- A top fuel car will accelerate from standstill to 160kph on 0.8secs (8 seconds faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo) and has travelled only 20 metres from the start line.
- Within 200m of leaving the start line the car is travelling 450kph.
- In under 4secs the car travels 305 metres and crosses the finish line at 530kph!!!
- Off the start line, the driver is subjected to over 6g of acceleration.....and is still accelerating at nearly 4g across the finish line (A space shuttle launch generates around 3g). This instantly becomes negative 6g of deceleration the instant the parachutes are deployed.
- Modern day top fuel engines produce upward of 8500 horsepower (6500kw) and 6000ft-lbs (8100Nm) of torque powering a car weighing 1000kg.
- It takes almost 900 horsepower just to drive the blower at maximum boost pressure.
- The ignition magnetos provide 88amps to each spark plug - almost enough to power your MIG welder! The plugs are totally consumed during a pass, in fact by half way down the run the plug electrodes are gone and the motor is 'dieseling' from the compression and glow of the hot exhaust valves.
- The pressure from the upward facing exhausts can produce around 400kg of downforce at full throttle.
- Off the start line, a pair of top fuel cars can generate 3.5 on the Richter Scale!
- If you crossed the start line in your Bugatti Veyron at a constant 320kph, a top fuel car from a standing start would still beat you to the finish line!!!
From Full Throttle with Andy Booth.
