Check your vertical CoG (CoR if you insist, it's easy!
1) Sit driver fully kitted in kart 2) Lift ONE side of the kart up 3) Continue lifting until the kart is nearly 'balanced' on the outside wheels, that point arrives when you are just holding the kart with 2 figers and it stays balanced. 4) Now draw an imaginary line (plane) from the line from the 'contact' points of the two tyres VERTICALLY so it 'forms' a 'plane'.
(If that sounds complex, get a bit of string and a 13mm nut tied to it. Dangle that in line with his Navel and it will touch the ground along the line which joins the front and rear outer tyres to the ground.)
That 'plane' will (usually) pass through the drivers NAVEL...... not the sternum!
Now put the kid down...... you'll be shocked at how close to vertical the 'balance point' of the kart actually IS! Your lad will also be surprised how much force is being applied by the seat just through gravity!
If he need to 'hang on tight' to stop himself from falling out, then his seat is WRONG for him. It SHOULD be able to hold him IN the kart with only LIGHT use of hands on the wheel and applying the heels to the heel stops (you DO have those, don't you...?:. If he's clutching the steering with his knees to stay in...... same again!
Now imagine how much FORCE you'd need to apply sideways to the kart if you applied it at the same height as the CoG (the nominal point where most cornering forces can be thought of as being applied)! Karts are STAGGERINGLY stable! Unless you are running SUPER tyres, hit a kerb, hit another kart, or do something daft like an multiple 'Elk Swerve', it's actually VERY hard to get a kart to turn over!
Ian
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