Horrible ride quality and can't figure out why

Spooler

The damper are to absorb unwanted energy. What you will feel in the car is a bounce when you hit a rough spot. You want to tune that bounce out by stiffening up the damper setting so it can absorb that energy. It will dissipate it as heat. So in the summer time, you may have to run one more click on the dampers because the fluid is warmer. Your ride may be a little stiffer but the end result is a more compliant car that sucks up those bumps with no bouncy feeling. That intern keeps the wheels on the ground providing more traction.