Shocks and springs / coil overs are very important, but don't forget how sloppy our chassis are, if you want a great car, you will have to start improving the chassis bracing / anti-sway bars at some point....
for instance; you will feel an immediate different with a power brace or equivalent and it's cheap, even if you have to pay a welder to do it..... making your "cheap" shock & spring setup feel that much better
btw, koni's ARE the real deal, had the internally adjustable koni yellows in a tracked honda crx i had and they were better on the track with ~500 lbs/sq in springs than my $3500 ground control coilovers
my .02 Good luck, this is a life long / preference choice