The ride quality on my CX-5 isn't terrible at all, but I do feel minor bumps on the road a little too much for my liking, such as tar lines and other imperfections on paved roads. It's not a problem usually but I want to make long trips a little more bearable. Does anyone have a good recommendation for aftermarket shocks or other upgrades I could make? I replaced the tires last year with MICHELIN PREMIER LTX's, road noise is slightly lower but ride is still the same.

 

One improvement would be to go to 17" wheels and tires, but, since you just got the Michelins, you might want to delay that one.

 

I know there are more shocks than stars in sky but instead of talking about Penske at $1000.00 per wheel or Bilstein's at $300.00, I recommend Monroe Reflex Light truck & Suv shocks. I got them during the Monroe "Buy 3 get one free" fall rebate sale when they first came out. They run in the $40.00 to $80.00 dollar range and a better shock you will not find unless your looking for exotic race car hardware.

 

Seriously? As a general rule Monroe shocks are considered lower middle-tier shocks, at best. As for shocks offering a better ride, as @schmieg wrote, opt for a smaller wheel and a higher profile tire. Best bang for the buck.

 

Penske shocks would be too expensive and Bilstein doesn't make one for my CX-5. Monroe shocks would run me about $410.16 in parts. Any guesses on cost of installation? I wouldn't do it myself. Most importantly though, would they actually be better than OEM?

More options, anything here stick out as a good bang for buck? https://www.shockwarehouse.com/index...odel_name=CX-5

 

Consider this. Monroe Reflex. No other Monroe product equals these. At the time of their introduction, they were a Consumer Reports best buy. You can pay more but why?

 

Sorry, there are LOTS of other shocks and struts superior to the Monroe Reflex, including the OEM units. Like I wrote before, Monroe shoes are at best, middle of the road in quality.

 

Apologies for my unqualified response. Monroe doesn't make any Reflex line struts for our cars after all. They work great on my Ford Ranger though!

 

Am I reading things correctly? The shocks for my 2016 CX-5 have different model numbers for left and right fronts?

 

Totally normal, most cars are that way.