Just did the math. (1 Viewer)

[Turtle]

What do you think would be the physical limitations?

Are we nearing that?

Detached retinas have already been an issue, etc.

Einstein had a theory, eh? The body is only capable of covering so much ground in so much time that things start to happen, ya know like 'Back to the Future'..hehe..poof.

I've wondered that myself. there has to be a point where the human body simply can't handle any more g's (pos. and neg.). Obviously this would depend a lot on the fitness of the driver, but your body can only take so much punishment right?

 

[The Counterfeiter]

Thats an interesting question... what is the overall diameter of a TF tire when its fully expanded.. how many times will it rotate to cover the 1/4 assuming there is NO spin.. I don't think its very many...

- think I remember that the circumference of a fuel tire at rest is about 135". That equates to only 117 revolutions. Getting a handle on fuel tire size at speed could be very difficult, because they are no longer round!
Susie O - get your brother on here to let us know if this is one of the things teams can get from the data recorder!

 

[none]

There's an interesting one for someone to work out. How much distance do ALL the pistons have to travel for a particular car to make a quarter mile run? Just base it on the engine's average RPM for the pass?

What's the stroke? After that it's just math.

How about Piston speed? It starts at 0 and goes to max at center stroke, then slows to 0 and changes direction.

When you think about it, it's almost amazing that these things even start.

Alan

 

[Outlaw Eric]

I've wondered that myself. there has to be a point where the human body simply can't handle any more g's (pos. and neg.). Obviously this would depend a lot on the fitness of the driver, but your body can only take so much punishment right?

I have heard that some pilots launched off of catapults on aircraft carriers blackout on the launch and condition themselves to pull back on the stick so the aircraft will climb on its own until they wake up a few seconds later.

Urban Legend?

Could be...

Remember that there were rocket cars on the dragstrip running much quicker and faster than our current TF cars and I never heard of blackouts etc.

The detached retinas are from negative Gs.

 

[The Counterfeiter]

Remember that there were rocket cars on the dragstrip running much quicker and faster than our current TF cars and I never heard of blackouts etc.

The detached retinas are from negative Gs.[/QUOTE]

Positive G loads that fuel drivers experience are momentary - one of the McDonald's franchisees I worked with flew the infamous "Blackbirds".
Pilots experienced sustained G's up to 8 in turns with a flight suit that exerted pressure on their legs and midsection that forced blood flow to the brain.
F1 and Champ Car drivers endure side loads up to 4 G's in every turn for hundreds of laps. I doubt that NHRA drivers are in any way close to passing out during a run.

 

[RickyD]

Apparently detatched retinas and other extreme G problems related to age may be addressed by surgery. ie: filling in certain areas (wrinkles) to keep the face tight. I won't mention any names though.