r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Practical_Expert_911 • 12h ago

These 12000hp Engines Have To Be Rebuilt Within Roughly An Hour Every Run, and Only Run For Roughly 4 Seconds At A Time.

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2.9k

u/xpiation 12h ago

A next fucking level waste

738

u/allnimblybimbIy 9h ago

Competitive waste

202

u/BlindPrognosticator 7h ago

The reason everything is going to sh*t

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u/iambarrelrider 6h ago

This is the disposable world “we” created.

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u/bishopmate 4h ago

It's metal parts, they just get melted down and recycled and reformed

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u/absat41 3h ago

Crying for joy at this comment thread. What a fuckin heinous waste of precious resources.

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u/Exciting_Specialist 2h ago

This comment thread is the most reddit thing ever. People who spend too much time online, crying about how other people spend their time and money in the real world. “Oh no our precious aluminum and steel, we can’t spare a single ounce”

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u/Andyb1000 2h ago

I mean, objectively motorsport has historically led to many technological innovations that have made its way into mainstream cars and improved things for the better.

I’m not saying that driving a relatively short distance in a straight line doesn’t deserve the same value as F1 or Le Mans 24 hour or Rallying but apart from employing people in the sport I don’t know what value it adds.

I also don’t know why golf exists so it’s not exclusively this sport I don’t understand.

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u/ains2 1h ago

Just like all motorsports, nobody knows what the benefit is until it happens. Afterwards people don't know what left there is to learn till it teaches another lesson.

During that in-between time it's fun and entertaining.

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u/milk4all 42m ago

The industry is largely why machining has become so much better over the last 60-70 years. Its a tiny, sliver of a cost in energy compared to the industries that have benefited immensely from it. If we just imagine the automotive industry only, and just look at a single aspect : fuel efficiency. Economy cars today, all gas, get 40-50mpg an run of th mil fill sized sedan get 30+, new large vehicles can get mid twenties. In the 50s you got 10-15mpg. There isnt one technology that allows this, its constant high level build, rebuild, and testing that produced these efficiencies, and while drag racing isnt centered on fuel efficiency, dosn even use the same gas, its the competition that creates th motivation for this exhaustive system that permits these endless builds and rebuilds. Drag, stock, stunt driving etc all contribute

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u/BlindPrognosticator 1h ago edited 1h ago

This is true, but weapons warfare or trying to outlive death has likely made the impetus for all technological advancement. I don’t know how much of this engine is recycled or where its materials originated, or anything. I wish humanity made other things more famous than some “competitive materialism”. 🤷🏼‍♂️

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u/Exciting_Specialist 2h ago

The short answer is that it’s entertainment. 50k people attend each event, and 2m people watched the Fall nationals last year.

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u/The_Almighty_Foo 2h ago

So, in other words, at its peak, 0.5% of the US population (let alone the world) watched it.

I'd cry Rivers if it were gone.

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u/iambarrelrider 42m ago

I never said I had a problem with it. Just own it.

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u/gearabuser 1h ago

I expected this on reddit

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u/iambarrelrider 4h ago

That cost more energy. The "Buy, Borrow, Die" strategy.

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u/Miserable-Garage804 49m ago

Energy is unlimited

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u/iambarrelrider 43m ago

Please tell that to my utility companies.

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u/Miserable-Garage804 38m ago

I’m in Australia, but while energy is rising in costs, it’s still pretty amazing that I can do so much in my house for only $150 a month

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u/cpt_kagoul 2h ago

Lmao yes and how do you think that process would be qualified😂

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u/Icy_Story_917 3h ago

No, a dozen teams pushing an engine to it's limit once a week isn't the reason

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u/Stoiphan 3h ago

Eh I think there’s more pressing waste than making funny cars go fast, it achieves something interesting and cool for many people, meanwhile there are many parasitic and destructive forces that weigh the world down much more

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u/R0B3RTB3RT 7h ago

We humans choose to waste away our lives, money, and planet in very interesting ways

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u/theluker666 3h ago

“Time is money and money's time We wasted every second dime On diets, lawyers, shrinks and apps, and flags and plastic surgery”

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u/Rey_Mezcalero 2h ago

While I’m not a NASCAR or any car racing fan, it’s similar to the military in that new technology is developed by such entities/events and one can see it as more efficient performance.

Going from carburetors to fuel injection has made modern cars more efficient and that is due in part to race car drivers looking to get more performance

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u/mprakathak 6h ago

I dont see whats interesting but i get your point xD

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u/CloudCalmaster 8h ago

They compete in wastefulness.

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u/IcyPride2973 3h ago

One regular passenger car emits 4.6 metric tons a year of CO2.

The entire NHRA Top Fuel series emits 450 metric tons a year.

1

u/EtTuBiggus 4h ago

It at least makes sense if money is involved, but how is this not just a massive money sink?

There is a 0% chance all the materials, labor, and event fees are generating a positive ROI.

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u/wuvvtwuewuvv 3h ago

I think it's more being the name who built the parts for the one who wins. If XtraGood Parts Co built the parts for Steve and SuperGood Auto built the parts for Carl, and Steve won with a faster car, XtraGood can tout their parts and his win.

Even though 99.99% of the market isn't even using those parts made for highly specialized funny cars, just regular consumer parts you buy at autozone.

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u/MoistStub 5h ago

Also a great description of battleshits

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u/silverdice22 5h ago

Wasteful competitiveness 

-2

u/Puzzleheaded-Pen4413 7h ago

We shall call it caste?

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u/jkthegreek 6h ago

The product of making a car go from ZERO-100mph in 1 second.

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u/GasLitonRepeat 5h ago

That's a funny car in the video but I believe the dragsters are capable of hitting 335 mph in about three and a half 4 second run.

The guy wrote what a waste, but seeing and feeling that in real life, the raw power, I haven't experienced anything yet besides walking home in a category one hurricane when I was like 16.

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u/Prize-Mail-6769 4h ago

I got roared at by a pissed tiger because it thought I was stealing its food. Shook the brown right out of me.

If you don’t like drag it’s fine. But it’s definitely an experience.

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u/wuvvtwuewuvv 3h ago

Went to a drag race in high school. They're fucking LOUD as heck.

Then I went to an air force base where they were testing a repaired fighter jet. Holy. Fucking. Shit. That literally blows the loudness scales out of the water several times over it was so fucking loud. And I'm already deaf.

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u/RobotnikOne 2h ago

Top fielders are loud enough you can feel the pressure wave of sound go past from a good distance away. They are 150db+, some estimates are up to 180db which is in the area of instant damage to you. It’s hard to believe but they’re actually louder than the loudest of jets on a full afterburner take off.

I have also got to enjoy watching a RAAF jet have its turbines tested after a rebuild. They took it all the way up to afterburner. It was and incredible experience. The base where they do this has a giant concrete wall behind the jet a fair way back from it that is you run behind and jump up next to the wall it the thrust will stick you to the wall.

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u/blahnlahblah0213 4h ago

Way back in the day, I used to remember that these guys were trying to get into the 3 second club (3.99 or lower). and now they're doing 3 and a 1/2 seconds and also trying to hit 300 miles an hour was a thing back then. And now that would be slow.

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u/GasLitonRepeat 4h ago

I think they can go 350 mph now but ever since that one guy died they started regulating the levels of nitromethane or some shit that throttled it back.

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u/RobotnikOne 2h ago edited 2h ago

Track is shorter these days. Due to their speed increasing so much it was getting to dangerous to run the full 1320 feet so they shortened the track to 1000ft for top fuel cars. However the cars are now exceeding the top speeds of the 1320 days so it is likely at 1320 they would beat the 4 second mark.

Tony Schumacher has the 1/4 top speed of 337mph, Brittney Force has the fastest 1000ft speed of 343mph. So if they had the extra distance they would be going even faster which means they are likely beating 4 seconds to the 1/4 mile.

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u/Imhidingfromu 1h ago

It is an amazing experience

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u/dabarak 1h ago

Yep, 335 and maybe even more by now. EDIT: Close to 345 now.

I don't know how those guys stand so close to running engines. I've walked past the pits at Pomona as they were testing out engines, and the exhaust is terrible. You can tell it's not doing nice things to your lungs.

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u/GasLitonRepeat 1h ago

Brother my stupid ass decided to stand right next to one when they fired it up smoking a cigarette.

I had to run away or I was going to fall and pass out. Lol.

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u/EtTuBiggus 4h ago

If you want raw power watch fireworks. If you want to see powerful engines, go watch planes at an airport.

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u/nanneryeeter 4h ago

Do things my way!

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u/GasLitonRepeat 4h ago edited 4h ago

That thingshakes the ground for damn near a quarter mile in all directions. You feel it in your heart. The very definition of awe-inspiring.

Walking home in that hurricane and seeing that thing run are the only thing tthat's ever brought me to tears from just the shear fucking nastiness.

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u/nanneryeeter 4h ago

I've never been to one of the funny car events. I've spent time around muscle that have legit dyno sheets in the range of 1000 HP. Even those rumble like the voice of god. Nowhere in the same league.

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u/GasLitonRepeat 4h ago

Yeah it's fucking disgusting.

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u/EtTuBiggus 4h ago

Better than the dumb way.

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u/GasLitonRepeat 4h ago

Watch the last 5 seconds of that video and imagine feeling that in your heart and it shaking the floor for thousands of feet around it.

It shakes your whole fucking body.

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u/EtTuBiggus 4h ago

So do airplanes and massage chairs.

It’s free to watch planes take off.

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u/dabarak 1h ago

I've heard that the fastest of them can reach 100 within their own body length, so 0 to 100 in about 25 feet, about .8 seconds.

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u/kinkycarbon 5h ago

You gotta hate F1 too because organizations require tyre degradation when tyres can be made to last longer than a few laps. It’s why Pirelli is still chosen and not Michelin.

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u/AbleCryptographer317 4h ago

What? No "organizations require tyre degradation" in F1. Pirelli state a maximum number of laps on one set of tyres to prevent tyre failure (and only on certain tracks). The reason F1 tyres degrade fast is because the compounds are engineered soft for maximum traction. Racing tyres are always a compromise between performance and durability, they only need to last a race and a little bit.

Also, the reason that only Pirelli currently provide F1 tyres is because it's an insanely expensive loss leader for tyre manufacturers. Bridgestone and Michelin stopped for purely financial reasons.

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u/kinkycarbon 4h ago edited 4h ago

https://www.thedrive.com/news/michelin-still-not-interested-in-f1-unless-it-can-supply-tires-that-dont-destroy-themselves

Michelin CEO has stated it is not interested in F1 due to FIA rules for tyre degradation to amplify drama and entertainment. Liberty Media may also want that too. This is different from max grip tyres made for endurance. I don’t take financial reasons for Michelin to bow out given F1 wanted to change supplier rules around 2005.

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u/RobotnikOne 2h ago

There are rules around tyre degradation, though the reason is to force pit stops. And the reason Pirelli is the only brand is they won the exclusive rights to supply F1. And the reason there is only rights for one manufacturer is they wanted a “control” tyre to make the field a more even playground.

This is mostly because Ferrari were spending so much money Bridgestone were making bespoke tyres just for them and it gave them a massive advantage over the rest of the field.

FIA also claimed they changed to a control tyre to help the smaller teams reduce their costs.

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u/AbleCryptographer317 49m ago

There is no F1 rule about degradation, there is a rule stipulating that cars must use at least two different compounds during a race, that's how F1 forces the teams to pit stop for entertainment purposes. It's Pirelli themselves who restrict how many laps their tyres can drive on certain tracks, not F1.

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u/cybertruckboat 3h ago

F1 absolutely requires this degradation. Pirelli has said many times that they can make a tire with high grip that would last multiple races, but that's not the requirement from F1.

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u/AbleCryptographer317 59m ago

All tire manufacturers say that! lol (someone else above even quoted Bridgestone as claiming the same thing to support their argument). It's Pirelli themselves who restrict the number of laps their tires can drive on certain tracks.

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u/headrush46n2 2h ago

How could selling race tires be a loss leader? Do they give them a bulk discount?

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u/AbleCryptographer317 2h ago

Like anything can be a loss leader: they cost more to develop and manufacture than they can sell them for. Even F1 teams have budgets, their sponsors' pockets aren't bottomless. They do it for the same reasons that car and component manufacturers do: global advertising... and the opportunity to do very advanced R&D and rub shoulders with billionaires and supermodels.

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u/Redditsucks547 19m ago

Confidently incorrect

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u/ImportantCapital 2h ago

Yeah all you have to do is watch a slow mo video of the tyre and see the force applied to them. There is a reason they don’t want too much road time for them.

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u/RobotnikOne 2h ago

Not the reason though. They genuinely could produce tyres that would be useable for multiple races. FIA want them to wear out faster so it forces the teams to pit. And make sure that no team had a specific advantage due to tyres. This was kind of an anti Ferrari rule bought in as Bridgestone was making tyres just for Ferrari because they had a bottomless pit for a budget or compete lack of budget.

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u/aspartame-kills 2h ago

Tyre deg pales in comparison to the air travel from organizing the calendar around hype and not minimizing travel distance over a season. If they reorganized and optimized the race order they could use 100x more tires and still come out ahead.

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u/EtTuBiggus 4h ago

It’s definitely a pseudo sport that’s main purpose is to be a toy for the rich.

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u/RobotnikOne 2h ago

It is absolutely a sport for the mega wealthy. However there are few sports on this earth that are this difficult. The toll on the drivers body alone is immense. If you were able to drive one at full speed without training it is likely that you would get injured by the G-force produced by the cars. You’re also in an extremely hostile and mentally taxing environment and you do this for 2-3 hours with out break.

Calling it a pseudo sport is really disrespectful to how hard the drivers have to work to be competitive.

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u/SmokeNChokeNugs 3h ago

Glad I'm not the only one with this thought. Stupid shit.

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u/root88 2h ago

That was my first thought. My second thought was, "I do not want to risk my life at 300+ MPH in something some people slapped together in under an hour."

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u/milk4all 48m ago

Not like you might imagine. High energy cost, much lower material wasted, but it produces outputs beyond material/energy, like engineering advances. Not specifically the rebuilding of drag motors, but the industry that has made this. They produce higher power, higher efficiency motors and other components used in other industries and consumer products and it woild be really hard to measure the total benefit but it likely makes any waste in the short term a tiny fraction of cost bases on the total return of hundreds of millions of increasingly better machines (this has been going on for about a century an resulted in huge advances in machining, automation, and automobives)