Keep your stock springs, install Konis or Bilsteins, upgrade the rear swaybar, and replace your worn bushings with poly, where possible, or at least fresh OEM rubber. It all makes a difference, even the bushings.
Function before fashion.
'96 Contour SE
"Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998