Teraflex Falcon 3.3 Shocks- Install & Review

[Blue Baby Sound]

So for those of you that are in the market for new shocks, here’s my take on the new Falcon 3.3 shocks after having them installed for a week.

My Mopar Stage III lift (now the Teraflex S/T3) came with FOX 2.0’s specifically tuned for the Jeep JK. I had no complaints about the FOX shocks, but nearing 60k on them they were showing their age. I had to make a choice on rebuilding them (which meant down time) or changing shocks. Having owned three JKs I also have experience with the factory Rubicon/Willys shocks, factory Sport shocks, Rancho 5000XL on our other Jeep, and have installed the Rancho 9000 on a friends.

I starting following Teraflex’s Falcon shocks in October when they were announced, and continued following various threads on the forums. When I had the chance to see some in person, and wheel with the owner, I knew I was sold on them.

Received my 3.3s last Tuesday night. Packaging was great, each shock was wrapped in plastic and was held in place on both ends.


Instructions were secured to the top lid of the box.They did a great job on the instructions, they're clear and each step has a pic.


There was also a card attached that was signed by the builders of each shock (pretty cool)



At the bottom of the box is a small box containing the rear lower mounts.


And a reference sticker for the inside driver's door that shows the shock settings.

 

[Blue Baby Sound]

INSTALLATION
Install is straightforward and can be done in your driveway using standard tools. If you've actually been using your Jeep in the dirt/mud then I suggest you wash underneath before starting work. It's helpful to spray some PB Blaster or WD-40 to loosen the bolts. Replacing all four shocks should take about an hour and a half or less.



The torque values published by Teraflex vary slightly from the factory values.

Front Shocks
Upper Nut- Teraflex/15 lb•ft Factory/20 lb•ft
Lower Bolt- Teraflex/40 lb•ft Factory 56 lb•ft (lower bolt head needs to face inward or it can potentially cause clearance issues with the lower control arm.)
Rear Shocks
Upper Bolt- Teraflex/30 lb•ft Factory/37 lb•ft
Lower Bolt: Teraflex/40 lb•ft Factory/56 lb•ft
Rear Shock Mount
Teraflex/40 lb•ft Factory N/A

The rear shock mounts require drilling the outside hole out to ⅝”




Here's a few pics of the install:

 

[Blue Baby Sound]

ISSUES
There were some fitment issues with my ACE Fender liners. You'll see in the pic below that clearance was too close and the adjustment knob couldn't rotate. It took two tries but a little cutting solved that problem. Our JK has a 1.25” body lift, so if you run the ACE liners without a BL you might have to cut more. OR look at the fender liners from Nemesis or JCR made specifically for the Falcon shocks.

W/O cutting:


First cut:


Second cut:

 

[Blue Baby Sound]

So it's been a week since the install, I've put several hundred road miles on them and one off-road jaunt to Disney, OK.

ON-ROAD
The first setting I tried was 3 (Firm). The 3 setting was almost identical to the FOX 2.0 they replaced. Great stability but I feel they are smoother than the old shocks. Pot holes and road imperfections were soaked up better.

Next setting I tried was 1 (soft). The soft setting was not my cup-o-tea, way too floaty for my taste but boy did it soak up the pavement. I'll give this setting another shot when I go off-road.

Next up was 2 (the adjustable setting) I played around with this setting and settled on a 4 (let's call that 2.4 ) To me this is a great setting for DD use. Seriously amazed with these shocks on this setting. Great drivability, control, vehicle stability and it soaks up the bumps and expansion joints extremely well. Over the next few weeks I'll continue to try other micro settings on 2.

My wife hasn't driven this Jeep in a while, she ran an errand and immediately noticed a difference in the ride. The bad news is she wants a set for her Jeep now….

OFF-ROAD- Disney, OK
Setting 3 (Firm) Not tested

Setting 1 (Soft) So I started off on the “soft” setting. Entering the park at Disney is a gravel/dirt road that leads down to the river bed. On this setting it was amazing how smooth the ride was. About as much difference as being disco'd compared to non-disco'd. Man, I'm really starting to love these things!
Flexing and slow crawling felt controlled, really no difference in control than before, just smoother.

Setting 2 (Adjustable) I switched over to the second setting as we were leaving the trails and heading back to the entrance. Left them on the 2.4 setting and carried some impressive speed over the small rocks and thru the river (slowed down for the water crossing ) Even if this were the only adjustment I would be hooked!





That's all I have for now, at this point I would recommend these shocks to anyone. Whether it's someone that wants a Cadillac ride, someone that wants a performance ride or someone that wants a ride that's somewhere in-between. These will fit the bill!

Issues:
Was able to stretch out these longer shocks today, coils remained seated but the Teraflex speed bumps up front were just starting to engage when the shock was fully compressed. I'll add a Teraflex 1.25” bumpstop to rectify that issue.

Here's a few pics from our Disney testing:


















Summary

At first I was skeptical about banging them thru the rocks, but so far ZERO issues. Next wheeling trip is planned for the 29th, we'll do an off-road recovery class with the Keystone fire department then head to the dam and wheel at Whitewater ORV. I'll continue to put these shocks thru their paces and continue to post my thoughts here.

 

[Comanche Scott]

Excellent write up! :beer:

 

[Blue Baby Sound]

Thank you kind sir!

 

[Alphonse]

I agree nice write up... well done!

Judging from your pics the travel lengths of the shocks are about 12.5" front and 11.0" rear. Is that about right? I looked around and couldn't find the compressed and extended lengths of these shocks. They didn't happen to include that in any of the literature did they?

 

[Happykamper]

Very nicely done thread !!! I personally love pictures to reference when I'm reading about mods !!! I'm definatly going to look into a set of these.

Thank you and again great job!!!

 

[Blue Baby Sound]

I agree nice write up... well done!

Judging from your pics the travel lengths of the shocks are about 12.5" front and 11.0" rear. Is that about right? I looked around and couldn't find the compressed and extended lengths of these shocks. They didn't happen to include that in any of the literature did they?

Thanks!
You're really close, here's a link to the catalog where it lists the specs: https://teraflex.com/file/attachments/58dd870b62d0910082493211.pdf

And a snip of the relevant part:

 

[Blue Baby Sound]

Very nicely done thread !!! I personally love pictures to reference when I'm reading about mods !!! I'm definatly going to look into a set of these.

Thank you and again great job!!!

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words!

 

[Happykamper]

Dang it !!! I looked at a few reviews , watched a bunch of you tubes and read and read and read !!! Till my eyes burned !!! Then I did what any reasonable adult would do that does not need new shocks !!!! I ORDERED A SET OF THE 3.3's !!! As soon as I pressed the BUY button I started the waiting game !!! I can't believe there not here yet lol.
I don't even need to " hope " there going to be cool! Because Blue Baby Sound made me a true beleaver . Thanks for giving me something fun to do today !!!

 

[Blue Baby Sound]

Dang it !!! I looked at a few reviews , watched a bunch of you tubes and read and read and read !!! Till my eyes burned !!! Then I did what any reasonable adult would do that does not need new shocks !!!! I ORDERED A SET OF THE 3.3's !!! As soon as I pressed the BUY button I started the waiting game !!! I can't believe there not here yet lol.
I don't even need to " hope " there going to be cool! Because Blue Baby Sound made me a true beleaver . Thanks for giving me something fun to do today !!!

LOL

Waiting was the only downside. I'm not a patient person

Congrats! I'm looking forward to other installs so we can compare notes on settings in various situations.

 

[RubiconGeoff]

The placement of the rear shocks' reservoirs is a major concern for me, because I'm constantly beating up my rear shocks and shearing off the adjustment knobs (I run Rancho RS9000s). Hopefully Teraflex will come out with some sort of HD mount/shield for the vulnerable positioning of the rear lower shock mounts.

 

[Blue Baby Sound]

The placement of the rear shocks' reservoirs is a major concern for me, because I'm constantly beating up my rear shocks and shearing off the adjustment knobs (I run Rancho RS9000s). Hopefully Teraflex will come out with some sort of HD mount/shield for the vulnerable positioning of the rear lower shock mounts.

The Rancho knob sticks out the back and I can see where you could drop off a ledge and shear it off.

The Falcon knob is above the bottom shock plane and there is very little space something could get to the knob. Only time will tell though. This Jeep gets dragged thru the rocks as much as it does trail/overlanding trips. So if someone is going to beak one off it will be me
I remember one of their videos said they'll be coming out with an additional skid. If so, I'll add one for peace of mind.

 

[RubiconGeoff]

On the Rancho shocks, the knobs are vulnerable but at least they're cheap and easy to replace. Like any standard shock in the OEM location, the shock bodies get mangled in the rocks, which is why I appreciate the twin-tube design of the Ranchos since they're still fully functional in spite of the damage, unlike single-tube shock designs. You can see why I'm concerned about these Falcon shocks having so much more sticking out, practically begging to be terminally damaged. Here's a photo of one of my rear shocks and its 3rd or 4th replacement knob.