Dodonpa - Speed and Acceleration

Speed and Acceleration

This 55 second ride takes the rider across 3,901 feet of steel tracks, and peaks at a maximum height of 170 feet 7 inches. Reaching top speeds of 106.9 mph, Dodonpa retained the title of world's fastest roller coaster for nearly a year and a half before Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster took it in May 2003. Previous to Dodonpa, only two other roller coasters had broken the 100 mph barrier; today, that number has risen to six (including Dodonpa).

As for its main attraction, Dodonpa's accelerates from 0 mph to its maximum speed, 106.9 mph, in 1.8 seconds, reaching up to 4.3 G's. That means it accelerates 4.3 times faster than the acceleration due to gravity, or 4.3 times faster than free fall. Even astronauts only experience 3 G's at liftoff, though, for a substantially longer time than 1.8 seconds.