its not that high of a compresion , its 10.6 or 10.8:1 i cant remember. All the guys locally making 550+whp run at least 10:1. Its a good way to run good numbers wihtout having to do much to the motor. you can boost 10lbs with the right management system. dont be afraid of it.

as far as a waste of a good all motor plant, well, i personally would ratehr have a GSR over an ITR. you can get a full GSR swap for roughly $2000 less. with that $2000 you can buy a sweet header, cams, valvetrain and intake manifold, and put out much better numbers thatn the ITR. the only disadvantage is that you lose LSD, and the gearing.