRA Top Fuel Dragster ( TF/D ) and Funny Car's ( F/C ) Classes both make between 9,000 & 10,000 Horse Power. Zero to 100 in Aprox. 1 Second.

Another great source:

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticlЕ

and part two:

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticlЕ

First, you may be wondering how the power is calculated. You can't strap these car's to a dyno. However, according to Mason a test was done around 2006 by a third party, and they came up with 10,000 horsepower using mathematical equations. That said, Mason reports the Matco Tools team does use a torque-measuring device in the rear differential, and it has spiked to 12,000 lb-ft of torque at times.

Saf1 > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
02/11/2014 at 07:03

Thanks man heard the hp figure but never that torque, wow!

Saf1 > samssun
02/11/2014 at 07:08

It's really shocking how quickly they can hit 100mph, with 2wd. Drag tyres are a marvel in themselves! (Also, the common answer I hear is 0.8s. 60pmh comes in I think 0.5s. So the ratio of those times seems pretty close to the ratio of speeds which should be more varied because of traction increasing after dealing with less inertia over time?)

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > Ron Calls on his years of experience....and freezes at the controls
02/11/2014 at 07:23

One of my favorite top fuel drag factoid collections:
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/showthreЕ

Some real cool facts about top fuel dragsters I stumbled across.....

ЧЧЧЧ-
* 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 300 miles per hour before you have read this sentence.

Did you know Е

Е that the nitromethane-powered engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars produce approximately 7,000 horsepower, about 37 times that of the average street car?

Е that one cylinder of the eight cylinders of a Top Fuel dragster or a Funny Car produces 750 horsepower, equaling the entire horsepower output of a NASCAR engine?

Е that the gasoline-powered engines of NHRA Pro Stock cars produce about 1,200 horsepower, about eight times that of the average street car?

Е that an NHRA Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than .8-second, almost 11 seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach the same speed?

Е that an NHRA Top Fuel dragster leaves the starting line with a force nearly five times that of gravity, the same force of the space shuttle when it leaves the launching pad at Cape Canaveral?

Е that an NHRA Funny Car is slowed by a reverse force more than seven times that of gravity when both parachutes deploy simultaneously?

Е that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars consume between four and five gallons of fuel during a quarter-mile run, which is equivalent to between 16 and 20 gallons per mile?

Е that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars use between 10 and 12 gallons of fuel for a complete pass, including the burnout, backup to the starting line, and quarter-mile run?

Е that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars travel the length of more than four football fields in less than five seconds?

Е that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters can exceed 280 mph in just 660 feet?

Е that from a standing start, NHRA Top Fuel dragsters accelerate faster than a jumbo jet, a fighter jet, and a Formula One race car?

Е that a fuel pump for an NHRA Top Fuel dragster and Funny Car delivers 65 gallons of fuel per minute, equivalent to eight bathroom showers running at the same time?

Е that the fuel-line pressure for NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars is between 400 and 500 pounds, about 20 times greater than the pressure on passenger-car fuel pumps?

Е that depending on size and angle, the large rear wing on an NHRA Top Fuel dragster develops between 4,000 and 8,000 pounds of downforce?

Е that the 17-inch rear tires used on NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars wear out after four to six runs, or about two miles? Some brands of passenger-car tires are guaranteed for 80,000 miles.

Е that it takes just 15/100ths of a second for all 7,000 horsepower of an NHRA Top Fuel dragster engine to reach the rear wheels?

Е that it's desirable for an NHRA 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.

Е that the nitromethane used to power the engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars costs about $30 per gallon?

Sources: NHRA Communications and Technical Departments, NHRA race teams, motorsports equipment manufacturers (and boostedpimp)

Mattbob > Ron Calls on his years of experience....and freezes at the controls
02/11/2014 at 07:42

obligatory

Deven > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username
02/11/2014 at 09:30

You see this is why I love oppo, there is always someone that has an amazing collection of facts, whether it be about a beautiful super car, or a car that has scared the shit out of me since I was 7 and went to my first drag race.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > Deven
02/11/2014 at 10:00

The thing about the crankshaft maintaining 20 degrees of twist and having to stagger the cam lobes to maintain timing is awesome.

Deven > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username
02/11/2014 at 11:43

Yeah and the fact that each cylinder has 750hp