Hi, I was wondering if somebody could show me a picture of the coupler blocks. I can't figure it out, so I'm just gonna humble myself and ask for a pic. thanks,

-Andrew

The coupler blocks are the 4 square plastic blocks, two on each rail, one in front and one behind the lower half of the Rear Torque Arm, the pivot arm..

You can barely see them in this picture. They allow you to adjust weight transfer and coupling by turning them so a different thickness faces the pivot arm.

Ok thanks Tom. I was watching some pre-recorded races from this past season and they showed a tech tip on the sag. Tim Bender showed how they put a cable tie on the rear arm to the rail to minimize holeshot sag. I noticed that they were running only the coupler blocks behind the rear arm, none in front. In fact they used the front hole for the cable tie. I got my sled from Levi Lavallee, it was one of his practice sleds. And, guess what? No coupler blocks in front of the rear arm. Soooooooo, what difference will it make to have them there? Should I be running them? I ran the sled last year without them not realizing it. It seems like I get more kick in the back then I should, and its put me on my ass multiple times last year. Would not having those blocks in make any difference? Thanks in advance!

No front coupler blocks won't hurt but one thing, Rear to Front coupling. When your front arm takes a direct impact the front shock will be all alone to absorb the hit. That block allows the rear shock to couple with the front shock when taking a direct impact to the front of the skid.

I don't think not having these blocks is whats making your sled kick back. Sounds a little more like not quite enough rebound dampening in the rear track shock. Thats just a guess and without actually seeing and feeling the sled it could be something totally different. IQ's came stock with quite a bit of rebound dampening and they needed it.

Running without these blocks shouldn't hurt anyhing but they are very inexpensive so if you wanted to add them it should cost less than $20.

When I say kick in the back I mean the rear kicks higher then the front, so when I have crashed its cause I nose dived the sucker. Also all the adjustment I have is preload and compression, right? OK, I was planning to get the blocks till I saw the hentges team was running without them, I just have to wonder why.

Because the Hentges team is run by tim bender.

Care to elaborate?

Tim Bender is the race team manager for Hentges, he is the man. His crew consists of his son bret, Gulla and levi. So you mentioned earlier that you saw tim do a presentation about removing the front blocks. You bought levi's sled and it was setup by tim because he is the race manager of Hentges race team.

Yeah, I realize that. MY only question, why does Tim pull the front blocks out? What is going to improve without the blocks? What changes am I going to see with the blocks? I am just second guessing on whether I want to replace them seeing that Tim has the boys setup without them, and he knows wtf hes doing.

It will help your hole shot. Do an experiment, since they are inexpensive, put a pair on, ride it, then take them out and ride it. Keep the version that you like best. I doubt you will tell much difference. If only one race team is doing it then I wouldn't hold alot of stock in it. If most of the race teams were doing it then I would do it too. Sorry I can't be much help

Andrew

Keep in mind that Team Hentges rarely uses the stock shocks in their race and practice sheds. They come right off before the sleds are ridden and then back on when the sleds are sold. I am betting that the shock package that Tim had it that sled did not need the rear to front coupling so he removed those blocks. This keeps more track on the ground when going through woops as well as other times. The tie wrap trick was to pervent the skid from transfering so much on launch which keeps wheeling to a minimum. All this was based on the shock package those guys were running in their buggies. Of course the tie wrap breaks on the first jump.

At 14, I'm guessing you are a pretty light guy and may not need a lot of Rear to Front coupling either. Like MBR said you should do a little experimenting. Run without the blocks, if you are casing jumps and bottoming the front arm of the skid you will want to install the blocks. If your skills are mad and you are greasing that sled on the landings you won't need the blocks. You won't need to wory about the Tie Wrap trick, at your weight (I'm guessing again) you will want the most possible transfer available.

Hope this helps but if not write back.

Tom, thats what I was looking for. I figured it had to do with the way they were set up. Thanks a ton! I weigh about 150, I am going to run my first race sans blocks and see how it feels. Then if I feel it bottoming alot up there I will pick em up, if she feels fine then leave it. Thanks guys!