abecedarian

The stock compression ratio is 9.0:1 on a 22re and the pistons are cast- not something you'd want to boost too high. Also, the ignition timing is controlled by the ECU and is not calibrated to account for turbocharging.
The 'fuel cut' is determined by the ECU based on throttle opening angle and air flow and is hit when the duty cycle of the injectors exceeds a certain amount. Adjusting the airflow meter (to compensate for larger injectors) can delay the fuel cut at the sacrifice of more precise fuel control at lower rpms but there is a hard cut at a certain rpm as well.
The 22re and 22rte use a VAFM (volume air-flow meter) not a MAF (mass air flow) and they are not interchangeable. VAFM/AFM are mechanical whereas a MAF is thermo-resistive (electrical) and the output different signals. It's theoretically possible to adapt a MAF to the 22re but as far as I know, the one kit that used to be able to do that has been taken out of production.

My investigation indicates that the 22re and 22rte use the same VAFM so it does not appear to be a limitation of the meter, but as mentioned, the design of the 22re (injector size, higher compression and the ecu programming) that limits the boost the 22re can have. Intercooling and retarding the distributor may get you to higher boost levels but you also will loose power from retarding the timing.

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