Not So Much Weird, As Just Plain Awesome
 

A fellow by the name of Chris Karamesines has just taken delivery of his brand spankin' new Top Fuel (those are the big dogs, btw) dragster, with a canopy, instead of an open cockpit. These things make around 8,000-10,000 horsepower and up, and can run in the neighborhood of 330 mph in the quarter-mile (or less, only 1,000 feet in the case of NHRA races).

He says this new rail will carry him for the next ten years.

Chris Karamesines is 83 years old!

:devil:

Jesus Christ, he's still around... and looking to keep at it... :smack: He was an old man when I knew him long ago.

For anyone not familiar with the game he plays, here's a hint.

Top Fuel Dragsters
• A Top Fuel 500 cu-in Hemi engine makes more horsepower (8,000 HP) than the first 4 rows of the Daytona 500.

• Under full throttle, a dragster consumes 11.2 gallons of nitro-methane per second.

• A stock Dodge Hemi V8 can’t make enough power to drive the dragster’s supercharger.

• With 3000 CFM of air from the supercharger, the fuel mixture is compressed into near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle.

• At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel ratio for nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.

• Nitro-methane burns yellow. The white flame seen above the stacks at night is burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.

• Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. Like a arc welder in each cylinder.

• Spark plug electrodes are consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the exhaust valves glowing at 1400 degrees Fahrenheit. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.

• If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the cylinder and can explode with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off, or split the block in half.

• Dragsters reach over 300 MPH before you have completed reading this sentence.

• To top 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must launch at almost 8 Gs and average over 4 Gs.

• Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540
revolutions from light to light!

• Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.

• The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.

• Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs about $1,000 per second.

• 0 to 100 MPH in 0.8 seconds (first 60 ft).
0 to 200 MPH in 2.2 seconds (first 350 ft).
Over 6 G’s at the start.
Negative 6 G’s from twin parachutes at 300 MPH. 


An NHRA Top Fuel Dragster accelerates quicker than any other land vehicle on earth... quicker than a jet fighter, even quicker than the space shuttle.

This morning in Los Angeles. Looks like it was hot night in the old town...

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This is an awesome photograph.

And there wasn't even a riot.

Poor smoke. Hit the glass ceiling.

If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the cylinder and can explode with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off, or split the block in half.

Momentarily. That's not a lot of time, but on the other hand the dragster's probably gone over 1000 feet in a moment.


@glatt:

Nice one!

Momentarily is enough when...I agree, much better than the lame smog joke I was ruminating. :thumb:

I was trying to work in something about flame wars.

And Sheldon.

I'm most impressed by:

if I had to choose, that is.

:smack:

You have GOT to be shitting me.

Police Chief: Volunteer to Have Your Homes Searched for Guns

:facepalm:

Well, he made the news. So there's that.

OOH! You're getting warmer. Warmer. Warmer! Oh NO! you've gotten cold.

Oh, you weren't looking for Vipers? Shame. :o

This just a little weird, but:

Gun Rights Are Favored Over Gun Control For First Time In 20 Years According To Pew Poll

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