Top Fuel. Among the fastest-accelerating machines in the world, 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters are often referred to as the “kings of the sport,” and with good reason. They are capable of covering the dragstrip in less than 3.7 seconds at more than 330 mph.

Are Funny cars faster than Top Fuel?

Top Fuel dragsters generally have the same horsepower as Funny cars, but are faster because they are lighter with narrow bodies. Funny cars and Top Fuel dragsters are straight-line quarter-mile racers.

What is the most powerful Top Fuel dragster?

Antron Brown currently holds the e.t. record with a run of 3.701 seconds at 328.78 mph, set in October 2012 in Reading. Today, we have an engine-dyno sheet for the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster clearly showing more than 10,000 horsepower and at least 7,400 foot-pounds of torque.

Do dragsters have gears?

The answer is in the clutch. Unlike a street or high-performance car that uses a manual or automatic transmission, a top-fuel dragster uses a centrifugal clutch and only operates in forward, high, and reverse.

Why do Top Fuel dragsters not use turbos?

Because the fuel is still burning when the exhaust valve opens, the hot burning nitromethane would hit the turbine wheel of a turbo.

The Amazing Engineering of Top Fuel Dragsters

What is the fastest 1/4 mile time ever recorded?

Fastest 1/4 mile ever 3.58 secs @ 386 mph (621.61 km/h)

How many g do Top Fuel dragsters pull?

How many G's does a modern 11,000-hp Top Fuel dragster pull? The modern NHRA Top Fuel dragster accelerates harder and pulls more G's than any [unclassified] fighter jet launch. At 5 G's, there's no wheeled vehicle on earth that even comes close.

Why are dragsters so long?

That's why you see wings at the front and also why they're so long. To keep it all glued to the ground at the start of the race, teams put the gas tanks way up in the front of the car and use the length like you would a wrench to help the weight of the tank gain as much of a mechanical advantage as possible.

Do dragsters have drivers?

The driver sits angled backward, over the top of the differential in a cockpit situated between the two rear tires, a design originating with Mickey Thompson's Panorama City Special in 1954, as a way of improving traction.

Why are Top Fuel dragsters so loud?

Top Fuel dragsters are the NHRA's loudest cars, in part because of the way the engine is mounted. ... The NHRA once allowed a team of seismologists to stand at the starting line to measure the race the way they would measure an earthquake -- the two cars rated a 2.3 on the Richter scale [source: McGee].

Can dragsters turn?

In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate at an average of more than 4 g's. ... A Top Fuel dragster reaches more than 300 mph before you have completed reading this sentence. With a redline that can be as high as 9500 rpm, Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light.

What size engine does a Top Fuel dragster have?

A Top Fuel Dragster—distinguished by a supercharged, custom-built, 500-cubic-inch engine—boasts 11,000 horsepower and burns nitromethane. By contrast, a Top Alcohol Dragster's output is about approximately 4,000 hp. Most alcohol dragsters burn methanol, although a few burn ethanol.

What G Force does a Top Fuel dragster?

Top fuel racers say they typically hit 5 Gs, or a gravitational force of five times their body weight. But that exposure is brief, with sprints lasting less than five seconds on quarter-mile tracks.

Why do they call it Funny Car?

The term for the Super Stock cars dates back to the 1960s, and the original Funny Car is said to go back to 1964. The short and surprisingly simple answer is—literally—someone back in the early 1960s looked at the odd design of a basic Super Stock car with its altered wheelbase and said, “That looks funny.”

What RPM does a Top Fuel dragster idle at?

A Top Fuel dragster reaches more than 300 mph before you have completed reading this sentence. With a redline that can be as high as 9500 rpm, Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light.

What is nitromethane made from?

Nitromethane is produced industrially by combining propane and nitric acid in the gas phase at 350–450 °C (662–842 °F). This exothermic reaction produces the four industrially significant nitroalkanes: nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitropropane, and 2-nitropropane.

What does 1320 mean in drag racing?

The 1320 name reflects the car's drag-racing designs, as there are 1,320 feet in a quarter-mile. Neil Vorano. My first step before I hit the start line is to test out one of those features, specifically what's called a “line lock” – basically, it shuts off the rear brakes.

Do dragsters have radiators?

Drag race cars typically use tiny radiators (or sometimes no radiator at all), low-volume electric water pumps, and inefficient fans that simply can't cope. ... Even the cooling systems in passenger cars and light trucks are rarely able to keep up with the heat gain when the engine is run at continuous peak power.

Is 10 seconds in a quarter-mile fast?

So what exactly is a ten-second car? Quite simply, it's a car that's fast enough to drive a quarter-mile drag race in ten seconds or less. The quarter-mile drag is the main kind of race seen in the first movie, immortalized by Dom's famous “I live my life a quarter-mile at a time” line.

Why did drag racing go to 1000 feet?

Distances. The standard distance of a drag race is 1,320 feet, 402 m, or 1/4 mile( +- 0,2% FIA & NHRA rules). However, due to safety concerns, certain sanctioning bodies (notably the NHRA for its Top Fuel and Funny Car classes) have shortened races to 1,000 feet.

How much does a Top Fuel dragster tire cost?

Thirty-six inches tall, 17.5 inches wide, and weighing 48 pounds apiece, they're part number 2747 in the Goodyear Racing catalog, $917 per tire. Each one is expected to last eight runs, or a bit more than 1.5 miles.

How much does it cost for a Top Fuel dragster?

Mostly using a 4130 chrome moly chassis constructed in the USA. They weigh about 1000 kg which makes for a massive power to weight ratio. The total finished cost of a Top Fuel dragster is estimated at $500,000.

Are drag cars supercharged?

They are capable of covering the dragstrip in less than 3.7 seconds at more than 330 mph. Powered by a supercharged and fuel-injected 500-cubic-inch adaptation of the famed Chrysler Hemi engine, Top Fuel dragsters can burn up to 15 gallons of nitromethane fuel during a single run.