[bobcowan]

The big issue - as stated above - is detonation. Detonation can quickly destroy an engine, is primarily caused by excessive cylinder pressure.

Static compression ratio is only part of the equation. What you're really interested in is dynamic compression ratio; which is a function of static compression, ambient air pressure, altitude, and intake valve closing points. There's a few other data bits, but these are the major ones. You can easily build an engine with 10.0 static compression, and a dynamic compression of 9.0 - which is way too high for pump gas. Or you could build it with a DCR of 7.8 - which is really good for pump gas. So, before building your stroker, do the math and figure out what your max DCR + boost will be.

Along with pressure, heat will really accelerate detonation. You can keep the intake charge cooler by running a little rich, intercoolers, and water/methanol injection. Keeping the timing very conservative also helps.