pic: WCD off season chassis from 2471

[Dunngeon]

Originally Posted by Nebster

Do you feel 1/16" walled tubing is strong enough for a traditional drive train?

Yes, 1/16 wall tubing is easily strong enough for a drivetrain.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Dunngeon

Yes, 1/16 wall tubing is easily strong enough for a drivetrain.

This is not a safe general statement to make at all. There are multiple loading conditions to consider, and it entirely depends on how you build your frame, what loads it is exposed to, etc.

Generally, 1/8" wall (or .1" wall) tubing is used on the driveline in order to support the bearings or internal bearing blocks better. 1/16" is too thin for a drivetrain bearing fit not supported by anything else. So regardless of strength many teams run 1/8" wall on the driveline. This could be different for systems like the VersaBlock which don't rely on the internal walls of the tube for support.

As for your cross members, I have heard in the past that teams have dealt with buckling cross members under very heavy defense when they used 1/16" 2x1 tubing. This obviously depends on the number of crossmembers used, any other cross-structural support from other mechanisms, etc. but I wouldn't just say "1/16th is easily strong enough" as a general statement.