I'm looking to get a new suspension setup. (running stock) i was looking at springs, shocks, coilovers... they all look great but I really don't now what are good for what applications. I want it for daily driving but would like to have it lowered a bit, and if possible be able to slamm it down. I figure the springs make it lower, shocks make it stiffer. but I don't really understand what coilovers do, (correct me if I'm wrong about any of the previous)

 

Springs support the weight of the car. And give suspension travel.
Shocks control the motion of the springs.

Stiffer springs require shocks that are valved appropriately to control the spring. The riceboy bounce is caused by really stiff springs (like found in most coilover kits) with stock or other cheap shocks.

Also, lowering a car excessively (more than 1.75" in a Civic) has other effects. The shock is forced to work over only a small portion of its designed travel, so it cannot work properly and might blow. The solution is to not lower the car OR to get shortened shocks.

Lowering a car also effects the alignment. In the case of Civics and Integras, you may get excessive negative camber. It cannot be corrected without using camber kits or bending the control arms.

Coilovers are simply a spring that is shorter than stock and comes with an adjustable lower perch so that the spring may be moved up/down the shock body. Because they are short, they must be made stiff to avoid bottoming out the suspension.

If you do not compete anywhere, a set of lowering springs by themselves will be fine. Be aware that the shocks may wear faster, but probably won't blow immediately. If you intall stiff springs or coilovers, the stock shocks will need to be replaced with upgraded parts like Koni, Bilstein, etc.

Nothing good comes from slamming a Civic. Suspension travel is sacrificed. Stiff springs must be used, so ride quality suffers. Alignment gets whacky and correction kits are required. Tire rub is likely. The most you can lower a 6th gen Civic without problems is about 1.5". Integras and other gen Civics are similar.

 

What CM said. Decide what you are really looking to do, then start researching. Do web searches for any suspension, shock, or spring name you see and hit some web sites. If you drop over about 1.5" be ready to deal with alignment, camber, and rubbing problems. The show cars you see that are down in the weeds never drive anywhere but from the trailer to the show floor. If you have to deal with potholes, speed bumps, and driveways, that look ain't gonna work for you.

I know you'll see some folks who say " yeah, I dropped mine 3" and don't have any problems." But they probably also enjoy sleeping on a bed of nails.