Falcon shocks are coming!

Did you ever pull the trigger on these?

 

The roost guard extends far enough up it would just come to rest on the shock body. Plus it is plastic so if it were even capable of this it would break long before causing any damage to the shock.

 

Ordered mine yesterday...plan to do the UCAs at the same time

Any recommendations?

 

SPC, JBA, Total Chaos...if you're not planning to lift anything past 2.5", I suggest not upgrading UCAs...my experience is with SPC and I'm very happy with their performance, fit & finish, and pricing...

 

JBAs.
SPCs or the Mevotec off RockAuto they are the same as the SPCs just cheaper. Though seems to be a crap shoot which ball joint style you get.

 

Thanks for the input! Depending on how long the shocks take ro get here I may buy the SPCs.

Seems UCAs are in short supply too...

 

RockAuto has the Mevotech in stock. They are the same as SPC.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,2017,tundra,5.7l+v8,3437071,suspension,control+arm,10401

Though it is a crap shoot whether you will get the greaseable ball joint or not. Not a huge deal if you don’t as you can always use a needle to grease it. Or swap to a greaseable when the time comes. But at under $450 for the pair not a huge deal when the SPCs are about $200 more.

 

JBAs do a have a clearance issue with 2.5" coils. Just an FYI. They have just about as much inner clearance as OEM, coupled with the added droop they can contact the coil.

 

The Falcon shocks use your OEM coils so I'm thinking that probably won't be an issue.

 

Can anyone tell me if the OME coils fit the falcons? TIA

 

The OEM coils? Yes, the Falcon shocks are designed to use existing coils and control arms.

 

Then no, Falcons shocks are designed to work with the Toyota Tundra OEM coils...though the OME coils will fit, they will not work properly and will void the warranties on the Falcon setup...

 

That's what I thought..

 

Icon Delta Joints or TC Uniballs.

 

Got the Falcons installed yesterday. The only reason I was hesitant to go with Falcon was that I felt like pictures and info was pretty limited relative to other brands both on this site and the inter webs in general so hope this helps some people. Thanks to those of you that posted pics and reviews of these shocks your feedback was very helpful.

First off, Like others have said the ride is very much improved over the stock Bilstein shocks. The ride is more firm on the road but much more controlled. They definitely soaks up the potholes and bumps much better than stock. I didn't realize how bouncy the stock Bilsteins were until I put these on. I really don't think I could drive this truck with those shocks again after feeling the difference, it is that noticeable.

Measurements - Note that the measurement below is from the ground to the fender. Both measurements were taken with the truck parked in the same spot. My tires are 275/70/18 Cooper AT3 XLT all inflated to 40 PSI. I do not have shackles or any other lift in the rear. Measurements varied slightly from left to right but all within less than 1/8" +/-

Stock height
Rear - 40"
Front - 37.5"

Falcon height (set to level position)
Rear - 40.2"
Front - 39.5"

I was hesitant to go with the level position and debated going with the medium height but could never find anyone with pictures of these shocks set to that height. I called Falcon and even asked them and all they could say was that the Medium height groove was directly between level and stock. So 2-2.25" at level I assumed 1-1.2" lift and decided that may not be enough based on stock measurements. I figured if I was slightly nose high towing my boat then I could always add a +1 shackle later on. I am glad I went with the level setting I think I would have been disappointed with the stance on the medium setting.

CONS (if you can even call them that)
You will need to trim or bend the front skid plate it rubs badly at full lock now and the 4x4 shop that did the install did have to grind my shock mounts slightly to fit as a few others have mentioned.

Overall I highly recommend these shocks.

See below before and after photos.

 

Thanks for posting the measurements and your thoughts on the leveled vs. medium settings. I've been mulling over the same thing, I'm going to go with the leveled setting as well after reading this and a few other reviews. Leveled seems pretty close to the stock TRD pro height and I would rather keep my OE UCAs so long as I can decent alignment numbers

Do you have a picture of how much material was removed from the rear shock mount? Think I'll do this preemptively during the install to avoid any interference with the shock

 

Yea I am using the stock UCA's and the 4x4 shop that that did the install also did the alignment and had no issues at level setting. See below pics of shock mount.

 

Could be the angle of the photo but I am not seeing any of the lower bushing and it looks like You have a ton of extra threads up top.

is the lower bushing installed properly??

 

Its just the photo angle, the lower bushing and cup washer are there and appear to be installed same as they were on the stock bilsteins.

 

Awesome, thanks for the pictures

 

Dang, that sucks to hear. I got JBAs and Fox 2.5s, just haven't installed them yet.

 

One should not have to be cutting the mount with either kit.
Something is wrong. Either the shocks are out of spec or there is an issue with the truck or bushing.
I talked with TeraFlex/Falcon today about the issue because if weather permits I will at least install my rears. They assured me no cutting is needed.
I would suggest the poster contact them and try to figure what the issue is.

 

I just did this install on my '14 and didn't cut anything for the rears. You have to make sure you point the switch the correct direction according to instructions. In the pictures from @bkame it looks like their is a missing bushing. There is a bushing above the mount, under the nut, and one below the mount between the shock body and the mount.

BTW, I like the ride so far. I had a shop install the fronts since I didn't want to mess with the spring. I am looking forward to summer pulling a trailer.

 

Interesting considering there is another person on this thread that posted that they also had to modify the mount and although I cant find it I believe Falcon also mentioned that it may be required. Someone screenshot it from their site in one of these threads but cant find it now.

The shock bushings appear to all be there but may order some new ones and reinstall at some point. Either way the truck rides awesome.

 

If you are able to find the post please link it here.
I thought I had read every post about Falcons for all platforms and watched every video at least 5 times.
Only issue I recall was someone used new rear bushings and they were too tall and could not get the nut to thread the shaft so they used the original bushings that had squished a bit over time.

 

I remember reading that too, and was planning to break out the grinder to open it up a bit. I don't know what the difference is between my truck and others.
Maybe these will help: (Excuse the dirt, it snowed here recently)
Not much clearance



This is the bushing I referenced earlier.

 

I looked back through this thread, as I remembered seeing someone having to shave some of the mount as well. It was here, post 148

He used CB+2 in the rear so that might have been why it was necessary. Clearance looks pretty tight even without shackles, so seems like an easy mod to avoid potential issues to me