Now this is what I call a Dragster

From the Guinness Book of World Records 2002 page 221;

Top speed for a NHRA drag racer.
The highest speed reached by a NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) drag racer over 440 yd is a cracking 526.11 km/h (326.92 mph) by Tony Schumacher (USA) on 22 Oct 1999.

Fastest time for a top-fuel dragster.
The fastest time to cover 440 yd in a top-fuel dragster is 4.48 seconds by Gary Scelzi (USA), at Houston, Texas, USA, on 31 Oct 1999.

I can't help wondering if a coaster will match these stats in the near future. 0-327 mph in 4.48 seconds over 440 yards! That would be sick.

Btw, the drivers experience 5G's during acceleration and up to -5G's when the braking parachutes are ejected! 327mph is 479.5fps, wow.

actaully he has done over 330 mph... but was unable to back the record up...

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Markey should be focusing on drag racing. -5 Gs? That's SICK!

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I was asked to describe X in one word. The word? -- OhmygoshwhathaveIgottenmyselfintothisisthescariest
thingintheworldhelpmeIamgoingtodieAHHHH!!!

Found the NHRA site records; http://www.nhra.com/stats/natrecord.html

Yeah. As if coasters wern't short enough already. I'd be happier with more 60mph coasters with longer track lengths.

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Current favorite coasters:
Wooden: 1) Beast 2) Raven 3) Son of Beast 4) The Boss 5) Timber Wolf
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Visit: http://www.dynamicgroove.com

Obviously, this is illegal in New Jersey. :)

While it would be fun to go 330 MPH, how long could a ride be at that speed? Anyone know ride duration for Dodonpa?

Edit: According to RCDB, it's 1:00 for 3000+ ft. of track. That seems a lot slower than I thought it would be. Do the aircraft tires lose speed faster than the plastic ones on Intamin/B&M/etc.?

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A rollercoaster? What's that?

*** This post was edited by ApolloAndy on 9/21/2002. ***

My impression riding Hypersonic was that it lost speed considerably faster than a normal coaster. Also, for Dodonpa, the top speeds and the hill heights just don't work out unless it loses a lot of speed before it reaches the hill

Does that have to do with the pneumatic tires vs. the normal nylon wheels?

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LocoBazooka--Sevendust, Nonpoint, Stereo Vent, Mushroomhead
Korn Tour (With no name)--Korn, Puddle of Mudd, Deadsy

Also, for Dodonpa, the top speeds and the hill heights just don't work out unless it loses a lot of speed before it reaches the hill

TA2Ks also have trims heading up the first hill, so it could be a combination of that wide sweeping turn and the trims going up the hill that slow it down over the peak. As for RCDB saying Dodonpa has a one minute ride time, they get times wrong. Look at Xcelerator's ride time on that site: 1:02. I really doubt it takes that long to go through the course.

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I was asked to describe X in one word. The word? -- OhmygoshwhathaveIgottenmyselfintothisisthescariest
thingintheworldhelpmeIamgoingtodieAHHHH!!!

I'm almost certain that the TA2K's only use the brakes on the hill in a roll back situation.

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The Other Siebert

How fast do the Drag cars go at SFKK? I'm guessing around 50 mph

Just think 100 years ago you were lucky if a coaster hit 20 mph now they are hitting 100mph! Too bad we'll have to wait another 200 years for 300! ;)

I think the 1:02 includes loading and unloading for Hypersonic! ;) Now thats a ride crew!

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Visits to Knoebels in 2002: 10

I have actually been to a few NHRA events before. A couple at Sears Point in California (down the road from SFMW), and one in Reading PA. Ever since I saw a top fuel dragster flash past me, shaking my whole body from the sound, at over 300 MPH, I alway wondered, could they design a thrill ride like this? This is exactly why I will always love Hypersonic, regardless of the wait and the ride time. When I ride that thing I sometimes pretend I'm Kenny Bernstein!

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Gravity is your friend!

*** This post was edited by go with gravity on 9/23/2002. ***

Top Fuel dragster forces would kill or injure a huge percentage of the general public. If you are not in fantastic shape, and have some sort of build up to those forces, a 0-330mph launch in 4.5 seconds would almost certainly knock you out, and perhaps cause some serious damage if you weren't in the exact right position.

The 0-80 mph launch on Hypersonic is extremely intense...far more intense than any other launch I've been on...and it's not even close to that kind of acceleration. In fact, the launch on Hypersonic is just over 2 Gs. Think about having a launch that accelerates 150% faster than a Hypersonic launch...that would not be fun...it would be lights out.

Jman

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Jman
Webmaster: Gravibulb Coasters - Home of Professional Quality Coaster Photos
http://balder.prohosting.com/gravbulb/coasters/

True, I was thinking the other day, most of the GP would not enjoy those forces except us coaster nuts! ;)

Now, everytime I've seen the stats for Hypersonic is says the launch is 4 G's not 2 (Xccelerator pulls 2 the whole way). I always thought it pulled 4 g's at the initial thrust, then let quite a bit during the launch. You can feel this a little when riding. A top fuel dragster pulls about 5 g's when they take off. Also when they take off, they go 100 mph in 1 second. Hypersonic goes 80 in 1.8, and Dodonpa 107 in the same time. A dragster, 0-100, 1 sec, 5 g's. I just feel this makes more mathematical sense.

Jman, I agree these forces might hurt an "out of shape" person, but John Force, a Funny Car driver, goes these same speeds and is pretty overweight and not very healthy.

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Gravity is your friend!

*** This post was edited by go with gravity on 9/23/2002. ***

ApolloAndy said:
"Do the aircraft tires lose speed faster than the plastic ones on Intamin/B&M/etc.?"

Speaking from automotive experience, you can do a lot with a rubber tire to mess with it's rolling resistance. For example, increasing the air pressure in a tire reduces it's rolling resistance. Lower rolling resistance gives you better fuel economy, so that's why it's important to keep your tires properly inflated. The only problem with higher air pressure in the tires is that it makes the ride much stiffer.

In fact, the GM EV1 electric car had specifically desgined tires to reduce energy losses while rolling. IIRC, the recommended tire pressure was something in the 70 psi range, almost double that of a normal car's tires.

I'm sure the S&S guys developed the tires and tuned the pressures to balance the whole rolling resistance vs. ride trade-off

I wouldn't be at all surprised if a solid nylon wheel's rolling resistance is much lower than a pneumatic tire.

Later,
EV
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