FMXhellraiser, you've got it right....no way are you going to run true 11/1 CR on pump gas. And you right about what you're thinking, if you bleed off compression with a big duration cam, or retart timing to avoid pinging, then you've lost all that you're trying to build. Shorter duration cams, as well as a closer LSA, close the intake valve earlier, keeping more cylinder pressure in the engine....more power! But at the same time, more chance of detonation. It's a trade off, you cant have both...either you want a race engine, and it wont be very responsive at street RPMs, or you build a street engine that's a killer from idle to maybe 5K RPMs. You have to look at dynamic compression ratio, not static C/R....get a good book on big block chevy's and read up on it. I have a dynamic CR calculator if you're interested. You need rod length, cam specs, piston volume, all the details. But dynamic CR is what the engine sees, and that's what's gonna work with your combo, or destroy it.