Amazingly, the engineers still manage every year to improve the power characteristics of the engine, whose design seems to be over sixty years is already squeezed to the last drop. Five hundred cubic inches (8.2 liters), eight-cylinder, two valves on each camshaft in the collapse of the block and is the low productivity Roots boost system (we are now talking about the professional classes). However, we are witnessing the fact that the old records are collapsing repeatedly throughout each season, but today's reality even result at the low 3.9 in the classroom Funny Car is not a guarantee of victory in the race, although in the last year, these figures with a great degree of probability would become, if not a national record, the record certainly strip. No joke, in Topeka record net travel time distance tysyachefutovoy been rewritten five times in one weekend, and the number of departures from chetyrehsekundnoy zone at this event exceeded the number of such races for the entire 2014. At all stages of the eleven new tracks records were set, four seconds — no longer figure, worthy of mention, and the best time Bristol Dragway year later changed immediately to one-tenth of that by the standards of the class — a real pit.
Each decade has happened engineering revolution that dramatically change the look of things and open up new horizons of speed. Multi-plate clutch, pronounced spoiler with a completely crazy angle of attack, multi-stage fuel injection, the body, rolled out on the strip directly from a wind tunnel — all at one time changed the industry forever and become the accepted standard for many years to come. And at a time when almost all were convinced that the evolution of the cars and their technical stuffing has finally found itself in the impenetrable framework regulation, in the middle of last year, all of a sudden went to a completely different level. More precisely if we go in Sonoma not all and not at all gone Jack Beckman, whose team suddenly became a forge records and unconditional victory of one wicket. The secret of success could not keep a secret for a long time, and soon caught up and the rest of the national championship. The reason for the increased velocity now seems something that had long been floating on the surface, but to implement these ideas in the gland first succeeded Jimmy Prock, chief mechanic Jack Beckman team.
Prock decided to decrease the angle of the exhaust nozzle to the surface of the strip and thus kill two birds at once. First, this configuration, despite the reduction of downforce gives a small but very significant increase in the dynamics of dregster due to the reaction force, which is generated by the release of what was left of the burned in the cylinders of nitromethane. Secondly, in the event of failure of one of the cylinders of the car is more stable with respect to a predetermined path of the lesser difference all the same reactive force on both sides of dregster. It is worth noting that the failure of one or several cylinders in the context of division sometimes ended imminent meeting with the striker, which means that the issue of neglect reactive force is extremely unwise. I remind you that we are talking about the exhaust from 1250 burnt horses in each cylinder. Of course, the introduction of such innovations will inevitably entail a number of changes in the settings of the unit, but as the practice, Mr. Prock here coped brilliantly.
We wanted to go faster, just because we were convinced that we can. That's why we went faster. We have worked very hard on this, made mistakes, repeatedly went out of the race in the first round because of the failed clutch settings. We tried a bunch of options and killed a mountain of time to ensure that our plan worked. Many say: «The whole thing in header files», but in fact the issue — it is only part of the puzzle. And to lay down its first we could just...
Jimmy Prock:
This photograph clearly shows that the changes made by the chief mechanic Beckmann last year (on top) is almost unnoticeable in comparison to how much further went on tuning experts in the current season (at the bottom). As a result, breakage of motors sounded above do not affect the handling, speed rushed into the stratosphere, and the teams after each race has to glue the film with the logos of the sponsors, because four seconds at full throttle just enough to oplavit thin vinyl layer. The level of impact, which could make the team, is truly astounding. But if the public is already accustomed to the heats at the junction of 3.8 and 3.9 seconds, then after that gave Matt Hagan in the NHRA Kansas Nationals, jaw dropped all those who in any way understand in drag racing, and even the most hardened experts refused to believe their eyes. 335.57 mph — a new record for the class, which is almost 3 mph more than the existing record for Top Fuel dregster. It is truly an unprecedented result, and something tells me that this is not the limit, because the championship has only just crossed the equator, and the fastest strips in geography associations such as Brainerd, is yet to come. And yes... Welcome to a new era!
Photo: open source
