F1technical.net

I'm not much interested in anything but road racing, but ran across this video about some technical stuff for top
fuel drag racing. Wow. A whole other sport than F1 but amazing solutions to go 330 mph in 1/4 mile, with 5g accelerations and, according to the video, that's limited by insurance. Anyway, different and amazing IMHO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0KTGHGXqsQ

Well worth seeing in person, and compared to most motorsport a great deal more intense than can be captured on video. Things happen so fast it's hard to make sense of it once they launch.

Airshifter wrote:Well worth seeing in person, and compared to most motorsport a great deal more intense than can be captured on video. Things happen so fast it's hard to make sense of it once they launch.

Agree. Feeling it deep in your bones is an experience.

I went in 2016. Trying to capture the moment of launch was pretty interesting, but I got a few. The bikes are insane, too.

I'm a fan as well, having been to the races at Sonoma half a dozen times over the years.

Years ago at the Monterey historic races I got to hear the Toyota V10 F1 engine being warmed up in a closed garage. That was a 'never-forget' experience. Hearing, and feeling (!) the Top Fuel cars is in that same category. Definitely a you-had-to-be-there thing as there's nothing I can think of that most of us have experienced to allow a written description to mean much...

Other awesome aspects of the drags are the open pits and very approachable crews. The top fuel cars tear their motors down after every single run so you can stand there and see it all. No curtains or other silliness. Go on a Friday and they aren't on the clock so conversations or closer looks are possible. Plus they run into the sunset/early evening and really go for it ('Hero' runs). Seeing the header flames in the darkness is unreal.

And finally, there's quite a bit of real deal tech around. For instance, the Pro Stock guys have some serious suspension tech; inerter shocks, unique super tune-able bump stops, etc. Again, on the Friday, folks had time to answer questions.

There ya go. If you get a chance to attend it will be an experience you will not forget.

Been to see the fuelers twice, great events each time, fan access is unmatched in racing for a professional series. I stood two feet away from one being broken-in in the pits without any kind of special access and even bought some engine parts from a team as souvenirs. Plus when the top fuel classes run, virtually every NHRA class runs that event so theres racing very literally all day aside from the track prep breaks before the pro classes.

Do they ever race in the UK?

harty71 wrote: ↑

09 May 2023, 22:22

Do they ever race in the UK?

Yes they do. It is not to the same level of competition as in Amercia, but we do have the European championship visit Santa Pod. They will be there in a couple of weeks over the Bank Holiday weekend

This is what F1 should be aspiring to emulate on straights. True dynamic performance, not "I've beat the new spreadsheet" arbitrary performance. The absolute physical limits of men in cars. Top Fuel with corners. Even Top Fuel itself is not a fast as they could be due to their regs and safety. Beating lap times from previous years should be rewarded with points and prize money.

vorticism wrote: ↑

12 May 2023, 17:32

Beating lap times from previous years should be rewarded with points and prize money.

Nice idea if it wasn't for the fact that the regs are regularly changed precisely to cap performance for reasons of safety. The physical limits of the tracks limits the performance that can be safely aspired to.

And, no, you can't just say "sod it to safety" because there's a fairly limited market amongst motorsport fans for watching men kill themselves in crashes.

I've always been fascinated by the tire dynamics in this sport...

How the sidewalls can take such much abuse and how the bead stays clocked on the rim.

I've also wondered if anyone ever thought to use the exhaust for aero purposes. That's an incredible amount of mass flow.

How the sidewalls can take such much abuse and how the bead stays clocked on the rim.

Don't know about the sidewall construction, but they do bolt (screw) the bead to the wheels.

Here's my lazy / non-researched / working from lousy memory reply to a couple of posts:

• They have taken the show to europe several times as a demo (no championship points.), but I can't remember the last time. Minds were blown. I'm sure some web surfing will surface more info.

(EDIT: As seen below there is a full time Euro series. Apologies for not checking before posting. And congrats to your dad. I tried finding info on the vintage NHRA Euro tour and came up empty. Memory can be so tricky...)

• The headers on the top fuel and funny cars do indeed have massive mass-flow and are used to generate downforce and thrust. The sanctioning body drives the maximum layback angle (thrust) in an effort to limit top speeds. Again, web searching will net a bunch of info as they are very open about a lot of tech associated withe teses cars.

Good times.

Jon

e36jon wrote: ↑

13 May 2023, 19:24

Here's my lazy / non-researched / working from lousy memory reply to a couple of posts:

• They have taken the show to europe several times as a demo (no championship points.), but I can't remember the last time. Minds were blown. I'm sure some web surfing will surface more info.

• The headers on the top fuel and funny cars do indeed have massive mass-flow and are used to generate downforce and thrust. The sanctioning body drives the maximum layback angle (thrust) in an effort to limit top speeds. Again, web searching will net a bunch of info as they are very open about a lot of tech associated withe teses cars.

Good times.

Jon

That first point is not true, I know as a matter of fact as my dad has been a previous European champion in Top Fuel

The other one is true, it’s even that bad that when one cylinder stops firing during the run (can happen because of numerous reasons) the car will be pushed to the side it lost the cylinder because it misses the pressure from the exhaust on that side

darkpino wrote: ↑

13 May 2023, 21:33

e36jon wrote: ↑

13 May 2023, 19:24

Here's my lazy / non-researched / working from lousy memory reply to a couple of posts:

• They have taken the show to europe several times as a demo (no championship points.), but I can't remember the last time. Minds were blown. I'm sure some web surfing will surface more info.

• The headers on the top fuel and funny cars do indeed have massive mass-flow and are used to generate downforce and thrust. The sanctioning body drives the maximum layback angle (thrust) in an effort to limit top speeds. Again, web searching will net a bunch of info as they are very open about a lot of tech associated withe teses cars.

Good times.

Jon

That first point is not true, I know as a matter of fact as my dad has been a previous European champion in Top Fuel

I see they also do tractor pulling....