interesting info about nitromethane..
 

well, interesting to me, anyway..

http://www.ch3no2.com/

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

Sounds like that stuff has some kick to it.

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

for those who have never had the pleasure of seeing a nitro powered funny car, or "top fuel" car run..its like nothing ive ever seen or heard...6800 horsepower...i got to see a few of them run this past weekend...and running in the 320mph range...standing just over a quarter mile away, the car is halfway to you, before you can hear it...and when the sound does get to you, it hits you like a wall...the ground shakes, even 1500 feet away...even with the best isolating headphones in the world, the car is still deafening...

the fumes are so toxic, that even with a car blowing past you, COASTING past the 1/4 mile mark, at idle...the wake of fumes left behind is enough to make your throat burn a little...if youre up close, nitro fumes have a mace-like effect...making your eyes and throat burn like youve taken a tablespoon full of habenerio paste...we were standing around the 60 foot mark for the first set of runs this past weekend, and when the cars did their burnouts, at quarter throttle, amanda said "it doesnt seem that loud"...then they back them up, and remove the throttle stop...and when they stage, and launch, unleashing all 6800 horsepower...you can tell the newbies who jump and cover their ears...ive seen alot of drag racing in my days...but few things (other than winning) make me smile like a nitro car blast down the quarter...seeing a needle shaped car tear down the quarter in just under 5 seconds...0-60 in something like .4 seconds...0-330 in 4.6 seconds...

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

haha!

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

"fumes have a mace-like effect...making your eyes and throat burn like youve taken a tablespoon full of habenerio paste"

Reminds me of my 1st wife![:'(]

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

Wow. Have you ever driven one of those Patrick? Sounds like it would be fun.

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

haha...i can only imagine what its like ...the mirada only has in the mid 400hp range..somewhere around 440-450..i cant imagine what its like to hit the throttle and have 6800 hp under me...

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

The idea of that much hp makes me think of cartoons where the character's mouth are being blown open and the skin is being streched out all over their face. That would be an interesting experience.

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

the fumes are so potent, that when they work on the car in the pits, and the driver is sitting in the seat, he wears a full gas mask...

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

Makes sense. If you can smell the stench at that distance, what is the driver going through. I wouldn't be surprised if those fumes couldn't kill the driver with little time.

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

what i dont understand, is when you see the crew working on the car, doing last minute things like checking the parachutes, checking the tire surface temperature, etc...they dont have masks on...they must be some tough muthas! :D

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

I am sure their lungs are probably not in the best condition.

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

i dont know i mean i like nitro BUT i know that i would blow my motor if i had it in ANY car. i meen i have a heavy foot (u should see me n my dads Gmc Seirra) and if u r hit n the back (or the trunk section) and the tanks blew ( thats if u store ur tanks in the trunk).

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

I would bet that Jeremiah hit the nail on the head. They have probably become very tough to where it doesn't affect them like it would to use who are not used to it; however, I bet that has been really hard on their lungs. I don't care how annoying having a mask on would be, it isn't worth letting your lungs being destroyed like that. I think some of the lack of safety measures like this cut my Grandfather's life shorter than it should have been. Oh well, he's better off where he is now, at least he isn't miserable anymore because he misses his wife, now that they are together.

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

Well, the thing about this stuff is that it is just like adding a turbo or supercharger. If it is done correctly, the reliability issues are not as bad, but if they do it the way they did it in "The Fast and The Furious," then the engine will blow. Like most movies, it is very innacurate about the correct way of doing things.

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

nitro is not nitrous...and ive seen a supra carrying two 20lb tanks in the trunk, which wrecked at over 125mph...the car was destroyed..a complete loss, and while the bottles were damaged, they did not explode...thats not how things work...the movies make it seem like having a bottle explode would shoot the car into the air, and thats not true.

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

Thanks for correcting me. One of these days, I really need to read more about this stuff so then I don't sound like a complete fool. Oh well, I guess we all sometimes think we know more than we really do.

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

not you...mark seemed to think that nitromethane was the same as nitrous oxide...

nitrous oxide is an excellerent of sorts, used in conjunction with a fuel such as gasoline, methanol, or diesel fuel...nitromethane is a fuel on its own, which actually contains some of the properties of nitrous oxide. what nitrous oxide does, is that it introduces oxygen at an increased rate, and the oxygen portion of the compound is released from the nitrogen portion by the heat during combustion.

our atmosphere is predominantly nitrogen, basically with some oxygen and some other things mixed in...oxygen is the portion of the "air" that combustion engines want, so ideally, you want to inject pure oxygen, but in its pure form, oxygen is very unstable and very explosive. so, the two nitrogen atoms bond to the one oxygen atom, and you have a mixture of 66% nitrogen and 33% oxygen, which is more stable than pure oxygen. the atmosphere is roughly 21% oxygen and 79% oxygen, so the nitrous oxide provides the engine with increased levels of oxygen, and the i believe that the nitrogen is simply expelled in the exhaust. The nitrous enters the combustion chamber, and the hear seperates the oxygen and that now released oxygen "fattens up" the air side of the air to fuel mixture...hospital air has a higher level of oxygen than normal air, plus with the oxygen lines and tanks around a hospital, that is why youre not allowed to smoke in hospitals.

im NO chemist, so if we have people here who can provide a more accurate description of what exactly is happen, feel free to correct me on any incorrect points...

RE: interesting info about nitromethane..
 

OOOOOO now i get it thanks guys.