Down here at ground level, from a guy who builds "budget" street engines almost exclusively I've never worried about breaking even a stock rod in compression (too much cylinder pressure). Rod bolts, oh yeah- broken a few of them over the years. I don't build 700+ HP motors, but I can tell you that a stock rod, properly prepped and machined and outfitted with ARP Wavelocs (accept no subsitute) will live practially forever at the 500-550HP level below 6500 RPMs. STREET motors, mind you. The kind that spend 99.9% of their life below 4000 RPMs and see the occasional stoplight blast or trip to the dragstrip.

I built a motor about 2 years ago with a set of stock rods that had over 200K miles on them. Engine is still running and gets beat on semi-regularly at the strip, including a modest nitrous shot.

Somebody posted that "you're better off staying out of detonation than buing high-dollar rods" (or words to that effect). Truer words were never spoke.