Top Fuel power test.

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Here is something that promises to be interesting:

Quote:
RACING’S BURNING QUESTION: WE HAVE THE ANSWER!

Top Fuel dragsters are the most powerful racecars in the world. Their huge nitromethane-drinking, supercharged V8s produce many times the power of a Formula One V6 turbo.

That statement is deliberately vague since there isn’t a dyno anywhere in the world that can cope with anything like the output of one of these ground quaking monsters.

Top Fuel was established more than 50 years ago and ever since the amount of violent, ear-splitting, eye watering horsepower these cars unleash has been pure speculation.

That all changes today at 6.00pm GMT (11am PST, 2pm EST, 7pm UK, 8pm Europe) right here - https://www.youtube.com/user/RaceEngineTechnology

Race Engine Technology magazine recognised that a newly invented sensor finally offers a means to physically measure Top Fuel output on track, to end all of the intrigue.

It wasn’t straightforward to apply this cutting edge technology to the harshest of harsh environments but AVL and Don Schumacher Racing rose to the challenge.

A pioneering track test was duly undertaken. Success!

Top Fuel horsepower has been rescued from the realms of speculation and theoretical estimation and the result of the historic measurement will be revealed to the world at a virtual press conference, to be held on Friday November 20 at 6.00pm GMT (11am PST, 2pm EST, 7pm UK, 8pm Europe).

The video will be hosted on the Race Engine Technology YouTube channel. For details go to https://www.youtube.com/user/RaceEngineTechnology
 
The web event for me will be at 2pm today, but I won't be able to see it. I'll catch up on YouTube later.
 
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When the Earth shakes from the engines who cares about the power . It is adequate.
 
The biggest problem in the Top Fuel classes is the fact all of the power cannot be directly transferred to the rear wheels at once. It must be done very gradually. This is why Top Fuel cars are more than capable of smoking the tires anywhere along the track up to and including the finish line. Clutches have come a long way, but it's still a crew chief's guessing game on how to set them up for constantly changing tracks and conditions. All of the Nitro Methane engines are overpowered for the tracks and clutches available today. Most are producing near or at 10,000 H.P.
 
Tell me about it, was at Pomona this past weekend, my nephew races Pro Stock bikes, each pass shakes you to the core
thumbsup2.gif
 
It's not a mystery. Many teams have been logging it for years, as a byproduct of measuring clutch performance.

How much power is put to the ground, will vary depending on atmospheric and track conditions. The best conditions I saw this year, were at Brainerd.

For years the official figure was 8000 hp. Even though the logged numbers were far in excess of that. Now the NHRA says 10,000 hp. That's more in the realm, but depending on conditions, could still be very understated.

One 'Test' will only tell you what is happening in that particular test. Not what is happening on every pass, under continuously variable conditions.

So while it's interesting, determining how much power is being put to the ground and stating it as a definitive number, is not really accurate.
 
The Top Fuel drag boats are faced with much the same problem. Too much prop and they'll literally jump right out of the water. Then it's game over. Most try to read the timer and get the most gradual forward acceleration from the rope to the starting line, and then jumping on it. Even then, they are more than capable of pushing the prop upward until it bites air.
 
According to the video, two runs were made. The first showed 10,156 bhp, and the second, 11,051 bhp. That's a lot of horsepower from a 500 c.i. engine.

The guy said that they put their coupler which measures the torque between the clutch and the differential. So it seems that it's measuring the power that's transferred through the clutch, rather than the absolute power the engine makes, unless the clutch is completely engaged.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
The Top Fuel drag boats are faced with much the same problem. Too much prop and they'll literally jump right out of the water. Then it's game over. Most try to read the timer and get the most gradual forward acceleration from the rope to the starting line, and then jumping on it. Even then, they are more than capable of pushing the prop upward until it bites air.
Top fuel hydros are amazing. My frieds years ago fielded a TAH and asked if I wanted to drive it I said NO!.
 
Originally Posted By: Stelth
According to the video, two runs were made. The first showed 10,156 bhp, and the second, 11,051 bhp. That's a lot of horsepower from a 500 c.i. engine.

The guy said that they put their coupler which measures the torque between the clutch and the differential. So it seems that it's measuring the power that's transferred through the clutch, rather than the absolute power the engine makes, unless the clutch is completely engaged.


So I watched the video. I have to laugh. Mike knows very well how much power the car is putting down, on every pass.

We've been measuring the torque passing through the driveshaft which is between the clutch and rear-end, via shaft deflection, for years. This was just an advertisement for the Sensor company.

Calculating the power being transferred by the driveline, is just a byproduct of measuring the all-important clutch performance.

I will say this, 11,051 hp is by no means the most power ever measured on it's way to the rear-end, in a modern TF/D.
 
Originally Posted By: punisher
And people called [censored] on my 9000-10,000+ HP numbers in the last thread we had on the subject.


People are full of [censored], don't let "people" get you down.
 
Originally Posted By: Ratchetgrinder
So this is not measuring BHP, or Brake HorsePower?


Horsepower is just a calculation.

Torque x RPM ÷ 5252 = HP

It could be called BHP, when the clutch is 1:1. It could also be called Shaft HP.

This 'sensor' measures the Torque passing through the driveline, and then the Horsepower can be calculated.

The video is just an Advertisement for AVL. Most of the TF Teams that run the full tour, have been measuring the torque passing through the driveline, for years. The calculated HP is interesting, but is secondary to the real goal, which is determining how the clutch is performing.
 
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Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: Ratchetgrinder
So this is not measuring BHP, or Brake HorsePower?


Horsepower is just a calculation.

Torque x RPM ÷ 5252 = HP

It could be called BHP, when the clutch is 1:1. It could also be called Shaft HP.

This 'sensor' measures the Torque passing through the driveline, and then the Horsepower can be calculated.

The video is just an Advertisement for AVL. Most of the TF Teams that run the full tour, have been measuring the torque passing through the driveline, for years. The calculated HP is interesting, but is secondary to the real goal, which is determining how the clutch is performing.


Would there be any value in measuring the torque before and after the clutch? Maybe it would contribute to understanding how the clutch is performing. I worked on an engine many years ago that had an internal sensor that measured torque at the flywheel.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman

Would there be any value in measuring the torque before and after the clutch? Maybe it would contribute to understanding how the clutch is performing. I worked on an engine many years ago that had an internal sensor that measured torque at the flywheel.


Not really. It has been tried, but would be redundant to info already logged.

I had a long, fairly in-depth post typed out. Then I remembered that I used to share more info on another board, and someone tried (unsuccessfully) to cause problems for me with the Team I was with at the time.

So I apologize for not being more forthcoming.
 
Friction clutches, magnetic drives, and simple fluid couplings the input torque and output torque are the same, so there's no benefit in measuring both sides, and whichever is the easiest to measure makes more sense and no difference.

At commencement clutch take up, input and output torque are the same, but output speed is zero...output shaft power is zero.

The difference between input and output power is heat.

As the clutch engages, more speed in the output shaft, more power transmitted through the clutch. At lock-up, input and output speed are same...full power transmission.
 
And if all that torque was used the thing would blow up. So they are lucky for all the losses, and that some of that stress is lost in tire slippage and a light weight vehicle. The size of parts used likely could not sustain the stress if all that power was put to the road and had to move some major weight. Yes there is tractor pulling, but the wheels are not locked to the ground.
 
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