Shocks can help some especially a soft riding shock like a rancho 5000x. Also what psi are your tires at? Lots of times people run them at to high psi which makes for a harsh ride.

 

New shocks can definitely improve ride quality. As long as the new shocks are of higher quality than the stock shocks, which isn't too hard but certainly not automatic. There are a number of good but inexpensive shock options out there. Rancho, OME, Bilstein, Fox, etc.
As mentioned, make sure your tire pressures are good. With larger tires you will probably want to run lower air pressure than you did with the stock size tires.

 

Rubi take off shocks will be cheap, and suitable for your setup.

 

What PSI do you have in the tires?

 

I am running the tires at 32 psi. Keep in mind these are standard load/P metric. The shop had them at 35 when they were installed and the Jeep wandered more than anything. The general feeling I get when hitting bumps now is that the shocks are not able to manage the weight as well.

 

Wow. I would have bet you were a D or worse E load when I read the thread title.
The "magic" of a spring shock marriage is just that.
I went standard load Toyo 285/70-17 and compared to OE MTs that was an improvement.
Then I did the @Rancho progressive Sport 2" lift with adjustable rs9000 shocks and it got even better.

Suspensions are as much art as science.

 

These guys are dead on. Tire pressure is huge. Often people overinflate. Secondly a higher quality shock can often do wonders. The load rating and tire type also changes things. MT vs AT vs SRA street tire, etc, etc
While it should drive straight and not rattle out your fillings, I've experienced a more off-road worthy Jeep gives up some street "refinement" along the build. You can throw money at it, but it's often relative.

 

I have a set of Rubicon Recon shocks and springs that I just removed from my JKU. They have 1,300 miles on them and I would be willing to let them go at a good price plus shipping if it will help you.

 

I think you definitely need new shocks. Your stock ones might be fairly worn being 7 years old, and I thought my stock Sport shocks sucked when they were new once I put some C load 265/70/17 duratracs on at 32psi. You may still need to play with the pressure a bit. Your Falkens are larger and likely still stiffer than the factory SR-A even though they are a P rated tire.

 

I feel your pain. I recently added 285/70-17 mickey Thompson atz p3's on qtec rubicon extreme wheels. Looks exactly the way I wanted!
However, I'm done trying to make the heavy, E-rated tire drive and accelerate the way I want. I've dropped my psi to 28 (improved but still sluggish and rough ride) I've added shocks (rancho 5000x) which improved handling greatly and the ride a bit.

Then I found the silver bullet!
Stock Sahara wheels/tires. Drives, rides and sounds like a dream now. As I really like the qtec wheels and the 285/70-17 tire size, I just ordered the Bridgestone duelers in that size. Swapping the mt's to factory sport wheels for off-road use and we'll see if I'm finally happy with the looks and ride finally!

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Got the Bridgestone duellers put on yesterday. 240 miles later and I love my Jeep again! Ride is incredible...acceleration vastly improved...and gas mileage is at 19.9 compared to the consistent 17.9 I was getting with the e rated mtz's (time will tell on that one)

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Sometimes we go full circle to find the right fit! I am heading up to Maine on a road trip with the family this week. Jeep will be loaded down with people and gear more than usual so I'll pay particular attention to ride and handling. I'll probably leave tire pressure as is for this but experiment more upon arrival. After that, maybe new shocks are worth exploring. I just don't want to get a shock that it tuned for conditions my Jeep will not see 99% of the time.

 

At 7 years, its time to replace the shocks, so might as well upgrade in the process. Once you have them installed, then make adjustments to the tire pressure until you get the comfort/noise level you are looking for.

Keep a detailed notebook of the changes, repeat the offroad portion of the test until completely satisfied, then go back and recheck the data on a regular basis to make sure it remains accurate. If questioned by the spousal unit, explain that you need to keep adjusting the PSI and performing the offorad portion of the test as the tires and shocks will degrade over time, and you want to make absolutely certain she is getting the most comfortable ride possible... :lmao:

 

With the leveling kit installed, the stock shocks have been extended to accommodate the pucks. Any sense how much plays into ride quality? I ask because the idea of trying Rubi takeoffs as a first step is a cheap(er) experiment but the length will be the same as my OE shocks I assume.

 

You could look at the Rancho 9000 series shocks. They're adjustable so you can tune the ride for street vs. offroad vs. towing/loaded down etc.

 

I was shocked when I read you were having ride quality issues with a P rated tire. The shocks may be the issue.

 

P rated of different designs/sizes/brands are going to ride different though. Same could be said for the LT stuff as well. My 285/75r17 load C ridge grapplers are very different from the 265/70r17 load C duratracs I had before. At the very least he went up in size from stock so the extra weight and size alone will change the ride regardless of load rating.

 

Just as a data point, I replaced stock JKU Sahara shocks at around 60,000 and 1 of them was completely shot. The other three seemed ok.


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Shocks will absolutely have an effect on ride quality. In fact, it may have the most significant change in your ride. Although dropping from 50psi to 30psi is a pretty big change.

I'm a big fan of the Rancho 5000X, but if you don't know what you like, the adjustability of the 9000XL is really nice.

The Rancho rebate ends this month, so if your interested in those, get an order in ASAP.

 

Another vote for Rancho RS9000X, love them

 

I probably missed it but I never saw what JK you had (Sport, etc) IF it is indeed a Sport then Yes .... Absolutely New shocks are going to be a huge improvement.
IF you wanted to maintain your current puck height the deal from @Rancho runs until month end IF you get the 2" Progressive lift you will get New progressive springs and the RS9000XL adjustable shocks (lets say from @Quadratec )combine the discount and rebate and you'll be in good stead with a great suspension and adjustability.
Isn't often you get such an upgrade for such little outlay.

 

I probably missed it but I never saw what JK you had (Sport, etc) IF it is indeed a Sport then Yes .... Absolutely New shocks are going to be a huge improvement.

IF you wanted to maintain your current puck height the deal from @Rancho runs until month end IF you get the 2" Progressive lift you will get New progressive springs and the RS9000XL adjustable shocks (lets say from @Quadratec )combine the discount and rebate and you'll be in good stead with a great suspension and adjustability.

Isn't often you get such an upgrade for such little outlay.

JKU Sport. Picked it up used and if I recall, it had the tow package based on the VIN# lookup. The 9000xl's seem to be very well received so that might the route I go. In fairness, I probably owe my Jeep a proper chalk test too.

 

UPDATE: I ended up installing Rancho RS5000x shocks all the way around. Big improvement is already noticed when I hit the bad spots and potholes. Will I regret not getting the adjustable 9000x's? Maybe but it's one less thing for me not to obsess over and continually try to fine tune for every aspect of my driving conditions.

 

Those 5000X's are a really good all around shock and even better since they are a great value too.

 

Cool. Regret? Nah.... 5000's are a great shock.