Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1⁄4 mi, with a shorter becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and funny cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard, while the 1⁄8 mi is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.
A turbocharger, colloquially known as a turbo, is a turbine-driven, forced induction device that increases an internal combustion engine's efficiency and power output by forcing extra compressed air into the combustion chamber. This improvement over a naturally aspirated engine's power output is due to the fact that the compressor can force more air—and proportionately more fuel—into the combustion chamber than atmospheric pressure alone.
An intercooler is a mechanical device used to cool a gas after compression. Compressing a gas increases its internal energy which in turn raises its temperature and reduces its density. An intercooler typically takes the form of a heat exchanger that removes waste heat in a gas compressor. Intercoolers have a variety of applications, and can be found in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration, and gas turbines, and automotive engines, for example. They are widely known as an air-to-air or air-to-liquid cooler for forced induction internal combustion engines, used to improve volumetric efficiency. This is accomplished by increasing intake air density through nearly constant pressure cooling.
A centrifugal supercharger is a specialized type of supercharger that makes use of centrifugal force in order to push additional air into an engine. Increased airflow into an engine allows the engine to burn more fuel, which results in increased power output of the engine. Centrifugal superchargers are generally attached to the front of the engine via a belt-drive or gear-drive from the engine's crankshaft.
Top Fuel dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of 335 miles per hour (539 km/h) and finishing the 1,000 foot (305 m) runs in 3.62 seconds.
A naturally aspirated engine, sometimes known as a normally aspirated engine, is an internal combustion engine in which oxygen intake depends solely on atmospheric pressure and does not rely on forced induction through a turbocharger or a supercharger. Many sports cars specifically use naturally aspirated engines to avoid turbo lag.
Forced induction is the process of delivering compressed air to the intake of an internal combustion engine. A forced induction engine uses a gas compressor to increase the pressure, temperature and density of the air. An engine without forced induction is considered a naturally aspirated engine.
A World Rally Car is a racing automobile built to the specification set by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the international motorsports governing body and compete in the outright class of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The WRC specifications were introduced by the FIA in 1997 as a replacement for Group A regulations.
A nitrous oxide engine is an internal combustion engine in which oxygen for burning the fuel comes from the decomposition of nitrous oxide, N2O, rather than air. The system increases the engine's power output by allowing fuel to be burned at a higher-than-normal rate, because of the higher partial pressure of oxygen injected with the fuel mixture. Nitrous oxide is not flammable at room temperature or while not under extensive pressure. Nitrous injection systems may be "dry", where the nitrous oxide is injected separately from fuel, or "wet" in which additional fuel is carried into the engine along with the nitrous. Nitrous oxide systems may not be permitted for street or highway use, depending on local regulations. Nitrous oxide use is permitted in certain classes of auto racing. Reliable operation of an engine with nitrous injection requires careful attention to the strength of engine components and to the accuracy of the mixing systems, otherwise destructive detonations or exceeding engineered component maximums may occur. Nitrous oxide injection systems were applied as early as World War II for certain aircraft engines.
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car series sanctioned by DMSB and ITR who have been affiliated to the FIA since 1976 and 2003, respectively. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe, racing a silhouette racing car based on a mass-produced road car.
The Chrysler 1.8, 2.0, and 2.4 are inline-4 engines designed originally for the Dodge and Plymouth Neon compact car. These engines were loosely based on their predecessors, the Chrysler 2.2 & 2.5 engine, sharing the same 87.5 mm (3.44 in) bore. The DOHC head was developed by Chrysler with input from the Chrysler-Lamborghini team that developed the Chrysler/Lamborghini Formula 1 V12 engine in the early 1990s.
The RB engine is a 2.0–3.0 L straight-6 four-stroke gasoline engine from Nissan, produced from 1985–2004 and will be continuing production in 2019, after a 15 year hiatus.
A wastegate is a valve that diverts exhaust gases away from the turbine wheel in a turbocharged engine system.
The anti-lag system (ALS) is a method of reducing turbo lag or effective compression used on turbocharged engines to minimize turbo lag on racing or performance cars. It works by delaying the ignition timing very slightly to balance an inherent loss in combustion efficiency with increased pressure at the charging side of the turbo. This is achieved as a small amount of fuel/air mixture escapes through the exhaust valves and combusts in the hot exhaust manifold spooling the turbocharger creating higher usable pressure.
Variable-geometry turbochargers (VGTs), occasionally known as variable-nozzle turbines (VNTs), are a type of turbochargers, usually designed to allow the effective aspect ratio of the turbocharger to be altered as conditions change. This is done because the optimum aspect ratio at low engine speeds is very different from that at high engine speeds.
Twincharger refers to a compound forced induction system used on some piston-type internal combustion engines. It is a combination of an exhaust-driven turbocharger and a mechanically-driven supercharger, each mitigating the weaknesses of the other. A mechanically-driven supercharger offers exceptional response and low-rpm performance as it does not rely on pressurization of the exhaust manifold. A turbocharger sized to move a large volume of air tends to respond slowly to throttle input while a smaller, faster-responding turbo may fail to deliver sufficient volume through an engines upper RPM range. The unacceptable lag time endemic to a large turbocharger is effectively neutralized when combined with a supercharger which tends to generate substantial boost pressure much faster in response to throttle input. The end result being a zero-lag powerband with high torque at lower engine speeds and increased power at the upper end. Twincharging is therefore desirable for small-displacement motors, especially those with a large operating rpm, since they can take advantage of an artificially broad torque band over a large speed range.
Pro Modified, also known as Pro Mod, is a class or division in the sport of drag racing used in the NHRA and FIA (quarter-mile) and the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) (eighth-mile). It is similar to the Top Doorslammer class as defined by the ANDRA.
The EMD 710 is a line of diesel engines built by Electro-Motive Diesel. The 710 series replaced the earlier EMD 645 series when the 645F series proved to be unreliable in the early 1980s 50-series locomotives which featured a maximum engine speed of 950 rpm. The EMD 710 is a relatively large medium speed two-stroke diesel engine that has 710 cubic inches displacement per cylinder, and a maximum engine speed of 900 rpm.
A supercharger is an air compressor that increases the pressure or density of air supplied to an internal combustion engine. This gives each intake cycle of the engine more oxygen, letting it burn more fuel and do more work, thus increasing power.
A hybrid turbocharger is an electric turbocharger consisting of a high speed turbine-generator and a high speed electric air compressor. The turbine and compressor are high-speed aeromachines, as in a conventional turbocharger. The electrical motors run at speeds in excess of 120,000 rpm and when used as generators, generate electricity at up to 98.5% electrical efficiency. High electrical efficiency is paramount, because there is no mechanical link between the turbine and compressor. In other words, hybrid turbocharger refers to a series hybrid setup, in which compressor speed and power are independent from turbine speed and power. This design flexibility leads to further improvements in turbine and compressor efficiency, beyond a conventional turbocharger.