Dragster Question

[URY914]

Even if you were completly deaf you would be able to feel the ground move when TF cars launch.

[Rikao4]

LOL..
I am almost...
folks were telling get some protection...
I countered by removing my aids..
and this were I normally hear little or squat...
oh boy...
I was literally vibrating when he launched..
and definitely hearing the nuke that just went of..

Rika

[afterburn 549]

Ok, thanx for all the info!
I thought they would have to run a truly low geared ratio with tall tires and that high RPM

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

Ok, thanx for all the info!
I thought they would have to run a truly low geared ratio with tall tires and that high RPM

Remember that the clutch on a top fuel car slips at a predetermined rate at launch, so the engine goes to around 6500 rpm instantly even though the rear tires are only spinning about 12% faster than the front depending on track conditions. The engine continues to rev up for a second or so, then the clutch locks up at around 250 mph and pulls the motor down a little, then it's darn near one to one from the rest of the track.

But the whole time the power is on, the rear tires are spining faster than the fronts.
If they were going the same speed under powe, they'd likely experience wheel hop and violent vibration as the tire coiled and uncoiled.
If the tire slip is too great, the rear tires will go up in smoke big time.

The magic amount of slip varies from track to track but it's usually between 10 and 20% tire slip.

LOL, 320 mph through the lights, 6000# of down force from the wing, parachutes are starting to come out, and the back tires are still leaving two lines from spinning.


Hit of the throttle tire coil:


At the lights just getting out of the throttle:



Spooled up just right:

[afterburn 549]

H.S.
there is a lot of science to this!

[herr_oberst]

Science? The crew chief adjusts the car to the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere - measured in grains! And that's just one parameter. Track temp, air temp, wind, track adhesion, the list is long and varied, and all of the adjustments affect the other adjustments....

There is more horsepower BY FAR on tap than the track can ever take. The crew chief on one of these monsters has to be incredibly smart and creative to be successful and is at least as important as the driver.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

I've stood 3ft from an F1 car doing a standing start, on the pit wall during the Monaco race, watched a F1 inshore powerboat race from the inside of the circuit, watched Le Mans from half way down the Mulsanne straight, watched a Class 1 offshore powerboat pass at 150mph from a few hundred feet away, watched Group B rally cars

These experiences were all very impressive which I'll never forget but are all were very tame in comparison to watching a top fueler run a 1/4 mile.

After watching my first run I felt I'd been turned inside out from the pressure wave and noise. I was also so glad I hadn't taken my 4yr old son as I think he would have had a big accident in his pants.

For me no other motorsport comes remotely close

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Science? The crew chief adjusts the car to the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere - measured in grains! And that's just one parameter. Track temp, air temp, wind, track adhesion, the list is long and varied, and all of the adjustments affect the other adjustments....

There is more horsepower BY FAR on tap than the track can ever take. The crew chief on one of these monsters has to be incredibly smart and creative to be successful and is at least as important as the driver.

And if he gets it wrong, in a split second he can destroy a $250k car or kill someone.
It's almost impossible to control that much energy safely:

On March 19, 2007 during a test session at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville in Gainesville, Florida, Medlen was critically injured when his Funny Car developed the most severe tire shake ever recorded in a Funny Car.[citation needed]. The side-to-side force of the shake caused his head to hit the roll bars around his head, causing severe head injuries.[2] He became unconscious, causing the car to lose control and strike the wall.

After being cut free from the car by the NHRA Safety Safari and receiving emergency treatment at the track, Medlen was transferred by Alachua County Fire Rescue to Shands at the University of Florida where he was treated for four days for what doctors characterized as a severe closed head injury.

Medlen survived a delicate, three-hour craniectomy procedure to relieve pressure and hemorrhaging on March 20, 2007 but succumbed to complications of diffuse axonal injury three days later [3] after being removed from life support in accordance with his own previously stated wishes.

According to auto racing safety expert John Medlen, Eric Medlen was literally shaken to death in the incident. The deflating tire caused an 18-inch movement up and down, which then exerted a force of 40,000 or more pounds as it rotated.

Eric Medlen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[sand_man]

I feel like I have been hiding under a freakin' rock. This stuff is all new to me. I am truly blown away. Whenever I channel surfed and stumbled onto a televised NHRA event, I always stopped to watch. I missed the NHRA Gatornationals in FL, but there is an event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway this month, that I'm gonna try and see. It's only about three hours from me:
NHRA Deals | Dragway | Charlotte Motor Speedway

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

It's almost impossible to control that much energy safely:

It's the wild freakin' west!

[sand_man]

I would let these guys perform open heart surgery on me:

[James Brown]

Lane Automotive Noise Fest 2013 - YouTube
turn it up and enjoy

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

I was also so glad I hadn't taken my 4yr old son as I think he would have had a big accident in his pants.

Little kids just freak out (in a good way) at these things. Even at the nostalgia events.

I've heard "Daaaaad! Did you see that?" countless times in the stands and it still makes me smile!

(4 might be just a touch too young for the pros, but there's always the Nostalgia tour where the cars from the '70's and '80's race. A little less thunder and hoofbeats, but still a hoot!)

[Evans, Marv]

I guess things have changed a bunch since the '60s. After I got out of the Army, I worked at a place where the owner raced dragsters, funny cars, and drag boats under the name "Mister Ed." I was lucky enough to be invited to hang around and help the crew out at races sometimes. They never tore down their engines. Chrysler supplied him with engines. A guy named Keith Black did the mods on them. He'd send the engines in crated up, we'd put them in the car/boat, etc. and race it. Afterwards, we'd take the engine out, crate it up & send it back to Keith.

[sammyg2]

This is a camera shot from rear view of a top alcohol dragster. it puts the acceleration into perspective, even though an alcohol dragstersis slow compared to top fuel.

[intakexhaust]

While on the topic, if anyone is interested I have available a very large Budweiser prop autographed by the 'Bud King' Kenny Bernstein. Been stashed away for years. This is a full size stand-up heavy stock cardboard Budweiser promotional piece from 1993.

Neat piece of NHRA history for someone's cave.

Bernstein signed it in 1993 in regards to being the first in top fuel breaking the 300 mph - 1/4 mile on March 20, 1992.
(Also in 1992, Kenny Bernstein owned the Quaker State Lola-Buick that Roberto Guerrero qualified on the pole with a four-lap, 10-mile average speed of 232.482 mph, then an Indianapolis Motor Speedway track record.)

He had a 30 year relationship with Budweiser. Not only having an incredible career in NHRA, he was also a team owner in NASCAR and CART.

Kenny Bernstein - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.kennybernstein.com//newsite/pages/kenny.htm


Prop has the back support for floor stand or just hang. Lower is partially faded and the bend marks are from being folded. Sorry for the glare from flash. It's designed to be folded for shipment. I'll make it worthwhile. PM if interested.

[Rednine11]

I used to own one of Kalittas Hemis

[Rednine11]

[Rednine11]

I was setting it up with Enderle alky injection on a tunnel ram to get the power down.

[sammyg2]

A buddy of mine's son recently won the top fuel dragster national championship.
my buddy used to help set up the jr. dragsters for Langdon, lucas, brown, Todd, etc.

I get all the good inside gossip