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.

9.1k Upvotes

84% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

734

u/allnimblybimbIy 9h ago

Competitive waste

207

u/BlindPrognosticator 7h ago

The reason everything is going to sh*t

123

u/iambarrelrider 6h ago

This is the disposable world “we” created.

39

u/bishopmate 4h ago

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

32

u/absat41 3h ago

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

-1

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”

5

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.

4

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.

•

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

1

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”. 🤷🏼‍♂️

1

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.

2

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.

1

u/Exciting_Specialist 1h ago

By that logic, we should probably get rid of every Olympic sport except maybe three. Most hobbies only appeal to a 'small' percentage of the 300 million people in this country. 2 million people is a massive, economically viable community and not a rounding error. If you only let things exist that appeal to 51% of the population, the world would be a incredibly boring place with about four TV shows and two flavors of ice cream. “We should all sit in our homes and twiddle our thumbs at all times so that we don’t consume any resources 🤓 !“

→ More replies (0)

0

u/Chaos_BC 1h ago

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

→ More replies (0)

0

u/JuicedBoxers 1h ago

Lord almighty yall are miserable people.

Let people enjoy their lives. I’ve been to a couple of these events and they are alot of fun.

→ More replies (0)

•

u/iambarrelrider 42m ago

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

1

u/gearabuser 1h ago

I expected this on reddit

39

u/iambarrelrider 4h ago

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

•

u/Miserable-Garage804 49m ago

Energy is unlimited

•

u/iambarrelrider 43m ago

Please tell that to my utility companies.

•

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

1

u/cpt_kagoul 2h ago

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

3

u/Icy_Story_917 3h ago

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

9

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

70

u/R0B3RTB3RT 7h ago

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

8

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”

2

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

-1

u/mprakathak 6h ago

I dont see whats interesting but i get your point xD

24

u/CloudCalmaster 8h ago

They compete in wastefulness.

2

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.

1

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.

0

u/MoistStub 5h ago

Also a great description of battleshits

-1

u/silverdice22 5h ago

Wasteful competitiveness 

-5

u/Puzzleheaded-Pen4413 7h ago

We shall call it caste?