INVERTED MONOTUBE RALLY STRUT (PAIR) - TRANSIT

Was all set to buy a pair soon, but now in hard stop mode unless VC is forthcoming about what's going on with all the passenger side lower strut rotations on left turns. Details in the ford transit usa forum.

I have the VC mini spring pack and rear Falcon 3.3 shocks, but these are a hard stop until they address the issue and say what's improved.

I was >$3500 into these inverted struts after my install costs when I randomly discovered a discussion of multiple reported failures being reported on Fordtransitusaforum.com. After several days coming up to speed on the issue, I sent an email to Van Compass asking for clarification of why these reported failures were occurring, what they were doing to investigate the failures, and when they would release guidance on how to avoid them, etc. I received back an answer that gave me no indication, in my opinion, that they were performing a root cause analysis to identify what was occurring and why, or that they were taking any action at all. I sent a follow-up email asking for clarification of their response and asking again when they would release guidance to address the reported failure issues. After 2-weeks I still have received no response to that follow-up email. Nor, as far as I know, has anyone else on the discussion thread at Fordtransitusaforum received what they consider to be a satisfactory Van Compass engineering-based response to the reported failure issues. At this point I am seriously considering removing these inverted struts given the lack of information from Van Compass. At what point does one decide that it is better to realize a >$4000 loss (which includes the removal costs) rather than have the risk of a tire being shredded which could lead to a serious vehicle accident and a potential life-threatening injury? I do not want to remove these inverted struts; I have patiently waited for them to become available for over a year. But Van Compass has put me in a no-win situation. The silence of Van Compass and its parent company Randys Worldwide (rv-pro.com) regarding these reported failures - that have been documented with photo/video evidence on the Fordtransitusaforum - is inexcusable as far as I am concerned. I encourage Van Compass/Randys Worldwide to respond to its customers’ concerns regarding these reported failures. Until they do, I would recommend that you do not purchase the Van Compass version of these inverted struts. I strongly encourage you to go to Fordtransitusaforum.com and search on “Falcon rally struts” to learn more about the reported failures. Judge for yourself before you buy.

First off, I was THRILLED with the ride from these and said so in this thread on FTUSA - which I have since re-titled to reflect the current situation.
https://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/posts/1377126/

The YT link below is a video of a failed VC/Falcon inverted strut on our 2020 AWD Ford Transit. These were installed by VC's recommended installer in our area. The passenger side failed once and we assumed it was just not bolted into the lower pinch adequately. New bolts, confirmed torque, and back on our way. Then it failed AGAIN while going 5mph on a smooth, paved road.

Anyone purchasing these at this point is asking for trouble. Unless VC and/or Falcon can explain the problem and convincingly describe how it is resolved.... you're looking at a non-zero chance of a ruined tire and/or wheel. Not to mention the safety risk if it were to happen something more than a few miles per hour.

Here's a photo of what the tire looks like after 15 feet of driving after the failure. This has happened twice now to us. So far, no response from VC.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Wt7J6iWJV7E

These impressive struts are showing an important design gap. They're spinning, and causing significant tire damage when the alignment gives out.

So far van compass has not acknowledged the problem or helped with a fix.

These should be avoided until this problem is fixed.

I have a 2019 Transit 350 with a QLift 4x4 conversion, and I’m extremely impressed with the improvement in ride quality. The front-end shake is completely eliminated. Paired with Falcon 3.3 adjustable rear shocks, these struts are the upgrade I’ve been waiting for.