Realistically speaking, you will need to consider a camber kit whenever you lower a vehicle no matter the method. This is coming from a guy who tried to skirt the issue with several different cars, all with the same result. It will drastically improve your tire wear as well as improvement in your overall handling.

As far as ride quality with coil over's vs your current setup, the difference is night and day. Coil overs ride so much better. The reason for this is the shocks are designed for the entire range and won't bottom out like the do on conventional shocks whick are designed around stock spring heights. One ride and you will realize the car is not "bouncy" at all. It's still a harsher ride than stock as you will feel bumps and such due to most coil over designs, but you're building a race car and not a luxury car, right?

A decent entry level setup will cost between $600-$800, and they're worth every penny. If you're willing to spend more, many of them even have camber adjustability built in to them.