Top Fuel Dragsters are the fastest-accelerating vehicles in the world, and are the most recognizable of all drag race cars. These 25-foot-long landlocked missiles can cover the quarter-mile in 4.4 seconds at speeds faster than 335 mph. The engine of choice is an aluminum version of the famous Chrysler Hemi. The supercharged, fuel-injected nitromethane-burning engines produce an estimated 7,000 horsepower.
- The nitromethane-powered engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters produce approximately 7,000 horsepower, about 37 times that of the average street car.
- One cylinder of the eight cylinders of a Top Fuel dragster produces 750 horsepower, equaling the entire horsepower output of a NASCAR engine.
- An NHRA Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than .8-second, almost 11 seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach the same speed.
- An NHRA Top Fuel dragster leaves the starting line with a force nearly five times that of gravity, the same force of the space shuttle when it leaves the launching pad at Cape Canaveral.
- NHRA Top Fuel dragsters consume between four and five gallons of fuel during a quarter-mile run, which is equivalent to between 16 and 20 gallons per mile.
- NHRA Top Fuel dragsters use between 10 and 12 gallons of fuel for a complete pass, including the burnout, back up to the starting line, and quarter-mile run.
- NHRA Top Fuel dragsters travel the length of more than four football fields in less than five seconds.
NHRA Top Fuel dragsters can exceed 280 mph in just 660 feet.
- From a standing start, NHRA Top Fuel dragsters accelerate faster than a jumbo jet, a fighter jet, and a Formula One race car.
- A fuel pump for an NHRA Top Fuel dragster delivers 65 gallons of fuel per minute, equivalent to eight bathroom showers running at the same time.
- The fuel-line pressure for NHRA Top Fuel dragsters is between 400 and 500 pounds, about 20 times greater than the pressure on passenger-car fuel pumps.
- Depending on size and angle, the large rear wing on an NHRA Top Fuel dragster develops between 4,000 and 8,000 pounds of downforce.
- The 17-inch rear tires used on NHRA Top Fuel dragsters wear out after four to six runs, or about two miles. In contrast, some brands of passenger-car tires are guaranteed for 80,000 miles.
- It takes just 15/100ths of a second for all 7,000 horsepower of an NHRA Top Fuel dragster engine to reach the rear wheels.
- It's desirable for an NHRA Top Fuel dragster to race with its front wheels inches off the ground for about the first 200 feet of the run to ensure proper weight transfer to the rear wheels, a crucial part of a good launch and quick run.
- The nitromethane used to power the engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters costs about $16 per gallon.
Sources: NHRA Communications and Technical Departments, NHRA race teams, motorsports equipment manufacturers
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