Some cool Speed trivia

[TomoHawk]

Source:

How fast is FAST??

You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter "twin-turbo" powered Corvette Z06. 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 the 'Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line and past the dragster at an honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment. The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums and within 3 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.

[Fun_in_my_z]

Yup..........that top fueler better hope he dont encounter a Z tho

[beandip]

yep happends every sunday

[sblake01]

But the T/F car wouldn't beat the 'Vette by much. At 200mph end to end the 'Vette would take 4.5 sec. If the 'Vette went any faster, say 205, the T/F car wouldn't catch it by the finish line.

[TomoHawk]

Bob Motz does the same thing with his jet-powered truck against a military jet plane. I think he usually catches the plane. The show is on the History channel occasionally.

[MikeW]

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10152

[TomoHawk]

how do you delete a post?

[TomoHawk]

Thanks a lot, Mike

Steven-

If you assume the calculations are correct, the Corvette takes ~4.4 sec to go the 1/4, and the T/F car catches the Corvette in about 3 sec., then it would be ahead of the Corvette for the last ~1.4 sec., and sould finish way ahead.

[g72s20]

Some interesting maths here Tomo and Steve...

Most AA/FD top fuelers are turning 300mph + at the 1320 mark these days, so the rail in our story here would be accelerrating away from the Callaway like it was standing still in that last second or so. I think an overhead shot of the run could say it better, if you could imagine that? Just wondering, this is just the sorta thing one of those specialist sports channels orta do! It's in the same vein as the footage of the formula 1 Mclaren with David Coultard giving a little E ?series mercedes a huge headstart, ahead of one the faster Mercedes coupes around Silverstone I think it was. It finishes up with the F1 car catching and passing the two road cars within sight of the finish line. Jackie stewart did the same thing with Fords years ago.

Cheers,

Jim.

[sblake01]

Sound like it works on paper but if the corvette at constant 200 mph takes 4.4 seconds from start to finish and the fueler takes the same 4.4 seconds from a standing start, which would be a reasonable e.t. for a t/f, then how can it be that the fueler gets to the finish line first, regardless of the top speed?

[Fun_in_my_z]

Becouse its faster

[TomoHawk]

The point in the example was that the T/F car accelerates to a much higher speed and thus passes the Corvette about 2/3 to the finish. The T/F car doesn't necessarily take 4.4 seconds to get to the finish, but you calculated the Corvette did. I graphed it real quick and at ~4.5 seconds the T/F car is going about 300 MPH (at the finish). I'd figure out the equation for it, if I could find my old physics book.