Sprocket Speed Calculator: Vehicle & Chain Speed
Work out ground speed from engine rpm, gearing and tire size, or the linear speed and throughput of an industrial chain drive.
Vehicle Drivetrain
Ratio 3:1Stock sprockets (speedometer check)
Top Ground Speed
147.7mph
Metric:237.7 km/h
Wheel Speed
1985.8rpm
Overall ratio:7.05:1
Speedometer Error
+11.63%Check
Would read:164.9 mph
Speedometer error applies to gearbox-driven speedometers.
Speed across the rpm range
| Engine rpm | Wheel rpm | mph | km/h | Speedo reads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,800 | 255 | 19 | 30.6 | 21.2 mph |
| 3,600 | 511 | 38 | 61.1 | 42.4 mph |
| 5,400 | 766 | 57 | 91.7 | 63.6 mph |
| 7,200 | 1,021 | 76 | 122.2 | 84.8 mph |
| 9,000 | 1,277 | 94.9 | 152.8 | 106 mph |
| 10,800 | 1,532 | 113.9 | 183.4 | 127.2 mph |
| 12,600 | 1,787 | 132.9 | 213.9 | 148.4 mph |
| 14,000 | 1,986 | 147.7 | 237.7 | 164.9 mph |
Speed Formulas for Chain Drives
Both modes start from the same ratio. For a vehicle you then convert wheel rpm to road speed, and for a conveyor you convert sprocket rpm to chain travel. To solve for a missing sprocket from a target speed, use the sprocket size calculator.
Vehicle ground speed
Example: a 15T/45T sprocket pair behind a 2.35 gearbox at 14,000 rpm on a 25 inch tire gives 1986 wheel rpm and 147.7 mph.
Industrial chain speed
- N
- = driver teeth
- P
- = chain pitch
Example: ANSI #60 with a 15T driver at 116.7 rpm runs at 109 ft/min and delivers 109.4 flights per minute at 16 pitch spacing.
Gearing Changes and Your Speedometer
Many motorcycles drive the speedometer from the gearbox output, so changing the final drive without recalibrating changes what it shows. See the effect of a gearing change on torque and rpm with the motorcycle sprocket gearing calculator.