From: Wally Plumley [wplumley@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2003 10:22 AM
To: 928
Subject: [928] OT - Engine Facts

I rarely forward "Internet junk" - but this one looked interesting. Wonder 
if all of this is really true.

Wally


>Interesting Dragster Facts:
>
>Ø       One dragster's 500-inch Hemi makes more horsepower then the first 
>8 rows at Daytona
>
>Ø       Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1 1/2 gallons of 
>Nitromethane per second, the same rate of fuel consumption as a fully 
>loaded 747, but with 4 times the energy volume.
>
>Ø       The supercharger takes more power to drive then a stock hemi makes.
>
>Ø       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.
>
>Ø       Dual magnetos apply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output 
>of an arc welder in each cylinder.
>
>Ø       At stoichiometric (exact) 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture (for nitro), the 
>flame front of Nitromethane measures 7050 degrees F.
>
>Ø       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.
>
>Ø       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.
>
>Ø       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.
>
>Ø       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.
>
>Ø       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.
>
>Ø       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.
>
>Ø       Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you read this sentence.