Nobody's questioning how much stronger a set of forged internals would be, rather how much is safe to run on OEM type internals with a good tune.
Personally, I think the turbo puts to much stress on the stock internals, eveident by it's much stronger low RPM torque readings. Adding an intercooler just makes it that much stronger throughout the RPM range of the engine, increasing that load.
I also think you were several pounds of boost under what the stock pistons could take with a proper wide band O2 dyno tune, even without an intercooler. I still say you were lean on your burn because of the white color. It doesn't matter how new the plugs were, the color is wrong.
What would I do in your shoes? Rebuild the engine with new OEM internals and never plan to see the high side of 9-10 psi. If you wish to go higher, rods are the first weak link (so long as the tune is good), then pistons, then the crank. The crank limits out about 450-500 HP with a good balance, knife edge, and cryo treating, which is where Buckshot plans to be. Going above that would require a $3,000 billet steel crank, but then you're probably inching up on the limits of the block design itself anyway...
