Stock gearing was 13/49, what is the rear on yours now?
If he dropped the front to a 12 and left a 49 on the back it should have already drastically lowered top speed and made it pull harder in every gear. Keep in mind that for every tooth you take off of the front, it is almost the equivalent of adding 3 teeth to the rear. If your gearing is 12/49 now and you want it lower yet, but with a 13t front, try a 13/53 or 13/54 combo.
As for material, all fronts are made of case hardened steel, so you can't go wrong there. With the rear you have your choice of steel or aluminum (and cromoly, stainless steel etc. in some obscurities)
Steel lasts longer then aluminum, but weighs more. It is debatable whether or not you can actually feel the difference. The reason you would is that because it is rotating mass, it has a lot more affect than if you added the extra pound to the swingarm.. Similar to adding weight to the flywheel, it takes longer to get the rear wheel spinning because there is more weight to accelerate. If that makes any sense.