You're talking about rod/stroke ratios, cylinder wall loading, and piston speed. The lower the rod/stroke ratio, the worse those problems will be... the B18A/B, B20B/Z engines get away with a 1.54:1 R/S because they were'nt designed to rev as high as their VTEC cousins. Compair to a B18C's 1.58:1, which is only slightly better. The main issue with that is spinning rod bearings, which is why they (B18C*) come from the factory with three main block girdles. This makes for a more stable high RPM engine, unlike the previous generation's B17A which is notorious for spinning rod bearings even though it has a more kind 1.62:1 R/S ratio. The B16A (1.76:1 R/S) doesn't have these problems because the rods are long enough to cut back on piston speed and cylinder wall loading.
The moral of the story: install a B18C or aftermarket block girdle if you're really concerned, along with the basic LS/VTEC reinforcements. If you are really worried, swap in a B18C rotating assembly.