Dragster - acceleration perspective

BandSofC · 03-27-2008, 10:36 AM

Inspired by the youtube video of the Bugatti Veyron vs. jet drag race, I started thinking about dragster speed.

In that video the Bugatti reaches a speed of 196 mph. I googled a quick drag race quarter mile record, and found 4.428 seconds.

I crunched some numbers...

Okay, so picture this: You are in a super car with the gas floored... trees flying past your windows... you're maxed out at 196 mph. Off in the distance you see a stopped top fuel dragster and a starting "Christmas tree". You are coming up on it FAST!

As you cross the light beams in your lane, you trigger the green light for the dragster. You fly past it so fast it's nothing but a blur.

Before you have traveled (at 196 mph) a quarter mile, (just 1320 feet) the dragster will pass you! From a dead stop it will beat you to the finish line.

196 mph = 4.59 second flying quarter mile time. The fastest dragster did it in from a stop in 4.43 seconds - including driver reaction time.
That's incredible to me.

Fredvon4 · 03-27-2008, 12:40 PM

More incredible to see in person...and much more incredible to sit in the seat and do it....

Fastest 0 to top end...I ever did was 6.898 ET @ 200.767 MPH and I thought it was ....damned fast!

Fastest car or bike on open autobahn was 186MPH and I knew it was damned fast

I hope to eventually eeek 120HP out of the smart motor....HP to weigh ratio is very important to a speed junkie.....

SnakeFarm · 03-27-2008, 01:30 PM

Life may begin at forty but it gets REAL interesting anywhere over 120.

My Valkyrie's velocity meter goes to 125 mph but I KNOW I can do at least 10 more than that easy. Maybe 20 with a tailwind.

Best quarter time was 12.5 and that scared the genitals off me even though I crossed at only 103.

Oh, and speaking of weight:HP. OK... I'm not saying Rodney king was innocent or anything but the LAPD said Rodney was doin 110 mph in his Little red Hundey XL. I had one of those at the time. I think I picked it up for twenty bucks at a garage sale but that's beside the point. The point is, the only way that car would ever see 110 mph would be if you pushed it off a cliff! Rodney was easily twice my weight and my top speed when alone was 80. With my wife in the car it went down to 65.

One day we blew the engine and when I pulled the head off it looked like a big cauldron full of metal chili.

limey · 03-27-2008, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnakeFarm

My Valkyrie's velocity meter goes to 125 mph but I KNOW I can do at least 10 more than that easy. Maybe 20 with a tailwind.

I used to own a Kawasaki ZX12R, and a Hayabusa after that, so I have had some pretty fast bikes. At one point, obviously not on public streets

I had the Hayabusa up to 145 on my GPS. Things happen very quickly at that speed and the margins for error when you are on two wheels are pretty slim.

One time when I was riding the Kawasaki through Pennslyvania I came out of a restuarant and there was a father and son looking at the bike. The son asked me what the speedo went up to and I admitted, somewhat embarrassed, that the speedo read up to 220, but the bike would "only" do about 190.

The power available in modern motorcycles is amazing, and far exceeds what you can ever rationally use on the street.

I have since toned down mt choices in bikes as I just don't have the self control you need when in control of something that fast. I have two bikes now, but they both top out at around 140.

jwight · 03-27-2008, 02:49 PM

From an e-mail I got last month:

Quote:

IMAGINE THIS:

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 and 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 and pass the dragster at an honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment. The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums and within 3 seconds, the dragster catches and 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 and not only caught you, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1,320 foot long race course. That folks is acceleration.

BandSofC · 03-27-2008, 05:25 PM

jwight, I like that description better.

jwight · 03-27-2008, 05:51 PM

Great minds think alike!

I like it because a Lingenfelter twin turbo Z06 is just too outrageous, on a par with the new ZR-1.

xcrew229x · 03-27-2008, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnakeFarm

Life may begin at forty but it gets REAL interesting anywhere over 120.

My Valkyrie's velocity meter goes to 125 mph but I KNOW I can do at least 10 more than that easy. Maybe 20 with a tailwind.

Best quarter time was 12.5 and that scared the genitals off me even though I crossed at only 103.

Oh, and speaking of weight:HP. OK... I'm not saying Rodney king was innocent or anything but the LAPD said Rodney was doin 110 mph in his Little red Hundey XL. I had one of those at the time. I think I picked it up for twenty bucks at a garage sale but that's beside the point. The point is, the only way that car would ever see 110 mph would be if you pushed it off a cliff! Rodney was easily twice my weight and my top speed when alone was 80. With my wife in the car it went down to 65.

One day we blew the engine and when I pulled the head off it looked like a big cauldron full of metal chili.

I wrote a ticket once to a young lady whose license said she went at 250lbs, going 93 in a bone stock Ford Tempo....... and that was slowing down. First clock was 98, 93 came as she saw me. This was with a laser, so no mistake on which car. She was late to babysit. Maybe be glad the smart is held to 90......

stuberman · 03-31-2008, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BandSofC

Inspired by the youtube video of the Bugatti Veyron vs. jet drag race, I started thinking about dragster speed.

In that video the Bugatti reaches a speed of 196 mph. I googled a quick drag race quarter mile record, and found 4.428 seconds.

I crunched some numbers...

Okay, so picture this: You are in a super car with the gas floored... trees flying past your windows... you're maxed out at 196 mph. Off in the distance you see a stopped top fuel dragster and a starting "Christmas tree". You are coming up on it FAST!

As you cross the light beams in your lane, you trigger the green light for the dragster. You fly past it so fast it's nothing but a blur.

Before you have traveled (at 196 mph) a quarter mile, (just 1320 feet) the dragster will pass you! From a dead stop it will beat you to the finish line.

196 mph = 4.59 second flying quarter mile time. The fastest dragster did it in from a stop in 4.43 seconds - including driver reaction time.
That's incredible to me.

That is incredible. So what was the top speed of the dragster, it had to be a lot more than 196 MPH.

BandSofC · 04-01-2008, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuberman

That is incredible. So what was the top speed of the dragster, it had to be a lot more than 196 MPH.

It's around 330 mph at the end of a quarter mile. So they will be passing you at more than 130 mph - above your speed - 4.5 seconds after you blew by them at almost 200 mph!