Alcohol Dragsters

[herr_oberst]

...in the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster class (T/AD) can be blown, burning alcohol, or injected, burning nitromethane.

[Jeff Higgins]

"Gasoline is for washing parts. Alcohol is for drinking. Real race cars run on nitromethane."

[JackDidley]

Tony Stewart is kicking butt in his alcohol rail this year.

[unclebilly]

A week ago, I was running on Nitro too…

[herr_oberst]

^ We're all just glad the nitro was there when you needed it Unk! Hope you're feeling better!

[asphaltgambler]

Do many interesting properties with nitromethane when used in a race engine......

If there's ever a top fuel race with in driving distance - you need to experience it. There is absolutely nothing in motorsports that comes close as a spectator.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

Do many interesting properties with nitromethane when used in a race engine......

If there's ever a top fuel race with in driving distance - you need to experience it. There is absolutely nothing in motorsports that comes close as a spectator.

Well, there was Art Arfons.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

If there's ever a top fuel race with in driving distance - you need to experience it. There is absolutely nothing in motorsports that comes close as a spectator.

Agreed.... And don't forget some earplugs.

[Rusty Heap]

Higgins popped my Nitro Cherry years ago. The gut wrenching eye watering anal cleansing can't be describes till in person. Video doesn't do it justice but hey, I'll share anyways.

[Arizona_928]

So much better when you have oxygen built into your fuel...

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

So much better when you have oxygen built into your fuel...

[JackDidley]

This is what nitro can do all by itself. Insane power without touching the motor.

[Jeff Higgins]

The biggest problem, as our intrepid hot-rodders in the above video discovered, is getting enough nitro into the motor. They wound up running the injectors at well over 100% duty cycle, and still couldn't get enough fuel into it. The stoichiometric ratio for nitro and air is only 1.7:1, compared to gasoline's 14.5:1. That's why Top Fuel motors burn about 1 1/2 gallons of fuel per second. It also needs a lot of timing. I remember setting full advance at over 60 degrees on the funny car I helped out with very briefly in the late '80's to early '90's.

[juanbenae]

Oh, I was thinking something completely different....

[juanbenae]

Oh, I was thinking something completely different....

[red 928]

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

The biggest problem, as our intrepid hot-rodders in the above video discovered, is getting enough nitro into the motor. They wound up running the injectors at well over 100% duty cycle, and still couldn't get enough fuel into it. The stoichiometric ratio for nitro and air is only 1.7:1, compared to gasoline's 14.5:1. That's why Top Fuel motors burn about 1 1/2 gallons of fuel per second. It also needs a lot of timing. I remember setting full advance at over 60 degrees on the funny car I helped out with very briefly in the late '80's to early '90's.

When Don Garlits switched from the old 392 Hemi to the new 426 block he couldn't get enough power out of it. Out of frustration he started advancing the timing and it got better and better, he finally finally settled on somewhere around 50 degrees. He said he wondered what would have happened to the 392 if he had had the courage to crank up the advance.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

When Don Garlits switched from the old 392 Hemi to the new 426 block he couldn't get enough power out of it. Out of frustration he started advancing the timing and it got better and better, he finally finally settled on somewhere around 50 degrees. He said he wondered what would have happened to the 392 if he had had the courage to crank up the advance.

I'm sure you remember the Donovan 417, his aluminum heads on the 392 block. That was what this team was running. Back then, a lot of teams still felt the 392 block was better suited to nitro.

Interestingly, the ring leader of this little gang of n'er-do-wells, one Crowell Jewell, developed his own proprietary design of three valve heads for 392 based fuel motors. One intake and two exhaust. He just machined them on a Bridgeport out of a chunk of 6061. I've long since lost it, but I had a copy of National Dragster with his smiling face on the cover, holding one of his heads. They (I wasn't there with them) set the funny car mph record in Denver one year when running those heads. They never took off, "Rocky" (as he liked to be called) and the team soon ran out of money, and that was that. Fun while it lasted, though.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

The biggest problem, as our intrepid hot-rodders in the above video discovered, is getting enough nitro into the motor. They wound up running the injectors at well over 100% duty cycle, and still couldn't get enough fuel into it. The stoichiometric ratio for nitro and air is only 1.7:1, compared to gasoline's 14.5:1. That's why Top Fuel motors burn about 1 1/2 gallons of fuel per second. It also needs a lot of timing. I remember setting full advance at over 60 degrees on the funny car I helped out with very briefly in the late '80's to early '90's.

42 fuel nozzles shoot out over 1 1/2 gallons a second. 500 PSI.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by Zeke

42 fuel nozzles shoot out over 1 1/2 gallons a second. 500 PSI.

Yeah, it's just crazy when we start looking at the numbers involved in all of this. Gallon and a half per second from the fuel pumps, two magnetos pumping out 45 amps each, to each cylinder, two plugs in each - 90 amps per cylinder every time they fire. 60 psi of boost (4.5 bar) from the blower. It takes over 1,000 hp just to drive the fuel pumps, mags, and blower. Just crazy numbers.

What's really cool about all of this is that it was all essentially developed by guys like us - "shade tree mechanics". Pioneers like Garlits, with no factory backing and, at first, a great deal of opposition from the NHRA (who actually banned nitro at one time). The ultimate expression of American hot-rodding.