1:9.4 Scale

When we talk about RC cars and how real they are, there are many limitations that result in a scale. but is it 1:10 scale or 1:9.3 scale?

Different manufacturers of RC bodies play all kinds of tricks to make the cars look realish. Three of the biggest players, Yokomo HPI and and Tamiya have very different views on RC bodyshapes.

Getting the cars to be the "Right" size always comes back to the wheelbase. so should you get a 250mm M chassis or a 290mm L chassis? Well, that depends on how crazy you and your friends are about scale.

But there's all kinds of other things that make a car took longer or shorter , wider or narrower than it should.

Here are three toyotas that contrast well.

RC Wheelbase is around 260mm.
RC body width is around 180mm and with an over fender perhaps190mm


The 1/10th scale ABC Hobby Toyota Supra MA70 is about as close as you will get to 1/10 scale.

MA70 Wheelbase = 2596mm 1/10 = 259.6mm or 260mm is almost spot on.
Width of the Supra = 1745 which relates well to the 175 or 180mm wide bodies 

While the Yokomo Droop AE86 is almost spot on 1/9th scale.

Why 1/9th lets have a look.

AE86 Wheelbase is 2400mm. to get that to 260mm from 240 mm requires a 20mm or 10% increase in size. the 1630mm width also requires the 10% increase for 1/10 size 180mm shells.

The Mark II JZX100 is at the other end of the scale at about 1/10.5th scale

JZX100 wheelbase is 2730mm, so to reduce this down to 260mm the result is 1/10.5
the 275mm wheelbase RC shells are a result to get this body to the right size.
so the 2730mm JZX yokomo shell on the 275mm chassis is exactly right. 1/10


Here is a basic rundown of different cars and their ultimate scale.

I have calculated width also,but as width can be adjusted by fenders or manufacturer size, I'm just going to concentrate on the 257~260mm wheelbase in this comparison.

Body              Actual          RC        SCALE

Nissan

GTR34	2665	260	10.25
GTR33	2720	260	10.46
GTR32	2615	260	10.06
R31	2615	260	10.06
C110	2610	260	10.04
C10	2640	260	10.15
S13	2474	257	9.63
S14	2525	257	9.82
S15	2525	257	9.82

Mazda  

FC3s	2430	257	9.46
FD3s	2420	257	9.42

Toyota

AE86	2400	257	9.34
ZN6 86	2570	257	10.00
MA70	2596	260	9.98
MA80	2550	257	9.92
JZX100	2730	260	10.50
JZX100	2730	275	9.93

 So these two cars represent a very very realistic view.

a widebody D-Like ZN6 on a 257mm chassis and a 275mm MarkX are pretty close to 1:10
they are also quite narrow in their manufacturers interpretation of scale measurements so the results are good.

however you look at it. Scale is in the eye of the beholder. I don't see much relationship between my Fd3s and my RC HPI FD3s with Stage D 205mm widebody kit. Or do I?