800 bucks to spend

[Gro Harlem]

big brake kits are a waste of money and aren't going to prove effective. IMHO that would be the worst way he could spend his money.

If he wants more effective brakes, he should buy some Hawk pads for $60 & bleed the system. He already has the larger brakes on the GS which are plenty effective if maintained properly.

[Tempus]

comparing the effect of I/O (Input/Output) mods on a KL to the same mods on a K8 isn't really valid.

The 2.5 motor is going to be going through about 40% more air than the 1.8.. Thus it's far more likely to be restricted by the 'normal' intake and exaust than the stock motor would be.

if you've replaced the engine then the I/O becomes the weak link, and upgrading those makes a lot of sense. On the other hand, with a stock motor, you'd be doing a bunch of work that really wouldn't pay off until you go and upgrade the motor also.

If he's doing the work himself, then I think a KL-DE swap is doable if he gets the motor for a good price, and he doesn't find too many other problems (like say needing to replace head gaskets, boots, axels, clutch, etc etc)

That's going to be the best bang for the buck performance wise. as the old saw goes "There's no replacement for displacement". Then later he can take care of tuning aspects like intake, headers, etc.