The correlation between molecular structure and electrooptic performance is studied for novel room temperature chiral smectic A liquid crystals. It is observed that slight modifications of the hydrocarbon chain connected to the chiral center result in dramatic differences in their electrooptic performance. If the hydrocarbon chain is shortened or if a double bond is localized at the end of the hydrocarbon chain the tilt angle, electroclinic coefficient, and switching time are significantly suppressed.