What fuel do Top Fuel dragsters use?

Powered by a supercharged and fuel-injected 500-cubic-inch adaptation of the famed Chrysler Hemi engine, Top Fuel dragsters can burn up to 15 gallons of nitromethane fuel during a single run.

What octane fuel do Top Fuel dragsters use?

What is in nitromethane fuel?

At its base level, nitromethane is an organic compound designated by the chemical formula CH3NO2 and is composed of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. It is used as an ingredient in explosives, pesticides, coatings, and—as you know—a fuel additive, particularly for motorsports vehicles.

How much does a gallon of nitromethane cost?

… Nitromethane used to power the engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars costs about $16 US per gallon!

What happens if you put nitromethane in a car?

Nitromethane by itself does not burn, its only supplies more oxygen to the burn. Adding it to gasoline would be the same thing as running very high octane fuel, which involves motor knowlege and reworking to run safely.

The Amazing Engineering of Top Fuel Dragsters

What fuel makes the most power?

The highest energy density fuel is hydrogen, which is also the simplest chemical component in existence. Gasoline, which is derived from refining crude oil, contains much more energy than coal (twice the lower grade bituminous) or wood (three times).

How do you get nitromethane?

Preparation. Nitromethane is produced industrially by combining propane and nitric acid in the gas phase at 350–450 °C (662–842 °F). This exothermic reaction produces the four industrially significant nitroalkanes: nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitropropane, and 2-nitropropane.

How much does a NHRA Top Fuel engine cost?

Answer provided by. While a pro mod drag car will run anywhere from $275,000 to $350,000, a Top Fuel dragster costs about $500,000. Top Fuel engines that displace 496 cubic inches are most common, and these cars can weigh about 1,000 kilograms. Top Fuel dragsters can produce over 6,000 horsepower.

Do Top Fuel dragsters shift gears?

The answer is in the clutch. Unlike a street or high-performance car that uses a manual or automatic transmission, a top-fuel dragster uses a centrifugal clutch and only operates in forward, high, and reverse.

What's the difference between nitrous oxide and nitromethane?

Nitro methane is a fuel used by top class Drag bikes/cars and is in no way similar or linked to nitrous oxide. In fact they couldn't be more different, as nitro methane is a flammable fuel, while nitrous oxide is a non-flammable oxidiser.

What kind of fuel does Nascar use?

Sunoco's 260 GTX Racing Gasoline is the official fuel of NASCAR. Sunoco 260 GTX is an unleaded racing fuel that contains no oxygenates and no metal additives (lead). It also does not contain any ethers or alcohols such as ethanol or methanol or any other oxygenates.

What octane is jet fuel?

The octane ratings of AVGAS, a gasoline-based fuel, are usually either 91 or 100 (lean mixture) and 96 or 130 (rich mixture). The octane rating of jet fuel is much lower, around 15 – this is much more like automotive diesel and thus much more resistant to detonating due to sparks or compression.

What is the highest octane fuel?

Premium (the highest octane fuel–generally 91–94)

Will 110 octane hurt my car?

Owner. EZ- Your engine is not set up to take advantage of 110 octane fuel, but it will definitely not cause your car to overheat. The higher the octane you use, up to a certain limit, the more resistant the fuel is to preignition/detonation/knocking, allowing an engine to run more ignition advance.

What fuel do street outlaws use?

The engine runs on an EFI system from Fueltech, and Justin tunes the car himself. VP Racing's M5 methanol is his fuel of choice, saying he switched to alcohol because it makes low-end power, which works for the type of racing they do on the show. He shifts at an astronomical (for a Pontiac) 8,600 rpm.

Is Top Fuel the same as nitro?

A "nitro-burning" engine and a "top fuel" engine are the same thing -- engines designed to burn nitromethane rather than gasoline.

How long does a Top Fuel engine last?

The life of an engine of this sort is typically 11–12 runs in a dragster it is completely replaced, but after each of those passes it will be torn down and rebuilt.

How loud are Top Fuel dragsters?

Experts estimate Top Fuel cars can reach over 150 decibels, a level that can cause physical damage to the eardrum. For comparison's sake, a typical rock-concert is about 104 to 120 decibels.

How many G's are pulled in a Top Fuel dragster?

NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The modern NHRA Top Fuel dragster accelerates harder and pulls more G's than any [unclassified] fighter jet launch. At 5 G's, there's no wheeled vehicle on earth that even comes close.

What RPM does a Top Fuel dragster turn?

A Top Fuel dragster reaches more than 300 mph before you have completed reading this sentence. With a redline that can be as high as 9500 rpm, Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light. Including the burnout, the engine needs to survive only 900 revolutions under load.

How much does a Top Fuel dragster tire cost?

Thirty-six inches tall, 17.5 inches wide, and weighing 48 pounds apiece, they're part number 2747 in the Goodyear Racing catalog, $917 per tire. Each one is expected to last eight runs, or a bit more than 1.5 miles.

How much money does a Top Fuel driver make?

The base salary for Top Fuel Drivers in companies like NHRA range from $38,222 to $55,277 with the average base salary of $46,153. The total cash compensation, which includes bonus, and annual incentives, can vary anywhere from $38,360 to $56,206 with the average total cash compensation of $46,805.

Can you buy nitro methane?

Our popular 99.9% Nitromethane in a gallon size. Hyperfuels Nitromethane Bottle - 1 Gallon (Pre-Order) Estimated available to ship June 30th, if purchased by itself, will ship via UPS Ground from our warehouse in Houston, TX.

What is the shelf life of nitromethane?

From my experience, it should last well over 1 year. In Quebec we stop racing in september and the season restarts in may. I regularly store fuel over winter and there are no problems.

How much power does nitromethane add?

It has been learned that nitromethane can increase power output by as much as 13 percent on an indicated or gross basis when added to methyl alcohol and by 7 percent when added to a benzene-isooctane mixture in concentrations of 20% by volume.