I have a 2016 XLT Supercrew 4x4 and I'm looking to improve the ride. I'd like a smoother ride on road. Opinions on shocks greatly appreciated.

 

sounds like bilstein or fox 2.0's are the most popular. 2.0's are reported to run a bit stiffer then stock. I can't comment on the bilstein's

 

"Improve" the ride - in what way? If you make it stiffer, you'll feel more planted, but you'll feel each bump and pebble. If you make it softer, you might make it feel a bit too floaty and waft-y. To make it 'smoother', you may want to look into a combination of changing the springs as well as the shocks. I don't think that just changing shocks will get you what you're looking for.

Have you also checked your tire pressure?

I've read a lot about the ride of a Raptor v. "regular" F150's .. it's a different set up completely - much more than different shocks (different springs, different control arms, etc). I've seen people who put air suspensions in back (usually on F350s or F450s) to improve the ride some. Auto Anything has a little blog about this: http://www.autoanything.com/suspensi...ther-ride.aspx

There are all sorts of things you can do - an adjustable shock would really help you fine-tune the ride. Cross members top, bottom can be added or thickened.

Rouch has a kit (and you can add in coil-overs as well): http://www.roushperformance.com/part...-category.html There are other kits from other brands. Take your time to research each one, and ideally, see if you can drive trucks with those items put in (it can be expensive to be the guinea pig!) to see if you'll like the result.

 

Sub'd.

I agree, it's going to be a combo of springs/shocks or coilover swap.
The issue is finding ones that don't try to level the suspension to a different height (lifted or lowered). Need different spring rates and rebound rates.

 

I can only speak for Fox 2.0s. They definitely improved the ride of my 2016 Lariat Sport 4x4...not a huge amount though but worth the price ($300-400). The rear is less bouncy -- but a little harsher. The real improvement is cornering at speed (e.g. on-ramps) the rear stays more planted thru the corner. This really matches up well with Sport mode which is now my default mode after the upgrade.

 

It would hard not to be stiffer than the stock shocks. I can compress them with just my hands.

 

I had the Fox 2.0's on my 2016 and now I have the Bilstein 5100's on my 2017. Both were much better than stock for sure. My tires were slightly over inflated on my 2017 and when I brought the air pressure down to the proper specs, the ride really improved, especially around town. Firm, but planted. I chose the Bilstein rear shocks this time because of cost. They were almost $120 cheaper for the pair, and I didn't have to buy those rock deflectors from Fox for another $40.

 

I just recently did both rear shocks on my 2016 with Bilstein 5100's and did notice a huge difference over stock. Was well worth it! Will be doing the fronts in the near future.

 

Many threads about shocks here. I just replaced mine all around with Bilstein 5100s. HUGE difference in the ride. For the better.