Top Fuel Drag racing

[Fred@BTM]

maybe interesting to some, bloody expensive sport for 1000ft of racing!

 

[aucky]

Every number involved is just insane

 

[DaveDreads]

I love drag racing, standing next to these things when they're giving full blast
is the most insane car related thing I ever seen or heard in my life,
I thought my ear drums were going to explode!

 

[JamesBryan]

I've been going to Santa Pod watching these since I was about 8... i'm now 25 nearly. Love the sport.

Was talking to the teams there and they say it's about $7000 a run and that's without breaking anything lol

 

[tom172cup]

Awesome things to watch. love the smell of the fuel they use. full engine rebuild after each run just full on mental

 

[JamesBryan]

Awesome things to watch. love the smell of the fuel they use. full engine rebuild after each run just full on mental

That's the Nitromethane, smells quite sweet when it's burnt. The by-product is Nitric Acid, basically tear gas lol, that's why your eyes sometimes sting if you get a waft of it.

 

[danward]

I live a few miles from Pod and on the weekends when these are racing you can hear them so clearly and loudly its mental. I've only ever watched a race in person there once and it was amazing - would love to watch them again.

 

[MarcoB]

I appreciate the engineering but it makes me feel sick thinking about rebuilding everything 8 times in one day!

 

[Djw John]

I'm not sure you could actually burn that much cash in that time.

 

[Oldskoolbaby]

I would seriously love to take up drag racing but it is hugely expensive and things do break. Im quite content on helping my best mate with his pro ET championship. Even at that level of competition, I think it works out at about £250+ in C14 over 2 or 3 miles.

It's worth baring in mind that the top fuel engines are pretty much designed to come in and out so they are probably far easier than your typical road engines. I remember changing my mates big block when we found metal in the oil. Took us all night to convert it to a screamer of a small block we had spare. We did well but those guys are at another lever even still.

Great sport once you understand how it all works

 

[ColinG]

Fascinating stuff! The way the tyres deform always used to amaze me

 

[BoatNonce]

It's proper mad, I love it.

 

[Tony Hunter]

Been to see the top fuels run a couple of times, it's quite amazing really.

 

[Adamm.]

Mental stuff, its off the mark and slowing down again so bloody quick lol.

 

[mark123]

Engine rebuild after 3 seconds lol.

"We bring 8 engines with us"

How the tyres work was the biggest surprise to me.

 

[Cowbwoy]

Mental! But very impressive.

 

[Tony Hunter]

I first went way back, when DLT
Dave Lee Travis was racing one.
It was all black from what I remember.

 

[Ian_182]

They did this the other week at santa pod and the announcer said at the time that there was more horsepower on the grid with these two cars than the whole of formula 1...iirc my mate said it was 36,000 bhp between two cars......flol

 

[jezcharger]

This is on this weekend if anyone fancies it:
http://www.santapod.co.uk/e_nat_finals.php

Going to pick some track wheels up from bedford in the morning so hopefully making a day of it, going to take my 3 year old better get some ear defenders for him lol

 

[Mistercorn]

Watching the Top Fuel dragsters pull away from the line is just amazing. It isn't so much acceleration, it is more like somebody just pressed the play button when they had been paused.
If you are standing within 20 feet of them when they start up you can feel the ground shaking and your chest pounding from the sound pressure.

MC

 

[.GAZ.]

Top drawer engineering!

 

[JamesBryan]

They did this the other week at santa pod and the announcer said at the time that there was more horsepower on the grid with these two cars than the whole of formula 1...iirc my mate said it was 36,000 bhp between two cars......flol

16,000..... roughly 8000 per car so 1000 per cylinder lol.

Bomb on wheels effectively.

 

[Detail Chris]

[video=youtube_share;esLFG-djEw8]http://youtu.be/esLFG-djEw8[/video]

 

[Ash']

Impressive machinery that clutch part looks like a torture device.

With those dragsters you'd have to watch one in the flesh to appreciate them.

 

[JackJack]

Not really a drag racing fan but that was amazing.

 

[Ja5on]

Been to a couple of events in the states. Love it

 

[JamesBryan]

Not quite a Top Fuel dragster, but a crash from the other weekend.



Body based on Plymouth Superbird and the engine is a 500ci twin turbo Hemi.

 

[JamesBryan]

How it used to be a few years back

 

[BoatNonce]

That 'bird was epic.

 

[JamesBryan]

That 'bird was epic.

Keyword 'was'

I'm sure he was getting ready to sell it too

 

[Tony Hunter]

Seems like it doesn't handle that well.

 

[JamesBryan]

Seems like it doesn't handle that well.

I know. Once those rear slicks get a tyre shake on, s**t gets real.

 

[Niall]

The most amazing thing about the top fuel dragsters is that - aside from the astonishing figures and the power - there’s a bloke who has to sit in the thing as it does those unbelievably quick runs.

 

[JamesBryan]

Just an update on the driver of the above crash.

The guy has two black eyes, a broken nose, broken neck (although not serious), broken lower back, broken left arm, broken collar bone and bruised lungs.

 

[Paprika123]

holy s**t @ that clutch!