Teraflex Falcon 3.3 or no?

[NoStrawman]

Alright all, first post here, so hopefully I'm not asking one of those common, grating questions.


Background:

A bit of background, since I'm a newcomer, (Skip to the Question part if ya don't give a damn)
I bought my first Jeep in 2012, when I was 24, and I absolutely loved the thing... a 2011 2-door Sahara, natural green, black hard top, tan interior... in retrospect, it wasn't a looker, but damn if she wasn't perfect to me! I married a couple years later, we bought a house, had a few kids, and somewhere along the line, my little 2-door was traded in for something with a more accessible back seat. I went back to school at 28 years old, earned my Associate of Science in Nursing, and have recently had a string of pretty good luck, I might say. For these reasons, I felt that life had granted me the opportunity to finally get my Jeep back. I went a little overboard and bought a 2021 4-door Rubicon, (I didn't realize how rare 2-door variants had become,) and about every part that I have found in stock!


Question:

I recently bought an Evo lift kit from Northridge4x4, and with the bit of knowledge of Jeep components that I had, I elected to go with the King 2.0 shocks kit. When I ordered, it said that only 1 rear, I believe it was, was in stock, so I would get a drop shipment sent straight from the manufacturer. Great! That is no problem! It is still a bit cold around my area, anyway, and I don't have a garage. Well, then I started doing some digging, and it seems that some people have waited 3 or 4 months for their orders to come in! That would put me in the June/July area! Now, I am a patient person, but with thousands of dollars in parts just sitting here, teasing me, laughing at me, I am definitely having some second thoughts!

I know that King makes a fantastic product... from what I have been able to gather, some of the best, perhaps, but I would like to get my build started before mid-Summer. My original thought was that I could just buy some factory shock extension brackets to hold me over until then, but with my dumbass buying a 4.5" kit, I didn't find any options. I found some Fox shocks that would make a great placeholder until then, but at over $700 for the 4, and with kinda meh reviews, and being made for the uncommon 4-6" lift range, that's a pricey placeholder that I may not be able to recoup much cost on later. So, I thought I could go the way, and just upgrade the shocks... add a bit more to get something nicer that would be in stock. Well, the King 2.5's would have me adding about $1,600 or so, if I were able to roll the money I have already spent over, or $2,600ish if I could not. The higher end Fox solution was even more expensive than that, and I have heard such mixed reviews from them that I am unconfident with that sort of purchase. So then I started looking at the Falcons... the 2.1's do not come long enough, the 3.1's are supposed to be harsh on-road, but the 3.3's, where you can adjust them, are supposed to be able to provide a nice on-road feel as well as stiffen up for off-road use. I would need to add $500 or so, or pay $1800 right out, and I just do not know enough about Falcon's and their longevity/build quality to jump into that.

Would you then, A) put off on installing the kit until the King's come in, B) buy the cheaper Fox shocks to use while waiting, then try to recoup some cost later, C) Order the Falcon 3.3's and maybe be able to cancel the King order, costing an extra ~$500 ($1800), D) Avoid the Falcon's, keep the brand, and buy the King 2.5's, costing an extra ~$1,700 ($2,900).

(Note: I have the money put aside that I could use for any of the options, but it will likely cost me the RCV Performance 300M axles I had planned to get.)


Thanks, and sorry for the essay.

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[stino]

So, I have the Falcon 3.3 SP2s and I really like them. That said, they certainly aren't for everyone, and you're going to get a lot of pushback against them in this thread - which isn't unwarranted, its just a matter of preference.

1st off, get the SP2s if you do get the 3.3s. The non-SP2 versions are just way too stiff imo. Keep in mind that Falcons are digressive where Fox's and Kings (I believe) are linear. This article seems to explain things well - I'm no shock expert.

On road: The Falcon's perform much more like a "sports car" where you feel road and significantly more of the imperfections. You'll have pretty much zero body roll, very little dive, the jeep will feel extremely planted and controlled and "lifted truckish" (imo). Bumpy roads and potholes will be kind of annoying and can be fatiguing. I use Synergy coils which are extremely soft to counteract this some. On the freeway the Falcons are a dream, very very planted. I don't have experience with the kings specifically, but stock rubicon shocks felt like a boaty Cadillac with TONs of body roll to me. I never really felt "in control" and I hated them. I have some wheel time with the Fox's and they are much better than stock, but you still get some floatiness and body roll.

Off road: Washboards suck more for me than my friends. You feel a lot more of the trail. If you have a dog in the back its going to be more uncomfortable. Slow wheeling, they seem to perform well for the way I like to drive. They are extremely long so you'll get a ton of droop. They handle weight really well for overlanding. Bombing down the trail they are absolutely amazing imo. Very very controlled, a lot less prone to bottoming out. SO MUCH FUN.

This is my first Jeep, 30k mi, working my way up to harder trails but hitting them or overlanding every few weekends. This is my $.02 anyway. Hope that helps some.

 

[NoStrawman]

Thanks, stino!

I really appreciate you taking the time to write this honest, first-hand review for me.

Yes, I suppose I forgot to mention that I was looking at the SP2 version. I am certainly not against a more firm ride if it translates to a feeling of better performance and more control. Realistically, for me in central Ohio, unless I am bombing down a gravel road I will not have too much speed while they're having to "work" lol. There is also, as far as I know, no even remotely difficult trails around here that I could travel to to really put a shock through its paces. I do, however, have a lot of bumpy/pothole infested roads near me, and while I am not too old feeling yet, that is certainly something I will need to consider.

Side note, congrats on starting with the 2-door Rubicon, too! The 2-door was probably the most fun vehicle I have driven... I felt like I could go anywhere while also being able to park everywhere when daily driving, and mine was a Sahara! I cannot even imagine how unstoppable you must feel in the rubi! :D

 

[MadMaxJLUR]

So, I have the Falcon 3.3 SP2s and I really like them. That said, they certainly aren't for everyone, and you're going to get a lot of pushback against them in this thread - which isn't unwarranted, its just a matter of preference.

1st off, get the SP2s if you do get the 3.3s. The non-SP2 versions are just way too stiff imo. Keep in mind that Falcons are digressive where Fox's and Kings (I believe) are linear. This article seems to explain things well - I'm no shock expert.

On road: The Falcon's perform much more like a "sports car" where you feel road and significantly more of the imperfections. You'll have pretty much zero body roll, very little dive, the jeep will feel extremely planted and controlled and "lifted truckish" (imo). Bumpy roads and potholes will be kind of annoying and can be fatiguing. I use Synergy coils which are extremely soft to counteract this some. On the freeway the Falcons are a dream, very very planted. I don't have experience with the kings specifically, but stock rubicon shocks felt like a boaty Cadillac with TONs of body roll to me. I never really felt "in control" and I hated them. I have some wheel time with the Fox's and they are much better than stock, but you still get some floatiness and body roll.

Off road: Washboards suck more for me than my friends. You feel a lot more of the trail. If you have a dog in the back its going to be more uncomfortable. Slow wheeling, they seem to perform well for the way I like to drive. They are extremely long so you'll get a ton of droop. They handle weight really well for overlanding. Bombing down the trail they are absolutely amazing imo. Very very controlled, a lot less prone to bottoming out. SO MUCH FUN.

This is my first Jeep, 30k mi, working my way up to harder trails but hitting them or overlanding every few weekends. This is my $.02 anyway. Hope that helps some.

What setting do you have your 3.3 set at when on road and off road? Also, I understand that the 3.3 comes with a custom settings. I am told by my local garage that the custom setting at 2.3-2.4 is ideal for all type of driving if you don't want to be fiddling too many times with the shocks setting of the Falcon?

 

[stino]

What setting do you have your 3.3 set at when on road and off road? Also, I understand that the 3.3 comes with a custom settings. I am told by my local garage that the custom setting at 2.3-2.4 is ideal for all type of driving if you don't want to be fiddling too many times with the shocks setting of the Falcon?

Im pretty much always at the softest possible setting. I've clicked into the hard setting (but still "cold" not "performance") a few times, when I'm on a long trip with smooth roads just to keep me tracking a little better or if I'm bottoming out a lot while bombing trails. Honestly though, I don't see any real reason to adjust it any stiffer than the softest setting, I have zero body roll even with my super soft coils.

 

[OMTBiker]

Thanks, stino!

I really appreciate you taking the time to write this honest, first-hand review for me.

Yes, I suppose I forgot to mention that I was looking at the SP2 version. I am certainly not against a more firm ride if it translates to a feeling of better performance and more control. Realistically, for me in central Ohio, unless I am bombing down a gravel road I will not have too much speed while they're having to "work" lol. There is also, as far as I know, no even remotely difficult trails around here that I could travel to to really put a shock through its paces. I do, however, have a lot of bumpy/pothole infested roads near me, and while I am not too old feeling yet, that is certainly something I will need to consider.

Side note, congrats on starting with the 2-door Rubicon, too! The 2-door was probably the most fun vehicle I have driven... I felt like I could go anywhere while also being able to park everywhere when daily driving, and mine was a Sahara! I cannot even imagine how unstoppable you must feel in the rubi! :D

There are a few trails within an hour or so of Central Ohio, join Mid Ohio Jeepers Organization. They have monthly, at a minimum, trails rides and are an amazing organization. Southington Off-Road is a little farther, about 2-2:30 away, but has a ton of trails.

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