How Dragster Tyres Accelerate to 335 MPH in 3.6 Seconds

Why are dragster tyres so soft? Why do they crinkle so much?

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‘Top Fuel’ Dragsters have the same power as twelve F1 cars, drink as much fuel as a 747 at take-off and their drivers experience the same G-Force as astronauts did on the Space Shuttle.

All that power means the tyres have to be pretty special to get the car from zero to almost 320mph in under 4 seconds.

But, how do these specialised tyres help the dragsters pull 4 and a half G under acceleration? Why do they wrinkle like this and how do Dragsters reach such incredible speeds? All of that coming up.

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[hamzarizvi]

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

[lancercool]

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

[jayinderkaushik]

The engineers never get enough recognition man

[zapp]

Dragster Wheel
Back: Unique
Front: Wheel of Bicycle

[CAMELOT]

That tire crinkling is extremely satisfying.

[abramo]

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

[SuperCod]

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.

[nicholasharshbarger]

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.

[Coconutscott]

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

[hueyiroquois]

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

[yorkeoldfather]

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.

[subtlehal]

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

[tonyhull]

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.

[bigrob]

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

[wunkskorks]

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.

[CoreyC]

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.

[EyeoftheAbyss]

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

[serubyne]

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

[Kevin-sgxc]

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.

[nicksothep]

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.