alignment, especially toe-out will kill tires fast. I went through a set on my 97 c230 in 13k, figured out later the toe was way out. It will make you think you need new shocks

FWIW, I put Bilstein HDs all around on my 230, with 17" AMG splitspoke wheels. I miss that car, tight and nice with that combo. Make sure you've got a good tie rod though, to maximize the effect.

FYI mine went through alignments every 10k.