8/29/2023 0 Comments Speed demons big headsWhen the piston holed, it pressurized the sump causing the valve cover gaskets to fail and spray down the hot engine bay, hence the minor but smokey engine fire. The number four piston had a gaping hole in the center of it from the lean condition. When the data indicated that the number four cylinder had leaned out considerably, team members converged to pull the big-block’s cylinder head. The big-block engine was removed, and team members began readying the 442-cid LS-based A-class engine. After downloading the data, the team decided to forego the usual trip to impound for record qualifiers. A backup pass for the record seemed improbable at this time. Unfortunately, an oil-based engine fire occurred, burning up some of the wiring. After a brief tuning session back in the pits, George made a third run resulting in an encouraging 447 mph average in the fifth mile and a 455 mph exit speed. After an initial checkout pass at 380 mph to verify systems, Poteet’s second pass at 411 mph came up short of Tom Burkland’s 417.020 mph record, set in 2004. It’s axiomatic that the best-laid plans often breed success, but not without a few hiccups along the way. The AA/BFS (Blown Fuel Streamliner) record stood at 417 mph, and the team felt that they could raise it to more than 450 mph. This engine’s goal was to set a record above 450 mph, which would also secure the Hot Rod Magazine Top Speed of the meet trophy for the ninth time. The primary engine for this effort is a 557 ci Dart-based big-block sporting upwards of 3,200 horsepower. For 2020, the team came with four different bullets in its piston-powered arsenal, all twin-turbocharged engines running on methanol. The Speed Demon owns virtually the whole upper half of the record ladder for the SCTA’s Unlimited Blown Fuel Streamliner class, using various displacement engines to fit different classes. The Speed Demon has encountered no difficulty running in its own configuration and is currently faster than all the other competitors. It has four wheels with the two front wheels aligned in tandem, which is also considered to be inherently unstable compared to front steering and driven wheels that ride beside each other. It is a single-engine car driven only by the rear wheels in a venue where conventional wisdom insists that multiple engines and four-wheel-drive are essential to achieving peak speed levels. And while not officially recognized by the FIA world record authority, it is considerably faster than the current FIA 458.440 mph world land speed record set in 2001 by Don Vesco’s Turbinator - a turbine-powered, wheel-driven car. This is faster than the previous record established by Danny Thompson’s Challenger 2 at 448.757 mph in 2018. George Poteet’s Speed Demon streamliner is officially the world’s fastest wheel-driven, piston-powered vehicle by a considerable margin, establishing a new Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) record of 470.016 mph with an official terminal speed of 481.576 mph at the end of the timed mile.
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