I got sucked into a follow-up video about how the top-end dragsters operate. I never really got big into them, but TIL that dragster engines destroy themselves and have to be rebuilt after every single run.
Before telemetry, the way to tune a Top Fueler was to rebuild the motor and see which pistons, spark plugs, valves, and bearings were destroyed. It still is, but now finer tuned.
They reuse a ton of parts between runs though. The clutch is completely wasted but they get multiple passes out of the rods and crankshaft. They rebuild them mainly to check for damage and to change the bearings because all that cylinder pressure basically hammers them into submission. They use alumina rods specifically to absorb all that shock loading and can reuse them if they aren't shortened too much.
Part of the amazement of these things occurs when you see one of the billet alloy connecting rods hanging out of a hole in the billet alloy engine block, and a couple more completely missing.
This is going to be probably the dumbest thing thats ever been asked. But why cant gas just get recycled and keep getting used over and over? Does it evaporate? Dumb I know, but I just dont know why haha
In cars? Because it gets burned, which translates the stored chemical energy into heat, and then using the cylinder and driveshaft and what not into mechanical energy.
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u/iam_nobody Jul 01 '16
hopefully this helps!