Vehicle acceleration: formula and practice
How to calculate acceleration from driving data
The acceleration of a vehicle indicates how quickly its speed changes. The formula is: a = Δv / t, where Δv is the change in speed in m/s and t is the time in seconds. Since car specifications are usually given in km/h, the conversion applies: v [m/s] = v [km/h] ÷ 3.6.
The best-known example is the 0 to 100 km/h sprint. At 5 seconds, this gives: Δv = 100/3.6 = 27.78 m/s; a = 27.78/5 = 5.56 m/s² = 0.57 g. For comparison: Earth’s gravitational acceleration is 9.81 m/s² (1 g). Sporty production vehicles reach values around 0.5–0.7 g, corresponding to a 0–100 sprint of 4–7 seconds.
In addition to acceleration, our calculator also computes the distance covered during the acceleration process. This is calculated as s = 0.5 × a × t² (for standing starts). At 100 km/h in 5 seconds, the vehicle covers just under 70 meters – an important value for safety distances when merging onto a highway or overtaking.