Quote:
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Originally Posted by IowaZR-1
Putting all of this into perspective: You are riding the average $250,000 Honda MotoGP bike. 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 RC211V hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line and past the dragster at an honest 200 mph (293 ft/sec). The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment. The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your wrist cranked 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, is acceleration.
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I guess with a new record this is finally true, though only in rare cases. 200mph = 4.5 seconds to cover the 1/4 mile. Most races do not have top fuel cars breaking that. I believe previously the top fuel record was around 4.6 seconds though (this has made the rounds at various forums many times over several years).
It's still cool though. One thing to consider about power though is that they run on nitromethane. It has more oxygen in it so they don't need to pull in nearly as much air to mix with it (the ideal ratio is much lower than the 14.7:1 for gasoline). Since air is generally the limiter, they can make a lot more power. Not to take anything away from them, just pointing it out.