How Dragster Tyres Accelerate to 335 MPH in 3.6 Seconds 

Can you believe those tyres?! ➤ Subscribe for more incredible motorsport: goo.gl/AbD2f9

You know it’s next level when car noise is being measured on the Richter scale

“3.6 seconds!” “For 0-60?” “No. 0-335”

The engineers never get enough recognition man

Dragster Wheel Back: Unique Front: Wheel of Bicycle

500kg downforce from exhaust only, that's the most insane motorsport fact I've ever heard

That tire crinkling is extremely satisfying.

when you stop using decibels and now have to use Richter scale

You cannot describe to someone the experience of seeing them in person, it shakes your vision dramatically when they go by and feels like a rolling earthquake.

I'm suprised the tires last that many runs, I thought thy were one and done.

There's a third purpose to burnouts: to get the crowd excited.

The most insane thing to me is that the tires are basically CVTs on these cars. That’s some incredible engineering and physics at work.

Fun fact: The burnout is controlled by a throttle stop in the linkage, only allowing the throttle to open a very small amount. When the dragster is staging, you'll notice one of the crew members pull the throttle stop and show it to the driver, letting them know they now have full power available.

"Yes officer, it is stock"

Rear tires: O Front tires: |

The one that blew up at the end was at the New England Nationals a few years ago. It blew up maybe 1000ft into the run, right in front of us. We had to have been 150+ft away and the heat was unbelievable. On a side note, the experience of seeing a vehicle go 330mph in 3.5 seconds is something everyone who has a chance should take. Its mind bending.

I don’t know-$900 per tire seems cheap to me, considering their specific purpose. No “economy of scale “.

My favorite fact about these cars is that the supercharger require over 1000 horsepower to spin. That's an absurd amount of air compression

When you choose the ultra soft tyres in gran turismo:

Me: watches one video about vehicles. RU-vid: Ya like Cars?

6:34 The length of the top fuel dragsters is also to stop the rear end ‘coming around’ which is where the rear end tries to overtake the front end.

Been to a top fuel event and I have to say, it’s amazing. It’s much, much less exclusive than something like formula 1 (my favorite motorsport), you can walk right up to the team areas and watch them rebuild the engine, the smell of the fuel is like tear gas (you’ll choke and tear up), it’s like a whole festival but you can meet the teams and drivers pretty easily! The different venues you can visit are amazing, I won a signed piston from one of these things. So not just are the cars amazing, but the atmosphere is something to admire as well.

Honda civic drivers: I can do 335 in 2.5

The agony the entire car goes through is pretty amazing.

Ballooning was first noticed by Malcolm Campbell in his record setting runs. He commented that he saw the tires doing something odd above about 250 or so. The team went out to look at the tracks, and saw that they narrowed from the normal width to a small razor edge beyond a certain point. They were worried, but the tires never blew, so they figured it would be okay. I read this in the book "Record Breakers" written by his (and his son's) mechanic Leo Villa.

I used to live about 10 miles from a drag strip and I could hear the roar of the top fuel dragsters while inside my apartment, even with the windows closed and the air conditioner on. I went to a race event at the drag strip one year and watched them run up close. You just can't describe with words how awe inspiring it is to see them rocket down the track.

You forgot to add this is done in only a 1,000 feet. NHRA officals shortened the quarter mile here in America because they were reaching speeds of 330+ mph. Now they're doing it in just a 1,000 ft.

The problem of being faster that light is that you always live in darkness

Always wondered about this tire flex on dragsters. You explained it beyond expectations, including about the vehicles themselves. Fascinating.

and just think, all this started back when a couple dudes in their model T's were like "I bet I can get across that field faster than you"

Hamilton driving on these tires after 1 lap be like: *_bOnO mY tYrEs aRe gOnE_*

Watching this alone I think I said "Wow!" out loud at least 3 times. Nice work.

this is one of the most insane videos I've ever seen "the engines are under such huge stress that the team have to completely rebuild them for each run..."

Rear tires when doing a burnout: 0 Rear tires when sitting still: o

Drag trivia: early dragsters were actually front engined, until Don Garlits had a nasty accident, where the trans exploded, folding his rail frame like a wallet and chopping his foot (there's an iconic still of this event). When he recovered he came up with the rear engine design, for which he was deemed crazy at the beginning, but proved winning.

Great content and delivery. My one counter point would be that early dragsters were front engine/ RW drive. 1970 Don Garlits clutch explosion--that took part of his foot-- inspired him to build a rear engine slingshot which he unveiled in 1971. Hot oil and burning nitro were another scary aspect of the early front engine rails pre-1971. Fires claimed many lives and injured even more; Shirley Muldoney was burned badly, as shown in the movie "Heart Like A Wheel" (1983) I subscribed, keep it up!

The best, most concise explanation of top fuel basics. Well written and spoken.

50 liters a second? It's almost as thirsty as my Dodge Viper.

I’ve been watching Top Fuel cars for almost 30 years, and this is the most comprehensive video I’ve ever seen on the subject. Great video.

I had never given any thought to the placement and angle of the exhaust headers. 500kg of downforce is impressive. Thanks for the upload 👍

Man, your channel just gets better and better with each video. Thanks

I drove a ten second car and my eyeballs were stuck to my skull.. I can’t even imagine this.

Wow, the amount of information per minute is incredible! I love it.

you know that engine is insane when its power is measured on the richter scale 💀

Great video! Quite interesting, I just figured the tires were designed that way to not only help with the instant torque but to also provide a “elastic band” effect where the tire with a certain amount of stored energy would release and propel the drag car to insane speeds in a short time

How the hell is this profitable. The costs to run these teams must be immense!

You missed a good one: the clutch welds itself together around half track.

For those that have never seen these machines race in person, it should be a bucket list item for you. You are best off bringing hearing protection but the best part is how you feel the sound on your chest. It is an amazing experience.

Great video bud! I like the super-duper slo mo shots, you can literally see each cylinder firing! It SHOULDN’T work, but it does. Amazing.

5:27 - Name a motorsport where the tyres last 900% longer than the engine per stint. You wouldn't have guessed Top Fuel.

Okay, but have you heard about VTEC? Now that’s some real hardcore stuff

Wow, now that’s some extreme engineering! Very complicated and very precise with many variables and best guesstimating. Impressive indeed.

Really enjoy your technical explanations. Treating your audience as intelligent, sentient beings means a lot. Thank you.

This was awesome to watch! My dad raced top fuel dragsters back when I was a kid in the early 90s. Actually it might have been top alcohol, I think that was a cheaper series. Either way, I remember growing up in the pits and playing with other kids as we used to climb inside those tires and roll down the trailer ramp lol. I always say it's because of those dragsters that I sleep so heavy because I would sleep at the track as a baby. I miss those days. If my dad would have kept racing I might have gotten into the Jr series at 12 years old. It was fun to ride in the truck with my mom to tow him back to the pits and to sit in the car back in the shop. Lot of fond memories. Grew up around Bucky Austin who raced funny cars and I think he still runs a team, but I haven't followed the sport for years.

Guy: Explains drag cars Me as a child: But how? Guy: Explains drag cars Me as an adult: But why?

Very informative! Thank you very much. This is one sport where TV has a huge effect on your experience. Not only do you hear it, but you also feel it.

omg so much of this is absolutely insane! mad respect for the mad lads

The best explanation I’ve seen for this amazing sport‼️

Stolen: * Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 11.2 gallons of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced. * With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle. * At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F. * Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases. * Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder. * Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow. * If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half. * Dragsters reach over 300 MPH before you have completed reading this sentence. * In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate an average of over 4 G’s. In order to reach 200 MPH well before half-track, the launch acceleration approaches 8 G’s. * Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light! * Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load. * The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM. * THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, & for once, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimated $1,000 per second. Putting this all into perspective: Lets say the 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 & ready to launch down a quarter-mile strip as you pass by it. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the ‘Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line & pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH. Just as you pass the Top Fuel Dragster the ‘tree’ goes green for both of you. The dragster launches & starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums & within 3 seconds the dragster catches & 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 & not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race!

First time I have ever noise be measured on the Richter Scale. Epic!

This is amazingly new information to me that I never thought I’d be into, new sub for more vids like this🤙

I have to say I'm not a fan of the sport, but the technology is amazing

5:35 those guys don't flinch a muscle

Great clip and very accurate. As a member of the drag racing world in Oz for 40 years, well done bro.

I'm glad I found this channel. Good stuff!

Dude I’ve learned SO much about tires from such a simple video

I've always wondered, if you had a track long enough, fuel wasn't an issue, and the engine could hold together, and the transmission would allow for it. What would be the fastest possible speed these things could reach. EDIT: It seems as though many people don't understand what hypothetical means, nor how to identify when an idea is a hypothetical idea. This isn't a "Hey, lets take one of these out and see what it's top speed is!". It's a "If physics wasn't a thing, and it had the proper gearing, how fast could these really go". Purely, 100% hypothetical. Yes I know these engines experience insane stress, requiring them to be rebuilt every run. I know the tires won't hold up long enough for a top speed run, let alone hold together well enough to do one. Same goes with the transmission, I know it's not geared for top speed. I know all the issues the the real world has with these vehicles that make a top speed run impossible. That's what makes my thought a hypothetical, because it's just a "What if" idea that could never happen. So you can save yourself some time, and not feel the need to be all "Well ecthually, these cars couldn't do a top speed run blablabla" no shit sherlock, now stfu.

Great video!! I love these cars, they're just so insane, it's hard to really get your head around the numbers of them and it's almost hard to believe you remember correctly sometimes.

“Hello sir, you were going 325 in a 55 MPH zone. License and registration please?”

Well that was unexpected, But enlightening!

Since the engine is sitting in front of the rear axle, the dragsters are technically speaking mid-engined and not rear-engined.

I learned a lot on this video! Really nice job keeping it concise but also so informative. :)

I still remember one of my Engineering Professors stating that it's IMPOSSIBLE for a wheeled vehicle to accelerate that fast from a standing start. Physically impossible he said. Like the saying goes, those who can't do, ....... teach.

so funny that the tyre is basically a cvt gearbox

The Video went from "How the Tyres work" to "Welcome to Dragster Preview" Where you learn all about Drag Racing.

That was one of your best videos. Thank you

i'm not much into dragster racing and that exhaust downforce thing kinda blew my mind. i realy like your videos, just fund them half an hour ago and left a sub

The best explanation of how it works I've seen from a "non drag racer" well done 👍

PERFECT 10/10! I was already asking myself how the rims don't just break free and spin inside the tires when you answered. Very thorough bro!

That’s really knowledgable stuff. Well done. Looking for more videos. Cheers

Thats awesome how you can see the cylinders firing in the super slow-mo shots

"Uses angle of the exhaust as down force due to the pressures expelled" so epic! and legendary! Wow!

It's insane that in order to measure how loud these are you have to use a scale devised for earthquakes, and the fact that there have been less powerful earthquakes is even more insane

Thanks for this information. I learned a lot about these unique tires.

Excellent info about the essentials of drag racing

You know your car is insane when you have to rebuild the engine every time you race

And i thought the exhaust angle was more about looking cool! Goes to show that in racing everything has a purpose.

This is a good breakdown, I love it! I can't imagine how much it costs them to make those cars AND to keep them going between races, it's incredible.

I came due to the algorithm, I left with a like and a subscription, amazing content, ty

Top fuel dragsters should be on the list of “Wonders of the World”

I couldn't help but shed a tear when that engine exploded. Heartbreaking.

If you have never seen a fuel car in person, it really is bucket list stuff. There is nothing like it on the planet.

I really nerd-out on all this automotive science, especially tires...AWESOME! Just subbed!

@Driver61. Thanks heaps for this vid. I've been in the thick of drag racing for over thirty years, and have spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours doing track prep, working on crash crews, along with racing myself and my kids in junior dragsters. This has to be one of the most down to earth explanations I have seen on YT, absolutely brilliant job. Was interesting to hear you mentioning about header downforce. If anyone is interested, search YT for Top Fuel funny cars that hit the wall and crack off the headers. That side of the car suddenly launches skyward. No bull.

Great vid. I love all racing and sim racing really helped me get a respect for all types of racing. F1. Rally. NASCAR. Drag racing drivers are all awesome in their own rights. Love this

Thank you very much for posting

To stand between two of these during a burnout is huge, when they stage for the run and turn on both fuel pumps and the stand on it...... Life changing.

Nobody: Drag car: hey guys watch me show this aircraft whos boss. (Chugs 10 gallons of fuel in 1 second)

This is why i love youtube. This is how it's done ! All the credits to the maker of the video!

Very informative and organized. Thank you.