OK, I see posts all the time about what the frog may do next year... Shark fishing, Zetec with RMR, and numerous other things. Anyone got the exact story? I know he will still be instructing in Feb, but after that? Let us new guys in on the secret Mr. Frog
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Jamie Cole
89 Reynard CFC
Only those who risk going too far will ever know how far to go
Possible clue, passed on by GT1Vette... read on...
A lesson in acceleration: ------------------------------------ First, some useful info:
One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows at the Daytona 500.
* Under full throttle, a Top Fuel dragster engine consumes 1= gallons of nitromethane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced.
* A stock Dodge 426 Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the dragster's supercharger.
* With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle.
* At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitromethane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.
* Nitromethane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.
* Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.
* Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. 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 affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.
* In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at an average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph well before half- track, the launch acceleration approaches 8G's.
* Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have completed reading this sentence.
* Top Fuel Engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!
* Including the burnout the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.
* The red-line is actually quite high at 9500 rpm.
* The Bottom Line; Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimated $1,000.00 per second.
The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.441 seconds for the quarter mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher).
The top speed record is 333.00 mph as measured over the last 66' of the run (09/28/03 Doug Kalitta).
Putting all of this into perspective: We gear GT1Vette's Lucifer for Daytona (and we're assuming we've got enough power to get to 200 mph). 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 Lucifer hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line and past the dragster at an honest 200 mph (293 ft/sec). The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment. The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your foot on the floor, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums and within 4 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, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race course. That, folks, is acceleration.
To quote a line from the greatest movie of all time...
Well, after the dissertation on TF dragsters, it was apparent that the frog was going into a very expensive form of motorsport.
But then he throws us off with a quote from Top Gun and one would possibly think that he is going to the Reno air races.
Hey Frog.....
Yeah, A Top Fueler is a blast, no doubt about it! if those are your dreams - than by all means go chase it, for sure....
but speaking from some experience, bring money - lots and lots of money with you.... and, if you have never tuned one and don't have someone who "knows" what he is doing to tune it for you..... bring even more money, LOTS, LOTS MORE MONEY!
every form of racing is a hoot, especially if you have never done it and have dreamed about doing it. if those are YOUR DREAMS - I hope you catch them!
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Seeeeeeeeeeeeee Ya --- Jer
"Use to be" --- CF #33
