{
  "id": "0-60",
  "version": "a16633ea7098",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "0-60 Calculator",
  "question": "What is my 0-60 time?",
  "summary": "Works out a 0-60 mph time and the average acceleration and distance from the time, the time from an acceleration, or the ideal 0-60 time from power and weight, for any target speed.",
  "category": "physics",
  "subcategory": "mechanics",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/physics/0-60-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/physics/0-60-calculator.md",
  "kind": "function",
  "method": "a = v ÷ t and x = ½ v t at a steady acceleration; t = m v² ÷ (2P) and x = ⅔ v t at a steady power (½ m v² = P t).",
  "assumptions": [
    "The car starts from a standstill. The time and acceleration modes use the average acceleration, as if it were steady.",
    "The power mode is an ideal lower bound: all the power goes into speed from the first instant, with no wheelspin, gear changes, drag or drivetrain losses, so real cars take longer.",
    "Units: 1 mph = 0.44704 m/s; 1 km/h = 1/3.6 m/s; 1 hp = 745.69987158227022 W; 1 PS = 735.49875 W; 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg; g = 9.80665 m/s²."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "find": {
        "title": "Work out",
        "description": "Start from the 0-60 time, from an acceleration, or from the power and the weight.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "accel",
          "time",
          "power"
        ]
      },
      "v": {
        "title": "Target speed",
        "description": "The speed reached from a standstill: 60 mph for a 0-60 time, 100 km/h for 0-100.",
        "type": [
          "number",
          "string"
        ],
        "x-quantity": "speed",
        "minimum": 0.01,
        "maximum": 10000
      },
      "t": {
        "title": "0-60 time",
        "description": "How long it takes to reach the target speed from a standstill.",
        "type": [
          "number",
          "string"
        ],
        "x-quantity": "time",
        "minimum": 0.01,
        "maximum": 100000
      },
      "a": {
        "title": "Average acceleration",
        "description": "The average acceleration, in the unit chosen below.",
        "type": "number",
        "minimum": 0.000001,
        "maximum": 1000000
      },
      "au": {
        "title": "Acceleration unit",
        "description": "The unit of the acceleration: g (standard gravity), m/s² or ft/s².",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "g",
          "mps2",
          "fps2"
        ]
      },
      "p": {
        "title": "Power",
        "description": "The power that reaches the wheels, taken as constant from the start.",
        "type": [
          "number",
          "string"
        ],
        "x-quantity": "power",
        "minimum": 1,
        "maximum": 1000000000
      },
      "m": {
        "title": "Weight",
        "description": "The weight (mass) of the car with its driver.",
        "type": [
          "number",
          "string"
        ],
        "x-quantity": "mass",
        "minimum": 0.1,
        "maximum": 10000000
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "result": {
      "label": "Answer",
      "description": "The value worked out, to 6 significant figures: the acceleration, or the 0-60 time.",
      "format": "text"
    },
    "seconds": {
      "label": "0-60 time (s)",
      "description": "The time from a standstill to the target speed, in seconds.",
      "format": "number"
    },
    "gs": {
      "label": "Average acceleration (g)",
      "description": "The target speed ÷ the time, as a multiple of 9.80665 m/s².",
      "format": "number"
    },
    "mps2": {
      "label": "Average acceleration (m/s²)",
      "description": "The target speed ÷ the time, in metres per second squared.",
      "format": "number"
    },
    "fps2": {
      "label": "Average acceleration (ft/s²)",
      "description": "The same acceleration in feet per second squared.",
      "format": "number"
    },
    "distance": {
      "label": "Distance covered",
      "description": "How far the car goes while it speeds up: ½ × speed × time at a steady acceleration, ⅔ × speed × time at a steady power.",
      "format": "quantity",
      "unit": "ft"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "find": "accel",
      "v": "60 mph",
      "t": "6 s",
      "a": 0.5,
      "au": "g",
      "p": "300 hp",
      "m": "3500 lb"
    },
    "outputs": {
      "result": "a = 4.4704 m/s² (0.455854 g)",
      "seconds": 6,
      "gs": 0.45585393584965306,
      "mps2": 4.4704,
      "fps2": 14.666666666666666,
      "distance": 80.4672
    },
    "text": "From 0 to 60 mph takes 6 s at an average of 0.455854 g."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "find": "accel",
        "v": 26.8224,
        "t": 6
      },
      "expect": {
        "mps2": 4.4704,
        "gs": 0.45585393584965306,
        "distance": 80.4672,
        "result": "a = 4.4704 m/s² (0.455854 g)"
      },
      "source": "OpenStax, University Physics Volume 1, §3.4 Motion with Constant Acceleration (v = v₀ + at; x = ½(v₀ + v)t), https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/3-4-motion-with-constant-acceleration; hand calculation in content.mdx: 60 mph = 26.8224 m/s; a = 26.8224 ÷ 6 = 4.4704 m/s²; x = ½ × 26.8224 × 6 = 80.4672 m = 264 ft"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "find": "time",
        "v": 26.8224,
        "a": 0.5,
        "au": "g"
      },
      "expect": {
        "seconds": 5.470247230195836,
        "result": "t = 5.47025 s"
      },
      "source": "OpenStax, University Physics Volume 1, §3.4 Motion with Constant Acceleration (v = v₀ + at; x = ½(v₀ + v)t), https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/3-4-motion-with-constant-acceleration; hand calculation in content.mdx: t = 26.8224 ÷ (0.5 × 9.80665) = 5.47025 s"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "find": "power",
        "v": 26.8224,
        "p": 223709.96147468107,
        "m": 1587.5732950000001
      },
      "expect": {
        "seconds": 2.552782040758057,
        "distance": 45.64782734001927
      },
      "source": "OpenStax, University Physics Volume 1, §7.4 Power (P = W ÷ t) and §7.3 Work-Energy Theorem, https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/7-4-power; hand calculation in content.mdx: t = m v² ÷ 2P = 1,587.573295 × 26.8224² ÷ (2 × 223,709.961) = 2.55278 s"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "find": "accel",
        "v": 27.77777777777778,
        "t": 8
      },
      "expect": {
        "mps2": 3.4722222222222223,
        "distance": 111.11111111111111
      },
      "source": "OpenStax, University Physics Volume 1, §3.4 Motion with Constant Acceleration (v = v₀ + at; x = ½(v₀ + v)t), https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/3-4-motion-with-constant-acceleration; hand calculation in content.mdx: 100 km/h = 250/9 m/s; a = 250/9 ÷ 8 = 3.47222 m/s²"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "OpenStax, University Physics Volume 1, §3.4 Motion with Constant Acceleration (v = v₀ + at; x = x₀ + ½(v₀ + v)t). https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/3-4-motion-with-constant-acceleration (retrieved 2026-10-03)",
    "OpenStax, University Physics Volume 1, §7.4 Power (P = dW/dt; W = ΔK by the work-energy theorem). https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/7-4-power (retrieved 2026-10-03)",
    "NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 Factors for Units Listed Alphabetically (mile, horsepower 550 ft·lbf/s, pound, standard gravity 9.80665 m/s²). https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811/nist-guide-si-appendix-b-conversion-factors/nist-guide-si-appendix-b8 (retrieved 2026-10-03)"
  ],
  "related": [
    "acceleration",
    "horsepower",
    "power-to-weight-ratio"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}