I'll not enter the fray about tires/wheels but I can vouch for exactly what you were told about Bilstein shocks. I had a set on a SUV a few years ago and they were like magic. Rode smooth on the highway but seemed to know exactly when to stiffen up offroad, or just on a bumpy road. For your Volvo, I'd say that their progressive damping of the internal mechanism will provide a great mix of stiffness and resistance to compression but smooth highway ride at the same time. They also last along time, if not forever by virtue of their machined aluminum round stock construction instead of rolled thinwall steel. Hope this helps.