i would always recommend going with coilovers. now if costs is a factor here, as it usually is and its common, then make sure you have proper shocks to go with it.
what i mean is that, make sure you get shocks that are proper in length so that you dont bottom out the stock shocks and destroy them prematurely. more than likely youll destroy at least one of the stock shocks before its time if you use lowering springs. the best way is to get shorter shocks as it will allow more travel with the shorter springs. but if you consider costs, if you do buy the proper shocks and springs your not going to be that far off from just getting cheap coilovers that have the right shocks, such as BC racing coilovers. these are pretty cheap and have the proper lowering setup versus others i have seen.
this advice has nothing to do with racing or performance or even looks. its basically for longevity of your investment. before long you will need to replace the shocks with springs, unless you personally dont notice subtle shock wear then youll be fine but since you say its for performance as well then you will notice it diminish over time.