Top Fuel Clutch Explosion

[MongooseFreeRider]

Thats why they made the clutch housings out of titanium to stop this happening i guess

[taystew]

god have mercy that clutch is having a time of it.

[k2477456]

this wasnt an accident it was july 4th and the team wanted to spice things u a little

[505197]

Everyone gets a souvenour, some imbedded deeper then others.

[suprakilla2JZ]

damn, wonder how many bitches hair caught on fire?

[zionbnr32]

ebay products

[supbitcheez]

shouldnt have bought a clutch made of thermite!

[placenm]

Did he died?

[fraghetti]

jesus christ is it new years eve again?

[padge05]

Top fuel and funny cars have clutches. Not torque convertors

[24preacherboy]

Looks like someone saved money at Autozone.

[gibsonlespaul2]

LOOK DAD FIREWORKS! *Gets hit in the face by a flying piece of clutch*

[netmatrix75]

Damn!!1 Massive fireworks waayyy before the event comes to a close!!

[riderpoet]

That kind of probably makes the people standing right next to it wish they weren't.

[qasdr85elcamino]

me I have a manual shift gear box in an automatic, I LOVE the shift my El Camino gives when it does LOVE IT!

[jvhornsby]

people. dont drink and drag

[zeppelin67637]

Some one used that old saying "lets light this candle" and he took them seriously

[stingraystud]

ahh that will always warm ya up on a cold winter day

[coombs23420]

All those sparks were caused by the housing being torn open the shrapnel of the cltch and then since you have a very very very very fast spinning clutch engaging and grinding againt the plate it shot the red hot sparksout. Notice how it sprays out in a circular type motion evenly around the car.

[FireYourJOB]

@coombs23420

Have a question for u: How many clutch plates are used in a pro stock NHRA car??

Thanks in advance.....

[curtin94]

@FireYourJOB i belive its either 3 or 6 but dont forget the floaters

[dtiydr]

Dam..

[iPROFITDON]

What in the hell?

[pendo8881]

He thought he was smoking the tyres, so he peddled the throttle, not knowing that the clutch was disintegrating

[beaman220]

Made in China.

[trugemini6382]

@beaman220 if it was made in china wouldnt have broke..think bout it everything in your house is made in china from your $400 i phone to your 2,000 Laptop, to your 3,000 LCD TV ..so to say they cant make anything..obviously they do cause your $4000 Apple Laptop is made there and so is the Ipad ...they make everything from low end to max end stuff.

[abeepak1]

@trugemini6382 No wonder all my shit breaks down all the time...........

[strikeeagle345]

@abeepak1 lol agreed

[abeepak1]

@trugemini6382 bet you're chinese or some sort of variant of it.....

[zeppelin67637]

@trugemini6382 yes everything in my house seems to be made from some variant of asia, and its all pretty much single use crap that costs to fucking much lol

[Mrdancefloordj]

Must 've shot this on the 4th of July.

[snowman4839]

What was his clutch made of? Thermite?

[wdowa94]

@snowman4839 There is some metal and OIL in automatic gearbox

[kdog4791]

he probably survived but a fand did not. lol

[mk2v8supra]

Fark

[Pyrotechnican]

w...t...f?

[volatilefists]

ha ha why do so many idots out there think there flaming expert detectives from a quick vid view. i laugh at these poor idiots who think that they know better than the man who loaded the vid and knows all the details about it. people like that also get seen around the town basin SUCKING THE FARTS OUT OF DEAD SEAGULLS!!!

[omairgeforce]

what the hell 0:07 frame , so big explosion

[carlosmurphy4u]

Geeeeez, could ya make the clip a little shorter???

[bmaysS01]

Nitromethane can actually be a high explosive if desensitized with a chemical like ammonia. I head if you spill some on the floor and hit it with a hammer it will sound like an oxy acetylene coffee cup bomb.

This stuff is serious.

[jeflagoon]

moltin clutch anyone?

[PsychoticSinner]

that was insane and top fuel cars have only one foward speed

[geek49203]

Last I heard, the TF tranny was a design that combined clutch slipping, a 2-speed tranny, and a computer that assisted the entire thing.

The gearbox is normally shifted via air linkages.

So, it has more than one speed, and yes, it is an "automatic", but not in the sense that we think of it in street cars.

[PsychoticSinner]

i know there are 4 or 5 discs that allow it to slip but it only has one speed if it had more than one it would tear the tranny into shreds. think about it, 8000 horses

[immatear]

it actually has 8

i saw one get pulled apart, and my dad is in a pit crew (not for top fuelers).

the driver in the pit crew owns the worlds fastest small block chev

[PsychoticSinner]

i meant 4 not including the floaters but if you include those it has 8.

[jgong8638]

@geek49203 No "transmission" at all. It is a pneumatically operated progressively engaged clutch only. No shifting. They typically slip the clutch to around half track (the black smoke that trails).

[Freeker]

that is freakin awesome

[Outlander11]

Clutch? 0_o no clutch in an automatic.

[302GTS]

There are in fact clutches in an automatic. Just not the ones you have to engage and disengage manually. :)

[robby844]

@302GTS oh boy what you dont know would hurt you

[blackXSpr]

@302GTS They arent called clutches they are called torque converters

[cw147]

@blackXSpr there is a torque converter, but there are a number of small clutches inside of the gearbox

[JeffroGymnast]

@302GTS wrong, you must mean torque converter, which is not a clutch at all.

[madtownmadman]

@JeffroGymnast a torque converter is an automatic transmissions clutch, so to speak. it allows the engine to continue running when the vehicle is not moving. it disengages the engines rotating motion from the transmission, and reengages it upon aceleration.

[JeffroGymnast]

@madtownmadman In function yes they are similar, but mechanically they are very different, I think we are in "agreeance" here haha no point in debating

[09204418448]

@302GTS I Thought they only used torque converter. Lol

[scottN1980]

I'm pretty sure there is a clutch in an automatic

[XXXXShelts]

Its safer to light up magnesium in science class!!!

[lookiki1]

crap big boom

[CSXer]

looked like a fuel leak causing the tires to spin over reving the clutch. POW! Only  clutches or dragging frame parts cause sparks like that. Good thing it wasn't a front engine!

[molololtow]

dear god, it looks like molten metal or something like that.. Scary top fuel freaks :(

[wildhunter666]

Do i see moltem metal from clutch on this Video?

[Liquidator79]

he survived?

[FuelCoupe]

Sure did.

[24preacherboy]

@Liquidator79

Did the crowd survive? Thats the question.

[wsc50]

@Liquidator79 I'd be more worried about the people outside of the car surviving lol

[badachevy]

thas a pissed on and off clutch that damn clutch wanted out

[aidanhd]

who needs fireworks? jus put 8000hp through a normal clutch + this wud hapen lol

[RCmack]

I hate seeing drag racing accidents.

I hope NHRA and IHRA have totally safe seasons and none of these type of incidents occur.

[Blutarsky90]

clutches can do this???

[DaJamesX]

I think so, with 7000-8000hp, and 6000 lbs of tq, this is believable lol.

[dionkeong55]

fireworks...happy new years

[stairfall12345678900]

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­ooooo

fucked

[ellocomalandro]

wow,

[adam3176]

My clutch never did that. i think he got ripped. Mine just slipped

[xxdonatelloxx]

lmao

[rd2fst]

@adam3176 Theres a diff in a honda civic clutch and a topfuel clutch..

[adam3176]

@rd2fst i was being a smart ass

[adam3176]

@rd2fst I only worked on cars for 20 years

[rd2fst]

@adam3176 working on hondas and toyota is a lil diff from working on a topfuel car...Now im being a smartass..

[kirkmach32]

Yes, very...very sparkly, very, very twinkly.

[pepsibottleq]

"Why you buy should buy an AMERICAN clutch, not a chinese branded one"

[FuelHarley]

Duh!

[fueldragster]

Good thing Cowin wasn't in a funny car

[habib3225]

is this pre-titanuim clutch cans?

[FuelCoupe]

I beleive it was before ANDRA required the use of double lined titanium clutch cans.

[FuelCoupe]

A Top Fuel dragster only runs on 10% menanol the other 90% is nitro. Also if you would like your always welcome to give Graeme Cowin the owner/ driver a ring at Rocket Industrys and tell him that it wasn't the clutch I'm sure he would get a good laugh out of it, after all you seem to know more then him.

[69sexymonk69]

that made no sense

[osensei2987]

Dude! They've been having clutch explosions like this since I was in elementary school back in the 60's! I remember seeing stills of these type of clutch failures in Drag Racing Magazines of that time. Top fuelers don't have transmissions! The engine is connected directly to the drive shaft and automatic systems of clutch plates. The plates are timed to engage automatically at certain points down the track! You even can see the pulsing of sparks caused by clutches engaging in this video.

[osensei2987]

You can also see the flames still coming from the headers as the sparks are flying. That should give you a clue that the engine has not exploded and is still running. Also methanol creates an invisible flame and Nitro only burns inside the engine under many atmospheres of pressure. Once Nitro escapes from and engine block it will go out due to lack of pressure. Most fires are caused by the escaping hot oil and not the fuel itself.

[jgong8638]

@osensei2987 haha... So not true. Thats kind of funny, but seriously watch a few more vids. Nitromethane is quite flamable.. For example watch the video of Kalitta when he was killed at Englishtown in 2008. Nitro does not need added oxygen through pressure, actually the opposite. It can burn in the absence of atmospheric oxygen (it contains oxygen). It is much more flammable than gasoline.

[osensei2987]

It would be a waste of time arguing with someone like yourself. Because it is so painfully obvious that you have no idea what you're talking about! It is a well publicized fact that has been the subject of many racing commentators and drivers that nitro does not burn at normal atmospheres. Everyone has known this fact for decades. Now you come along and say different in spite of what every industry expert has publicly said about the fuel in the racing racing media publication! HA HA HA!

[jgong8638]

@osensei2987 Please explain how it burns, how we see a huge ball of fire when these cars go BANG. That is obviously at normal atmosphere. I have seen it in person so many times. You don't see a puddle of Nitro in these mishaps left behind because it burns. How bout this..go buy a gallon of it and hold a lit propane torch to it, and post back. Your saying it will not burn in that condition. Interesting. Try not to Huff it if you can resist.

[osensei2987]

The explosion takes place inside the engine as parts inside the block start to break up, usually the result of extreme rpms or fuel mixes that are too lean! Normally the explosion dislodges the supercharger and superheated oil escapes and burns. The flaming oil causes the fire, not the nitro! The demonstration with the torch has been done on TV many times in order to demonstrate that nitro will not burn unless compressed!

[TheDrakenZ]

@osensei2987 nitromethane is a man made hydrocarbon with around 10 times more oxygen bonded to it than conventional gasoline making it highly volatile requiring less atmospheric oxygen to burn. Those engines run air to fuel of 2:1 as opposed to 9:1 with conventional gasoline motors. Nitromethane motors also have dual 44 amp magnetos firing off those spark plugs and one misfire is enough to split the block in half or shatter the heads in peices. That explosion was not the engine...

[ImAMindlessOne]

@FuelCoupe did this cause them to change the rules?

[Narutofan1000k]

@FuelCoupe this is why

[ProverbialBootStraps]

That was an awesome explosion! But not for the bystanders. Good camera shots. I hope everyone escaped injury. Nothing shoots down a perfect night of Drag Racing more than someone getting hurt.

[itlaiaboy514]

holy shit!

[skullwing04]

holy shit

[aaron9696024]

thats some crazy shit.

[playa1313]

whoa

[blueandrewblue]

No one is safe when those things let go. Anyone wanna be a camera man?

[goldeneye4564]

lol, look how far away the camera is around the last part of the vid, that guy is smart lol

[nickeax]

I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer as a clutch bloke for a season with an Aussie TF team. I'm glad THAT never happened to us!

Graeme Cowin is 'THE FOREFATHER', respect. First Aus sub 5.0 @4.89 in 1993 (MELB).

[wesg77]

i saw this thing crash on its second run when graeme cowin was attepting the under five sec record for outside of n.america i know he did it on the first run but thte wasent much left of it after the second , only time i´ve seen the top fuelers . was that crash 93 or 94 cant really remember long time ago. but it was mental though

[Scroppie]

oops

[nitrobreed]

i heard that Graeme thought he was smoking the tires

[xzoon123]

its out of steel and titanium

[boobyboob69]

oh snap

[TEFLONTHADON]

He really should have let off of it when it started to blow like that.

[jizzmonger]

One thing I always found neat about top-fuel is watching them roast a motor just off the line and still "coast" to a 10-12 second time.

[TEFLONTHADON]

Yea.

[jizzmonger]

Fake

[FuelCoupe]

Tell that to the several thousand people who were at this event and witnesed it first hand

[jizzmonger]

What the hell did they make that clutch out of?

Flint?

Thermite?

[FuelCoupe]

Clutch disc's have a ceramic coating on them.(used to be asbestos)

What has happened here is the clutch disc's have worn the ceramic coating of so quickly that the clutch plates grab on the floater plate's. Wich either results in welding the clutch pack together or the clutch exploding.(its basicaly the plate's letting go from the shaft and bouncing around in the clutch can or as seen here coming out of the clutch can)

[jizzmonger]

Nice!

[68SSCAM]

what do you mean fake????????????????

[andrewontiveros]

O SHIT thats crazy mostly at the end i hope no one was in da way

[leather3]

Thank god for rear engine cars

[grumpybb]

That's the nastiest clutch explosion I've ever seen! Those people standing along the wall are lucky they weren't picking pieces of clutch discs and floaters out of their asses for the next month.

[spanky656]

HOLY SWEET CHRIST.THAT AINT FIT!!!

[kylebst264]

HOLY DOGSHIT!

[methodeus]

the race for the 1st sub-5 second pass in aus.. brand new car, clutch let go heh.. should have seen the track marshals trying to pickup parts off the track and burning themselves lol..

[BunnyKins1970]

FUCK ME!! That blew up all right!

[Payney122]

holy damb.....

thats huge!

[johnschaser]

Thanks Ive seen the video before but they never said who's car it was!

[lewkizm]

It's Graeme Cowin at the old Eastern Creek track. Around 15 years ago from memory. After this explosion, the track had 4m high fences put in to protect the spectators but not on the infield side were spectators we're actually closer then the hill side! Just goes to show how competent the track management was.

[5v4al]

Wow... I've never seen one blow up quite like that, and I've seen just about everything.