Great post Baz, will be helpful to new builders.
I question the commercial viability or need for kit manufacturers to conduct all the destructive testing. I dont feel this would improve the safety of the vehicles and the cost of this testing would take many kits sold to recover. To complete all testing would likely cost the manufacturer $50-$100k by the time you include cost of building several chassis and components for testing.
FEA can provide results that are accurate enough for the risk to be managed with a factor of safety.
How many high rise buildings are built and demolished to check if they will fall down in the event of wind loading or eathquake? These contain much more occupants than a car
