I think you can run as high of a compression as you want with pump gas if you weren't ever going to get on it.
Some of the big hitters on Drag Week run 15:1 compression, but they run race gas on the street all week. Curt Johnson is a prime example of this, and his 632 CI engine with LOTS of compression, runs race gas all week. He told us if he tries to run any type of pump gas through it, it will wash the rings out right away. He changes oil every day as well.
Wow, I can't imagine what it costs him to do Drag Week! That's ridiculous.
LOTS!!! We figured it out, to around 3K for fuel alone. But he has won his class 7, or 8 times. He has the formula figured out. He one year built a Pump gas engine, to minimize maintenance. Won his class yet again. He got bored, and the next year he had a 15:1+ engine again. He told me they put a 3-4K chip on the high side of the MSD for street driving. Didn't leave any room for goofing off, and was easier on the valvetrain. If anyone ever gets a chance to talk with Curt, do it. You will not be disappointed.
