FALCON SHOCKS - THE HOW AND WHY
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General Notes
- In this blog post we will go into depth as to why we at Van Compass made the transition from selling Fox shocks to developing vehicle specific shock packages with the technology available from Falcon Shocks.
- We will do our best to show the differences between the new Falcon shock offerings and the equivalent Fox shock offerings we had previously sold in the past.
- We worked exclusively with the engineers at Falcon to bring the high-end shock technology Falcon has developed for the Jeep and truck industry to the world of adventure vans, all at a reasonable price point.
Applications:
- 1994-Current Mercedes Sprinter Vans.
- 2013-Current Ford Transit Vans
The History of Falcon Shocks
Falcon shocks is a subdivision of a well-known Jeep suspension company called Teraflex. Teraflex suspension has been around in essence since the mid 50’s. Officially launching as a suspension specific manufacturer in 1996, they have been a leader in innovation since the inception of the first coil sprung Jeep Wrangler, the TJ. For years, Teraflex worked exclusively with Fox racing shocks, much in the same way that we at Van Compass did. Pairing their suspension packages with tuned Fox shocks, Teraflex eventually saw a void in the product offerings and supply ability from Fox. Hence, back in 2014, they began developing their own brand of high-end shock absorbers with quality and innovative features being their main focus.
Fast forward 5+ years and Falcon developed a wide range of shocks packed full of innovative features you only find in the highest end of racing shocks. However, Falcon integrated all this technology into their shocks at an equivalent price point to the lowest product offerings from companies like Fox and Bilstein. The main reasons we made the switch from Fox over to Falcon is both supply and quality. The aluminum body Fox 2.0 shock (known as the Performance Series 2.0) is still a great shock, however when compared to the equivalent offering from Falcon, at the same price point, the Fox falls short in every single category.
We’ll start by diving deep into a side by side comparison of the Falcon 3.3 SP2 Fast Adjust Piggyback shock and the equivalent Fox Performance Series 2.0 LSC Reservoir shock. Again, these shocks are nearly identical in price so we’ll start with the obvious difference, size. The Falcon shock is bigger. Bigger shock body, bigger shock shaft and more oil volume. A larger shock equates to better damping performance, cooler shock temperatures and better heat dissipation which all add up to a better ride and driving experience for these heavy vehicles. With a larger shocks shaft comes a larger DU bearing which means the shock shaft sees much less deflection and less likely hood of a leak developing at the bottom of the shock.
Falcon Shock Body: 2.3150” OD
Fox Shock Body: 2.1750” OD
Falcon Shock Body ID: 2.0”
Fox Shock Body ID: 1.820”
Falcon Shock Shaft OD: 0.750”
Fox Shock Shaft OD: 0.625”
The second obvious difference is the ease of adjustability. The Fox LSC (Low Speed Compression) adjuster is a tiny lightly knurled knob that is difficult to adjust by hand. It also has no markings at all making it very difficult to know what the shock is set to. One simply has to go off the number of “clicks” or detents to be able to tell what setting the shock is set at. Additionally, because of the remote reservoir / hose design of the Fox, the LSC adjuster is almost always positioned in a place on the vehicle which requires getting down on the ground, and laying under the vehicle to adjust the shock.
Small round knob of the LSC adjuster:
Example of Fox Reservoir installed on 4wd Sprinter:
The Falcon shocks feature their Fast Adjust Knob. This knob is super easy to adjust and offers a wider range of adjustability than the Fox LSC adjuster. Position 1 being the softest, or “lightest” setting with position 3 being the firmest the shock can get. Position 2 engages the micro dial which fine tunes the damper specific to the vehicle weight and driver preference. Position 2 is intended to be the fine-tuned, everyday setting for the damper. A quick flip to position 1 softens the shock up drastically for dirt road excursions. Position 3 firms up the shock to the point of sports car like handling for windy days, extremely winding mountain roads or heavy hauling with a trailer. Because each Falcon shock is designed to be vehicle specific and not a universal style like the Fox reservoirs, the Fast Adjust Knob is positioned in an easy to reach and easy to see location so the shock can be adjusted without blindly laying down under the vehicle to access the adjuster.
Falcon Fast Adjust Knob: Large leverage for easy adjustment between positions 1-3
The three distinct main setting with the Falcons, along with the 8 position micro-dial:
Example of Falcon Shocks Installed on 4wd Sprinter: Note ease of access to adjuster through the wheel well
Another key external benefit to the Falcon shocks are their piggyback design. Unlike the Fox, there is no tiny external reservoir hose to damage, kink or cause potential failures due to the multitude of individual O-rings and fittings to cause a leakage. Additionally, the piggyback design makes for a better performing shock in that the oil flow through the piggyback has a larger oil port and smoother transition into the base valve circuit of the Fast Adjust Knob compared to the tiny orifice on the Fox 2.0 reservoir hose.
Cutaway showing oil port on the Falcon:
Side by side comparison of Fox reservoir compared to piggyback reservoir of the Falcon:
The last detail we will discuss regarding the external features of the Falcon shock compared to the Fox shock is how they are designed specifically for their application. With unique features like offset body caps to provide adequate clearance with the chassis when installed and Fast Adjust knobs placed in easy to access locations. The Falcon shock packages we’ve put together here at Van Compass are engineered to work perfectly on your vehicle.
Now let’s move onto the internal workings of the shocks and just compare the individual components which make the shocks work. We’ll start by comparing the Internal Floating Piston (IFP). The IFP is what separates the oil from the nitrogen gas charge which makes the shock work so well. The oil must be kept separate from the nitrogen to prevent cavitation (foaming of the shock oil). If the oil cavitates and gets foamy, it will not dampen nearly as effectively. Below are few images of the Falcon IFP compared to the Fox IFP.
A couple of key features to note; the Fox IFP is made from plastic. It is made as cheaply as possible. It features a single O-ring to separate the oil from the nitrogen. It has a lot of voids and pockets in it to potentially cause cavitation and trap unwanted air in the oil chamber of the shock.
The Falcon IFP is made from aluminum. It is hard anodized gold for extreme wear protection. It is machined completely smooth. It features a single O-ring as well as a wear band to prevent the IFP from clocking or binding in the shock body and allowing the nitrogen and oil to mix. Small details like this make a HUGE difference in shock absorber longevity and performance.
Inside the shock, the most critical component to any shock absorber is the piston design. From a simple quality standpoint, the difference is drastic. Again, the Fox components are made as cheaply as possible. The smaller Fox piston is made from sintered metal. Sintering is a process of taking a metal powder and forming it into shape under heat and pressure. No post machining is done on the Fox piston leaving a rougher surface finish making oil flow over the piston’s ports more restrictive and inefficient compared to the Falcon design.
The larger Falcon piston is again, machined from aluminum and hard anodized gold for a perfectly smooth and extremely high-quality piston. This piston is similar in design to what you get out of the higher end options available from Fox, King, Bilstein and ICON shocks. However, Falcon offers this kind of quality in all their shocks, even entry level monotube shocks.
Lastly, the piston design itself better solves the ride quality problems inherent with these top heavy vans. Low speed vehicle sway and rough offroad ride are the main complaints we solve for our customers here at Van Compass. While the Fox Performance series shocks provide a drastic improvement over the stock setup, the Falcon package goes one step further for a truly fun to drive van experience.
The Fox piston is a traditional linear-linear design which works great for most high-speed applications. However, for controlling low speed sway without inducing harshness to the ride over rough roads and larger bumps, the Falcon’s Linear-Digressive piston design works so much better. Here’s an explanation direct from Falcon describing their Volume Optimized Damping (VOD) philosophy:
Falcon’s proprietary Volume Optimized Damping (VOD) features a digressive linear valve to improve vehicle feedback, stability, and control during low-speed, high-speed, and off-road driving. As the piston compresses and rebounds, the valve restricts oil flow creating a damping effect.
VOD’s quicker ramp up increases damping volume during low speed driving as well as reduces shock bottoming at full compression during faster speeds or over uneven terrain.
Traditional velocity sensitive shock absorbers react quickly during low-speed driving causing excessive “head toss” on rough terrain – or even driveways. Conventional damping then firms up during faster shaft speeds resulting in a jarring ride.
With Volume Optimized Damping, stability and control are maintained throughout all driving conditions.
To put that in van terms, no more heavy rocking from side to side when hitting bumps unevenly, extremely stable and German like feel on the road even in heavy side wind conditions or winding mountain passes and an extremely smooth ride when you hit the forest roads in search of that perfect campsite or trailhead.
One last thing about the Falcon 3.3 SP2 Fast Adjust shocks is the SP2 feature itself. This is a feature we can’t even compare to Fox because Falcon invented this unique free bleed circuit which is set upon install. This allows us to offer a shock which can change with the buildout of your van. Installing the shock with the SP2 open engages the SP2 circuit and sets the damper for a lighter weight vehicle. Unbolt the lower end of the shock and with the shock shaft fully extended, close off the SP2 circuit by rotating the shock shaft 360 degrees and the shock is transformed to dampen a much heavier vehicle.
We pride ourselves here at Van Compass on being enthusiasts first and providing our customers with the best vanlife solutions possible without selling things just to make a buck. We spent nearly a year working with the engineers at Falcon to bring the amazing technology they’ve developed in their product line to the world of vans. For more information, take a look at the Falcon product pages and videos available on our website.
-The Van Compass Team