I don't really want to hop in to the fray here, but there is more to drags than just flooring the throttle and keeping the car straight.

Reaction time is something that hasn't been mentioned at all ... if you think losing .1 on a 1:30 road course is notable, being .001 slow off the tree can make or break a drag race.

Also, with circuit racing, you generally have a few laps to make up for any minor mistakes ... you lose a position you have a chance to gain it back. With drags, you slip up the slightest bit you lose.

I compete locally in bracket competition every so often and it's not the most difficult thing in the world as I only run in the high 11 sec range. But, I have lost in the finals by .008 (as I recall) because of my RT off the tree.

So, i guess I'm saying that it's not easy ... but it's not like circuit racing at all. Every millisecond counts and you only get one shot.

But, like others have said ... its apples and tangelos.

Quote from Dizman :

Nitromethane will only light up under pressure. That's what gives nitro cars 8000hp. It will not light with a naked flame but it will explode with a hammer blow.

You really need to stop.

It wasn't an actual quote it was just me giving an example. Things like this were said.

Quote from BlueFlame :

Sammy is dead now He fell of an oil rig iirc. A small fact on the rocket car, it was that brutally quick accelerating the retinas in Sammy's eyes were pushed back and subsequently after x ammount of runs he needed glasses

Its owned by a French bloke now, who has been running it occasionally recently.

I think he was killed in an oil field fire.

Quote from Dizman :

Nitromethane will only light up under pressure. That's what gives nitro cars 8000hp. It will not light with a naked flame but it will explode with a hammer blow.

You really need to stop.

What's good in nitromethane is that it's air in it.
There is oxygen in the nitromethane. Getting air and fuel into an engine has always been so much harder than getting it out.
So therefor nitromethane has a huge advantage there which allows them to pump in more fuel and more air.

Quote from S k i p p y :

I also would like to add that Top Fuel this year is estimated more in the range of 8000 - 8500 hp. Just thought I'd point that out.

thats quite intresting i rember a few years ago they were around 8,000 to 14,000

Quote from Christopher Raemisch :

FTR I run 13.7's =P

bahahahahahha bahahahahahha bahahahahahahahahah 13.7 that aint drag racing thats just slow :P lol holden make cars run faster then that standed


and could u imagin doing 0 to 500+ KPH in under 5 seconds? i couldnt its fast enough doing 100 in 3.6 (mates car)

There is no way to actually measure the horsepower because there is no dyno strong enough to hold up during a test. Its always just been an estimate. Imo at that amount a horsepower rating really doesn't mean all that much...when you have enough power to cause an earthquake I really don't think a HP number matters anymore.

Quote from spanks :

There is no way to actually measure the horsepower because there is no dyno strong enough to hold up during a test. Its always just been an estimate. Imo at that amount a horsepower rating really doesn't mean all that much...when you have enough power to cause an earthquake I really don't think a HP number matters anymore.

Nope, its just a myth that there is no such dyno. Its actually the engine that can't stand up to the test.

Quote :

Measuring the power output of a top fuel engine directly is not feasible. This is not, as is sometimes stated, because no dynamometer exists that can measure the output of a Top Fuel engine; in reality, dynamometers capable of measuring tens of thousands of horsepower at the appropriate shaft speeds are in widespread use. Rather, it is because a Top Fuel engine cannot be run at its maximum power output for more than about 10 seconds at a time without overheating (or perhaps exploding) as would be necessary to take a reliable power reading. Instead, the power output of the engine is usually calculated based upon the car's weight and its performance. The calculated Power output of these engines is most likely somewhere between 7000 and 8500 horsepower (approximately 4500-6000 kilowatts), with a torque output of 8135 N·m (ca. 6000 lbf·ft) and a brake mean effective pressure of 80–100 bar (0.8–1.0 MPa).

Of course Wikipedia is not always 100% correct, I'm going to believe it this time though.

Also(I don't think anyone posted this in this thread yet), I love this comparison to put things in perspective:

Quote :

You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z06. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged & ready to launch down a quarter-mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line & pass the
dragster at an honest 200 MPH. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment.

The dragster launches & starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums & within 3 seconds the dragster catches & passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile away from where you just passed him. Think about it - from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 MPH & not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race!

:sigh:

I merely stated my time to comments of 17 seconds ect and to show I have actually been to the track. I also helped a buddy with his 11 second truck and his dad's 8 second car.

I never said anything was easy, people took what I said and exaggerated.

I would like to give it a go. I have done 0-60 in 3 seconds before and I didn't particularly find it a challenge. It does take some getting used to the forces, but nothing a few runs don't solve =) To make myself clear, this is not saying I would have the experience to launch a funnycar competitively...

I would like the chance to find out if I could =) I think in my current fitness though I would probably black out at the line with the 5g launch hehe. Those 5g's turn into about a 1G at the end of the run.

The whole point I was trying to make is that time differences at the end of the track are mainly down to the mechanics tinkering with the car setup for weather conditions, trying to get the best launch out of the car. The driver still has their hands full, there is massive amounts of torque steer, but it's not the driver controlling the launch traction so much as the setup.

Sure there is a driver component, but it's not like circuit racing where the driver is modulating the throttle to stay in traction limits. Drag racers simply don't have the time to react. It takes the brain .5 seconds to react to anything, by then the launch is done and they are holding on for the finish.

Quote from Christopher Raemisch :

Sure there is a driver component, but it's not like circuit racing where the driver is modulating the throttle to stay in traction limits. Drag racers simply don't have the time to react. It takes the brain .5 seconds to react to anything, by then the launch is done and they are holding on for the finish.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v= ... b_DdY&feature=related

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=De2JomNKBDQ

Logic would assume to show pedal modulation you would need videos that actually show their feet, or at least telemetry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v ... qEnE4&feature=related

Something like that.

Quote from Christopher Raemisch :

Logic would assume to show pedal modulation you would need videos that actually show their feet, or at least telemetry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v ... qEnE4&feature=related

Something like that.

No, logic will tell you that seeing the tyres go up in smoke and then grip again shows actual throttle control. But I'm done wasting my time here since you can't grasp this simple concept.

Quote from Dizman :

No, logic will tell you that seeing the tyres go up in smoke and then grip again shows actual throttle control. But I'm done wasting my time here since you can't grasp this simple concept.

This only tells me that they are going from coast to full throttle and back to coast, nothing about modulation which would require to be going smoothly between the two, trying to find where the grip begins.

It could be possible that they are indeed modulating the throttle as you say but... there is no way to tell either way from that video which is happening as there is neither a foot feed or any telemetry.

http://www.toddpaton.com/experience/index.htm
That looks interesting.

Quote from Christopher Raemisch :

This only tells me that they are going from coast to full throttle and back to coast, nothing about modulation which would require to be going smoothly between the two, trying to find where the grip begins.

It could be possible that they are indeed modulating the throttle as you say but... there is no way to tell either way from that video which is happening as there is neither a foot feed or any telemetry.

http://www.toddpaton.com/experience/index.htm
That looks interesting.

There are frequently close up shots where you can see the butterfly's on the intake opening and closing..some drivers are on/off..others are smooth at rolling back into the throttle, even carrying part throttle for a ways. No its not a focus, and no..in a normal run you don't have to do anything but not crash and cut a good light.

I honestly don't even know what the argument is even about anymore.