Meet Falcon Shocks – A Towing/Hauling Suspension built and designed by TeraFlex
For those that are unfamiliar with TeraFlex, they manufacture performance off-road products, including t-cases, gearing, complete suspensions and shocks, primarily for the Jeep community.
TeraFlex has experience in the off-road industry dating back to the 1950s. Needless to say, the engineering experts at TeraFlex invested countless hours in shock tuning before they released Falcon Shocks, their in-house line of performance shocks.
Falcon Shocks were designed by the engineering team at TeraFlex to add significant performance to any suspension system.
Their shocks are designed to provide predictable handling by improving both compression and rebound. All of their shocks are tested and literally felt by a ‘seat-of-the-pants’ experience.
2″/1″ Lift Kit – Tow/Haul Options:
- Falcon Sport Tow/ Haul Lift Kit: Check Price
So why buy a set of shocks from a primarily Jeep-focused company?
Why Falcon Shocks?
After researching alternatives to the Bilstein 6112/5100 suspension we installed on our last 4Runner, we wanted to find something similar for this next project, but something with even more functionality. Our goal with this 4Runner (Jade – 2016 TEP MGM) is not to create a rock crawling beast. Nor were we looking to spend over $3000 on another suspension like the Icon or KING. In reality, we wanted to keep this truck as an ultra clean daily driver with the occasional camping trip here and there.
This truck will see easy to moderate trails but nothing too severe where we start ripping off valances or causing body damage.
Falcon Shocks offers a dynamic suspension that will be comfortable as a daily driver, but function when we need it off-road. This is also the Falcon Shocks Tow/Haul suspension, which features three different levels of adjustments on the piggyback shocks.
Whether we are towing a trailer or loading down the 4Runner for a camping trip, we can adjust the piggyback shock dial to our desired comfort. This is something you will not be able to achieve with a set of 5100 or 5160 Bilsteins.
With the Bilstiens, you somewhat control your level of comfort with your chosen compatible rear spring in relation to the shocks. This is all relative though and can be debated, leave your comments below.
The Falcon Shocks utilizes the factory tuned spring, then pairs that with a 1″ spacer and then shock dampening adjustability for a wider range of applications; daily, off-road, towing, loaded, etc.
To me, I felt like Falcon Shocks may have nailed a great “all-around” suspension for the 5th Gen, but that is too be discovered over time.
Falcon Shocks 5th Generation 4Runner Lift Kit
Falcon Shocks designed this kit for the 2010-current 5th Generation 4Runner. The kit is compatible with earlier generations of the 5th Gen.
Front Suspension – 2″
For the front, Falcon pairs their monotube shock absorbers with the factory 4Runner spring, then they add an inline bump stop. Their shocks are shipped with fixed-rate damping that is tuned for both on and off-road performance. The factory spring sits on an injection molded squeak-free spring isolator and just below that, their billet coil spring carrier (the coil seat).
Falcon’s proprietary Volume Optimized Damping (VOD) features a digressive linear valve that produces quicker ramp up for increased damping volume, which improves vehicle feedback and control during low-speed driving. VOD also improves the shock absorber’s ability to reduce bottoming out at full compression during faster speeds or over uneven terrain.
Features
- Leveling monotube shock absorbers
- Progressive microcellular “foam” bump stops
- Billet coil spring carriers
- Injection molded squeak-free spring isolator
- All necessary hardware
Rear Suspension – 1″
For the rear, Falcon pairs their adjustable long-travel piggyback rear shock absorbers. The rear shocks feature three settings that allow for Comfort & Control, Moderate Tow/Haul, and Heavy Tow/Haul settings. They quote “long-travel” however, there is much to be debated here, I know.
The rear shocks get branded plastic guards and the spring gets topped with a 1″ rear coil spring spacer. Then to top off the rear, progressive microcellular foam bump stops (similar to front inline stops) and then bump stop pads that mount to the axle.
Features
- 1” lift rear coil spring spacers
- Adjustable piggyback shock absorbers
- Progressive microcellular “foam” bump stops
- Bump stop pads Roost guards
- All necessary hardware
A NOTE FROM FALCON: Never exceed your factory tow/haul ratings. Do not use tow/haul modes while unladen as the increased rear stiffness could upset the balance between the front and rear of the vehicle, which could lead to loss of vehicle control.
A true all-in-one lift kit from Falcon?
From the outside looking in with an 80% on-road and 20% off-road vision, how does the Falcon kit stack up?
At first glance, the suspension stacks up pretty damn well compared to its comparable counterpart, the incredibly popular Bilstein 6112/5100.
With three levels of comfort/adjustments to choose from and leveraging the factory tuned springs, I would say Falcon did pretty well in the engineering department with this kit. Their focus was on keeping the vehicle factory-comfortable while offering an immense amount of actual usability and functionality, both on and off-road.
For a mid-level lift kit, I think this is a candidate for many owners to consider. For the driver who is looking for extreme articulation, you may want to look another direction.
This Falcon Shocks lift kit will offer mild off-road performance, but don’t expect to push it through Fordyce or the Rubicon any time soon. For reference, I am not sure if I would take this suspension through Long Canyon in Kyburz, CA or Strawberry Pass on a remaining stock 4Runner.
What about tire size?
Factory tires on the 4Runner are 265/70/17 (31.6″). With this kit, you are going up 2″ in the front. That doesn’t buy you a ton of room for tire size.
- Small: Comfortably, you may jump to 255/75/17 (32.1″) or 275/70/17 (32.2″) with likely no rubbing or issues at all.
- Medium: The 285/70/17 (32.7″) is a very common tire on the 4Runner. The Falcon lift kit running this tire will likely need to push your outer fender liners back along with a BMC (Body Mount Chop).
- Large: You can take things a step further and go with 255/80R17 (33.1″), a skinnier/taller tire. The same applies here with trimming, but you may have more issues. Rocker panel caps and inner fender liners may need trimming. Again, same applies if you take it to the bigger 33″ tires. Moving to a set of 285/75/17 (33.8″) will cause all of the requirements above plus trimming your actual body and maybe more.
All-In-One Suspension?
Everyone has different goals with their 4Runner so its hard to say. This kit offers extreme versatility and can tackle most terrains thrown at it with 2″ of extended clearance in the front and 1″ in the rear.
- For drivers who spend most time on-road, both city and freeway, this is a great kit.
- For drivers whose main purpose is towing, I would say absolutely.
- For drivers who tow often or wheel occasionally on light terrain, this kit is also a great option.
- For drivers who are looking to wheel moderately hard or severe, you may want to look another direction.
This kit may work for many of us but for the owners who want to seriously push their limits off-road, at least 3″ kits with aftermarket upper control arms (UCAs) will be wanted.
With the 4Runner that this kit went on, it was perfect. Our goals for this project matched up perfect with Falcon Shocks. We will have a follow-up post on the installation and then another on the on-road/off-road review.
Came across your site researching tire sizes for my 4Runner. And followed up with shock research. I’m impressed by your candor and research. Im planning a trip through the Americas and your write-ups gave me the information I needed to select the right gear for my trip. Thank you!
For anyone following this thread, I had the falcon tow/haul sport installed last week along with 17×9 (-12mm offset) wheels with 285/70/17 tires. Little bit of bumper trim to eliminate the running. No BMC necessary. The on road fee is much stiffer and you feel more of the road which is nice at times. There is still a bit of a rake but much less than OE. Body roll and nose dive corrected immensely. I wheeled it on some trails at Land Between the Lakes and was very impressed. However, I don’t have anything to compare too. Thanks to Brendan and all the other contributors for the massive amount of good information they put out there.
Hey Brenan.
I just wanted to reach out and say thanks for putting together such a great website. It has been such a big help with my 4R build.
I have a quick question. I installed a Falcon tow/ haul kit on my 2020 trd ORP non KDSS. Still has the stock UCA’s. After reading your install and review of the OME BP51 kit it has me thinking maybe that is the way to go. I really don’t do that much towing, not that it really matters.
My question is how would you compare the Falcon lift/level tow/haul kit to the OME BP51?
I love the ride quality I get from the Falcon kit. I wanted to get rid of the still present front end rake so I went ahead and purchased 4 .25” Ekstrom shims to put on top of the Falcons to get an extra inch to level everything out.
Would you recommend one over the other ?
I absolutely love how Jade is coming out. I have the same color and I’m going for the same look as her.
Well, thanks again and keep up the great work.
Dave, I am curious if you’re running any sort of aftermarket bumper/winch up front? Did you have the front shock set to ‘heavy acc’? And could you post a photo of the rig after you added the ekstrom shims? I am in the same boat as you, it sounds like.
I installed the shims up front today. Doubled up each side and they gave me 1″. I still have bit of rake with the OME 898 rear springs. Front end is 38 1/8″ from ground to wheel well. Rear is 40″ ground to wheel well.
Hey Jeremy, I have a Badlands 12K winch with a Rago hidden winch mount. My front struts whee set to Heavy ACC from the beginning. My front end is sagging quite a bit. I have not installed the Ekstrom spacers yet. I also have a set of Duro bump stops I need to install as well. My rear end was sagging as well. I installed the OME 898 rear coils without the Falcon spacer yesterday. It made a big difference. I will post pics of the before and after both front and rears. I will install the strut spacers and see what type of clearance I get. I am installing two spacers on each side (1/4″ ea) which should translate into 1″ lift total. I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks for the kind words man! I liked the Falcon kit although it didn’t give me the adjustability I wanted, nor was it going to give me the height I wanted to clear 35″ tires. It depends on the tire size you are running. If 285/70R17 maybe stay on the Flacon kit and save your money. If you decide to up the tire size; 285/75, 295/70, 305/70, 315s, or even 35X12.5s then I would recommend upgrading the UCAs to correct the caster and push the tires away from the firewall. The BP-51 is a nice (somewhat affordable) mid-travel setup with a threaded shock body that let’s you adjust the height which is nice for bigger tires. Also with the larger shock body, progressive valving and remote reservoirs – it’s going to offer your better results off-road although comparatively speaking, you may not notice that much of a difference after a day of wheeling. I like the BP-51 over the Falcon kit but that’s only because it allows for bigger tires. The Falcon kit was great for my needs at that time.
When will you have the follow up review for the falcons?
I’m having this installed and I decided to upgrade the rear spring with an Icon 2”. I know it’s designed to use the factory front spring but would you suggest upgrading that as well? I’ve got an aftermarket bumper and winch. If so, what spring set would you recommend?
The icon rear 2-inch spring might be a little big for this kit. The Falcon kit comes with a 1 inch rear spacer that goes on top of the factory spring. If you add a 2-inch spring in the rear then you would be sitting up one inch above the recommended specs on this kit which would give you raked look. If you have a bumper and a winch going on the front, you may want to look at upgraded OME 884 (factory weight), 884 (70-180lbs), or 887 (200+ lbs) coils or you can get even more specific with a set of Dobinsons coils. It sounds like you need to upgrade the front coils for sure if you are running the rear 2″ icon spring. I would go with the 887 or something similar from Dobinsons.
Brenan – Do you know how this performs when towing? I have a 2018 ORP w/KDSS and just bought a military M1102 trailer I plan to convert into an expedition trailer. Aside from towing that, I do mainly light off road and camping. I was considering upgrading the rear spring with an ICON 2″ coil spring as well. I apprecaite your feedback and opinion. Love the site.
How would you say this compares to the TRD Setup you wrote about? I’m on the edge of the Falken Setup, Einbach Setup or OME’s. I mostly use it as a daily driver and go camping/offroad paths nothing too intense.
I have no direct driving experience with TRD but have pushed the Bilstein 6112/5100 around for a good 5k miles. They are very similar suspensions. Both are Bilstein digressive shocks with the same travel. Compared to the Falcon suspension, which I have put about 3K miles on so far, both digressive systems are on equal playing fields for sure. The Falcon suspension would get a win in my book because of its adjustable dampening for towing/load. The Falcon suspension will give you a very similar ride quality to the Bilsteins.
Hey there. Can we get a small review of these shocks and a couple pictures or the whole vehicle? Consider this set up for my ‘18 ORP kdss
I just uploaded one photo of our 4Runnner (Jade) to the post. You can see some before and afters along with the installation on our installation write-up. I will eventually write a 1000-3000 mile review as well. That should be coming soon.
Hello T4R. Basic question. Can I run a 2857017 tire on a stock SR5 2108 4Runner. Thank you in advance. Shep.
Check out the tire page – https://trail4runner.com/2018/01/03/largest-tire-size-4runner/
Is still kit a prototype or available to public. their website dont seem to post this particular kit
Edwin,
It’s available. Here is the kit with compression adjusters.
William, it sounds like it will fit your needs for sure.
The rear shocks on this kit are designed to control your comfort level (both loaded and unloaded) so no need for a new spring unless of course, you want one, and it wouldn’t hurt. With a new spring, you can really control the ride comfort.
This kit is compatible with KDSS. We recently installed this kit on our 2016 Trail Edition and the install should be coming out soon. It was a simple install as far as suspensions go, no UCAs, and no unbolting of KDSS components to fit the rear spacer.
If you are going for straight level, you may want to look into a set of Ekstrom Strut Shims as they will level out the ride completely.
So you would be using the Eckstrom shims on the rear only to acheive a completely level ride?
How much is this kit and where can I find it? I could not find it on their website. Is it available?
Ekstrom shims stack on the coilovers in the front only, like this post here.
Thanks for the answer!!
But will I achieve a 2” lift with just this kit? I only have a roof rack and gobi ladder. I know that not when I’ll have a boat or my seadoo but when im unloaded?
Btw, merry Christmas!! And thank you for your time!! Your blog is helping me a lot
When you are not towing the boat/SeaDoo (unloaded), you will have a slight rake (1″). Np man, Merry Xmas!
So if I want to have a 2” lift, tow a sea-doo sometime in the summer and do some off-road occasionally with my 4runner I understand that it can be a great kit?
At first, I was going to put 5100 all around with better spring to tow my seadoo but should I consider this kit? I’m not good in suspension but that seems good for my needs? What do you think? Fits Kdss as well I imagine?
Thank you!!