Bill, what makes you think that it will be any less expensive getting rid of nitro and substituting it with something that is equally as powerful, or slightly less powerful? The more horsepower you intend to make, the more money its going to cost you. Nobody really likes how expensive the sport has gotten but thats just the way it is...Just ask anybody involved in Pro Stock how much money they spend a year on their combinations...I guarantee its about twice to three times as much as a Top Fuel car....And theyre going about 100 mph slower on gas.
Charles,
I don't have a clue why Pro Stock is so expensive, but I don't think the comparison to a Top Fuel operation has any validty in this argument because they are too different.
Why do I think a turbo/alky motor Top Eliminator car would be less expensive than a fuel car to run?
Well, that's a good question.
As I see it, here are some of the reasons I think a car could be built to run on alcohol with turbochargers providing the forced induction, for less money that a current T/F engine.
1. How much difference is there in the cost of alcohol and nitromethane?
I don't have good information, but I think nitro is about FIVE TIMES as expensive as alcohol, and that's just a wild guess on my part. I hope that somebody who has actual figures will correct me if I'm wrong.
A fuel motor uses tremendous AMOUNTS of nitro, compared with an alky motor... several times as much. The stoichiometric ratios for the two fuels are vastly different. That, of course, only exacerbates the $$$ problem.
2. Parts attrition: Fuel motors eat parts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If they didn't, it wouldn't be
absolutely necessary to field-strip them after every run down the track. Alcohol motors are not subject to the same rigors of operation (less cylinder pressure, oil contamination, and damaging heat) and the parts last a lot longer, generally.
3. Drivetrain components will not have to built as strong as these current pieces, so will be lighter and cheaper to build and to buy. I don't think a 4-turbo, 800 cid Sonny Leonard Hemi will come anywhere near making the kind of power an Alan Johnson 500cid fuel motor will produce. Maybe 4500-5000 hp... max. That's just my guess. I could be off by 1,000 hp, and probably am.
That being the case, the cars can and should be a LOT lighter, and somewhat shorter, even, since they don't have to deal with the awesome power of a current fuel motor. Dropping 500 pounds off one of these cars wouldn't be easy, but EVERYTHING could be lighter, because stress factors would be significantly reduced. They could use a smaller wing, and probably smaller tires. No stupid 3.2:1 final drive ratio would be desirable or necessary. A two speed planetary transmission OR a torque converter might work for a car like this.
The number of people necessary to make the car ready for each next round would drop by probably half, because between-round mainteance wouldn't be so all-encompassing, because this motor will not be hurting parts like a fuel motor does. It's a lot bigger engine and makes a lot less power; that equals less stress on everything that moves (and some things that don't.)
4. Engine explosions won't totally disappear, probably, but surely will be less frequent and, less violent, due to the nature of the fuel. There will be no "burst panel", so the aborted runs that exist in today's fuel competition won't exist. There are no blower belts to "throw" or break. Problems with fuel supply, such as the "shortage" that was perpetrated last year, will no longer be a possibility; the "politics" of nitro supply will cease to exist. Racers won't have to pay an arm and a leg for their fuel, nor worry about the possibility of a shortage.
5. I don't see this never-never alky-fired dragster with 4 turbos and 800 cubic inches running a whole lot slower than current -day fuel cars, but it surely will not be faster/quicker.
NHRA doen't need 350mph Dragsters and Funny Cars with the 1,000-foot debacle staring them in the face, so if these new cars could only go, say, 300mph @ 4.80, it might make it possible to return ALL the strips to 1,320-foot racing, since these new cars will be lighter and easier to stop.
I defy ANYONE to watch a car going 300mph and tell whether it's going 300 or 330. I know I surely couldn't do it! The fans won't, either.
The status quo with regard to Top Fuel racing probably isn't going to change, but if the economy continues to "tank" it might be necessary to cut the cost of racing for these teams, and I think this is just one of many different ways to do it.
"Crazy" Bill
